Which side would you fish?

F
fishcreekspinners
You're standing on a bridge looking upstream about to start fishing. Which side are you going to head for to catch the most fish? Which side brings you the best luck? (you can assume clear passage on both sides, but if you have any observations that influence your decisions, please list them).

There's no test, just put yourself back there!
 
F
fishcreekspinners
I'm right-handed, fishing with spinners, and would head downstream left.
 
H
halibuthitman
im going to fish the most appealing water that is closest to me, and work away from that point, I can cast with either hand so left handed or right handed water would not really matter.:cool:
 
A
adambomb
I caught most of my river trout this summer in locations that have something to OFFer, such as, cover, oxygen, and food. A deep bend, an eddy behind a rock, a swirling piece of backwater, a shady spot on a blistering summer day are all spots that produced for me. I will walk right by featureless sections of water, where depth and flow are constant, as long as we are talking about trout fishing;)
 
Troutski
Troutski
Up stream...

Up stream...

I prefer fishing up stream, for safeties sake. I agree with what was said before, look for seams, eddies, deep slots, overhanging trees and the tailout of any riffel.

Chuck
 
M
meluvtrout
Away from the crowd side, whichever that is...
 
F
fishcreekspinners
Very true about scoping out any other anglers out and about. Solitude is as important as great water conditions or rocks causing chutes and riffles. If one direction is stacked up with other fishermen like telephone poles, I'd definitely head the other direction, but definitely try under and below the bridge.

If fishing pressures high, I'll just bend off the water into the woods for 100 yards or until I find a nice stretch of open water.

Another thing that would influence my direction would be any bigger animals on the water. Moose, Bear, Elk cow or calf, or a dog. No need to have a little race or hide and seek in hip boots.

A big infuence would be if I'd fished the stretch before. If so, I would likely repeat my path to try to catch that 'big' one that rose but did not strike or any remembered hot spots.

A prior trip could work the other way if during that trip, I discovered an obstruction or major tributary, posted land, etc. but this scenario was supposed to be open access.

As far as my recollection of luck on the river though, barring other influences, my memory brings back more fish downstream on the left bank for some reason, which surprises me since I mostly fish across and upstream unless its a pool, letting the current control/tumble the spinner downstream.
 
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B
BlackBass
Long story shot :) I remember fishing a trib to the santiam years back, i would only fish the down river side of the bridge fishing left to right. I would do fairly well catching steelhead on spoons down river of the bridge in a nice pool . I was fishing one day with only 1 fish for a few hours fishing, i decided i would throw my spoon up river past the bridge probably 40 yards, i started to pop my spoon headed straight back at me from well above the bridge. I hooked a steely and landed it, i made another few casts and hooked up, over the course of the next few weeks, i only fished upriver from the bridge, while underneath it. I caught 10-1 above the bridge, only when i couldnt get bit up river, would i start to fish down from the bridge, manageing only a few fish during this time. I know this might only be true for this one particular spot , however it does indicate that from time to time, under ceartain bridges there is definatly a sweet spot , either below,under or above the bridge.
 
J
joemomma
Deep water and cover/structure! The cover/structure, I stay away from, cause that were all my gear is stolen from me! :redface:
 
F
fishcreekspinners
Bridges are cool. I like the sound under them, kind of ringing echo. Great place to fish unless swifts and swallows scare ya.

Thinking more about this puzzle, maybe downstream left has been luckier for me on the upstream 'back' to the bridge return. I'd have been smarter about the water and any missed fish by then. Dont think so, but could be.

Fishing memories, now thats another thread for you to start Blackbass! I'm guessing the brains behind these laptops are full of them!
 
H
halibuthitman
going merely on visual expirence, I would have to guess that bridges are exellent holding water for flying fish...... judging by the roughly $600,000 worth of spoons, spinners, mono and bobbers hanging from any bush or powerlines within 100' of the bridges around here! May I also suggest covering not only the tailouts and pocket water in front of any hatchery deadline but also ALL of the air in front of the wire... judging by the amount of yarn and lead hanging from them I would guess many flying steelhead have been nailed there as well!!!:rolleyes:
 
S
SmallStreams
I prefer working downstream, whichever bank I can scramble down. Dislike fishing from a bridge, but will if that's the only opportunity.

Strangely, having said that, my last memorable trip was all up stream... I think because we didn't want to hike uphill/upstream at the end of the day.
 
Troutski
Troutski
Hummmmm?

Hummmmm?

SmallStreams said:
I prefer working downstream, whichever bank I can scramble down. Dislike fishing from a bridge, but will if that's the only opportunity.

Strangely, having said that, my last memorable trip was all up stream... I think because we didn't want to hike uphill/upstream at the end of the day.


Interesting....:think:

Chuck
 
X
xltom
I agree that fishing downstream to the left feels more natural casting for me...but guess what......you'll be fishing upstream to the right on the way back to the car anyway. I like to cast a bit and move often to cover a lot of ground..

Around here(eugene/springfield) i haven't found many places where trails follow the banks for very far. I guess that's either because the terrain is rougher and the banks are steeper than where I grew up...or all you oregonians are too lazy to walk very far(kidding). Also where I grew up, there were places to cross over here and there so I usually fished one side up and the other side back.

I've had some great success on low bridges using it to work both banks downstream. You can let your spinner bounce down about a quarter mile. and bring it back for a 10 minute retrieve in higher current. If you have trouble keeping your spinner off the surface, try a big panther martin. They swim deeper. In lower current I like to throw a topwater cricket (rebel crickhopper) and twitch it back the quarter mile. That makes for some killer strikes(sometimes way off in the distance) and long fights against the current. Just don't try to hoist big fish up to the bridge. Walk to either side when you hook in to a big one!!!
 
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S
SmallStreams
xltom said:
Around here(eugene/springfield) i haven't found many places where trails follow the banks for very far.

If there's a trail, then it must be overfished :dance:
 
A
AnglerWise.com
What side of the river doesn't really matter to me, Just as long as I have a line in the water.

Of course, I would still look for the prime spots, where I have the highest chance of catching a fish.
 
G
GDBrown
If I'm fishing dry flies I move upstream as I fish because I fish my dries upstream. Streamers I move downstream as I fish. Less likely that the fish well see me before they see my fly that way. If the best looking water is in the other direction I move past it while far enough from the river that I don't spook the fish before starting. Stealth makes a big difference with trout on a fly!
 

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