Fishing From A Riverboat

Fishing from a riverboat is one of the most effective ways to catch trout and it may be the only game in town on high water. I am constantly amazed at just how easy it is to catch fish this way. The basic concept is to cast your fly out from the boat and let it drift with the boat when a fish hits you set the hook. You can either motor upstream and drift back down to where you started or you drift downstream from point a to point b (this requires that someone shuttle your car and trailer from point a to point b).

The problem with the concept is that someone has to steer the boat. The river is a very dangerous place and someone has to be constantly monitoring where you are and where you are going. For this reason I really enjoy fishing with my cousin Quinn. He has his own boat and lets me sit in the front and fish without having to run the boat. For me it's like a busman's holiday.

When the water is low you rig up just like you would if you were wading. I generally fish a nymph, a dry or a nymph on a dropper below a dry. It is important that you cast the fly at least 30 feet from the boat. As you drift down stream you can see fish scattering away from the boat If you fish too close to the boat you will not catch as many fish. On the other hand you should not be casting 70 feet. You would be working too hard. Why not just drift the boat closer. At this water level you would essentially fish the main channel. I generally concentrate on shoals and deep runs.

When there is low generation (one to two generators) I use the same rigging as I do for low water. I find the fish in different places. The trout have generally moved to side channels. When you locate fish drift over them repeatedly. At this water level navigation will be easier. My favorite flies for this situation are San Juan Worms on heavy wire hooks.

For heavy water the trout are located in weed beds, over submerged islands or close to the bank. I fish large streamers and San Juan Worms tied on 1/32-ounce crappie jigs. In addition to being weed less these things sink like rock. They are so heavy that I have to use huge strike indicators. Note: if you hit yourself in the back of the head with one of these you are going down. With this much water you are not going to have much top water action. Another technique is to troll a large streamer on a full sinking line behind the boat.

One other thing to think about is having more than one person casting from a twenty-foot boat. If you are not careful you will spend your time untangling lines instead of fishing.