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Rise Forms

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 7:48 pm
by BiggerThomas
Today I walked along a lonely section of the North Branch where around one of the bends was a slow, glassy pool. Within this stretch, I noticed at least 20 fish rise within 5 mins. Some fish, when they broke surface water, made loud slurping sounds, while others only produced quiet dimples.

I've learned a little over the years about what rise forms suggest about rising trout--what kinds of flies they're hitting, where in the water column the flies are, etc. But can anyone here offer a concise summary of what the different types of rise forms are and what they mean?

In the meantime, this is a pretty good site to start: https://www.flyfisherman.com/editorial/ ... rms/152245

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:00 pm
by JAD

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:22 pm
by Jaybird
Honestly it's tough call cause newly stocked fish don't rise the way they are supposed to in the given situation ... Maybe after a couple of weeks it's different .

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:06 pm
by BiggerThomas
Thanks for the book recommendation, JAD.

And jaybird, that's really interesting.I guess at that point they're still kind of like couch potatoes...

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 7:54 am
by cappy
Jaybird wrote:
Sun Apr 12, 2020 8:22 pm
Honestly it's tough call cause newly stocked fish don't rise the way they are supposed to in the given situation ... Maybe after a couple of weeks it's different .
I was out Saturday afternoon after the crowds left for a couple hours on a local stream. They were rising like wild fish when the caddis hatch started. I was picking them up on top, and with an emerger on the swing.

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 8:05 am
by Jaybird
I don't doubt what you saw , and they could have acclimated already . I just know I have seen examples of a pod of stocked trout coming out of the water after mayfly duns on a flat pool , this is against the behavior you would read in Marinaro's book " in the Ring of the Rise " . I feel at that time they were still in that competitive hatchery mode , trying to grab pellets before the fish around them .

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 3:31 pm
by Rusty Spinner
Rise forms tell you not only where in the water column a fish is feeding, but gives you a solid clue what they are eating. Generally speaking, a slashy rise happens just under the surface film and indicates that they are feeding on emerging insects. Whether those are emerging caddis or emerging mayflies needs further study. Now you need to look at what is flying in the air or if you don't see caddis burst through the film and fly off, do you see little "sailboats" on the surface? If so, mayflies. So choose your emerger to fit either caddis or mayfly.

The classic dorsal rise covers trout eating dun mayflies off the surface. Sipping rises can be for both mayfly duns and mayfly spinners. Or it could be for caddis cripples if during a caddis hatch. The key is to understand what you are seeing, choose the appropriate fly, and recognize when they switch off one life stage and on to another (nymphs to emergers to duns to spinners sometimes during a mayfly hatch).

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:50 pm
by BillSmith
Could the rising fish not be creek chubs, smallmouth bass, rock bass and sunfish that are so prevalent in the North Branch ? :?:

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 5:06 pm
by BiggerThomas
BillSmith wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:50 pm
Could the rising fish not be creek chubs, smallmouth bass, rock bass and sunfish that are so prevalent in the North Branch ? :?:
I suppose that's possible. In light of the recent stocking, trout were the first species to come to mind. But you certainly could be right.

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 10:35 am
by Rusty Spinner
BillSmith wrote:
Mon Apr 13, 2020 4:50 pm
Could the rising fish not be creek chubs, smallmouth bass, rock bass and sunfish that are so prevalent in the North Branch ? :?:
Sure, but I assumed that because this is a trout site, we were talking about that species. That said, I once wade fished the big pool above the Buckingham boat ramp in PA on the upper Delaware during the green drake hatch. There were coffin flies everywhere which is the spinner of the green drake. Every single one that touched the water was immediately eaten. I covered every rise, and caught nearly every fish. 100% creek chubs :lol: :lol:

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 10:45 am
by cappy
Funny chubbs are mentioned. One of the fish I caught on top Saturday was a colorful chub about 8 inches. Guess they are in mating colors.

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 11:14 am
by martalus
I have caught some very colorful and larger chubs recently as well. I don't know why I am biased against them, but I am and am always dissapointed when I catch one. That said, when there are chubs present in small streams, I tend to find larger wild brook trout as presumably the larger brookies feed on the smaller chubs. Also, why are chubbs so easy to catch? You can't spook them if you try-they will always bite.

Re: Rise Forms

Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:25 pm
by BiggerThomas
martalus wrote:
Tue Apr 14, 2020 11:14 am
I have caught some very colorful and larger chubs recently as well. I don't know why I am biased against them, but I am and am always dissapointed when I catch one. That said, when there are chubs present in small streams, I tend to find larger wild brook trout as presumably the larger brookies feed on the smaller chubs. Also, why are chubbs so easy to catch? You can't spook them if you try-they will always bite.
That's interesting about the brookies--didn't know that.

I will hit the stream the next warm day and let you know what I catch!