Techniques

Sight-fishing

Spotting individual fish in the water and casting to them, rather than blind-casting to likely water.

It requires three things: clear enough water, high enough light, and good polarized lenses in a copper or amber tint. Take any one of those away and you are back to blind casting.

The technique is mostly about approach. Fish spot movement above the surface long before you spot them, so you move slowly, keep low, keep your shadow off the water, and cast past the fish so the bait comes to it rather than landing on its head.

It is at its most productive during the spawn, when bass are on visible beds, and on clear rivers and flats where fish cruise shallow.

The light matters as much as the water. Sun overhead and behind you lights the bottom and kills surface glare; sun in front of you makes seeing anything nearly impossible regardless of your lenses. That is why sight-fishing days are planned around which bank you fish at what hour.

In practice

Wear a hat with a dark underbrim alongside polarized lenses. Cutting the light bouncing up into your eyes from below matters as much as the lenses do.

Related terms

Where this comes up

The guides that use sight-fishing and show it on real gear.

Sight-fishing is one of 206 terms in the glossary.

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