Whether you are fishing for trout, smallmouth bass, salmon, or even steelhead a very important fishing skill to have is the ability to wade and fish a river effectively.
In this article I will draw upon my twenty plus years of experience wading rivers to outline some tips and techniques for wading and fishing a river effectively.
It's important to point out that no one article can teach you everything that you need to know for accomplishing this task, but an article can teach you many of the main points to wading and fishing a river effectively, so that you can eliminate some simple mistakes that keep people from experiencing success.
The best way to learn the nuances of wading and fishing a river effectively is by spending time of the water doing it.
With that being said, the following river fishing tips and techniques will undoubtedly serve you well for many years of river fishing.
The first thing to consider in regards to wading and fishing a river effectively are your waders.
There are two main types of materials that waders are made from that you need to be aware of; breathable material and neoprene.
Waders made from either of these materials are the most serviceable for wading and fishing a river comfortably and effectively.
If waders are made from a material other than these, they aren't worth the few dollars that they cost in most cases.
Being comfortable while wading is of the utmost importance, so make sure that you are using waders made from either neoprene or breathable material.
The next thing to consider is the manner in which you walk while wading.
You want to walk in a slow and deliberate manner whenever possible.
This not only helps with your footing making wading safer, but also minimizes the "ruckus" that you make under the water.
As you wade, if you don't walk deliberately you can create quite a "ruckus" under the water from small rocks banging together.
This sound travels great distances under the water and can spook the fish that you are attempting to catch.
So, for both safety reasons and not "spooking" the fish that you are attempting to catch make sure that you walk slowly and deliberately when wading.
When wading and river fishing it is vitally important that you pay attention to both river depth and current flow.
Fish tend to hold in area's of the river where the current 'breaks' and where deeper water meets shallow water creating less current for the fish to have to "fight" while they are feeding.
Fish also hold behind large boulders where the boulder shields them from the current, providing them with an excellent ambush point.
These types of areas are the areas are where you want to concentrate on when river fishing while wading.
If you keep these simple river fishing tips in mind while wading you will no doubt be wading and fishing the river that you are in effectively.
And never forget that the more time that you can spend on the water practicing wading and river fishing the more adept you will become at doing it and therefore the more fish you will catch.