Angler Boats

A boat can be a handy and versatile fly fishing platform, giving access to deeper water and shores not otherwise accessible. Most fly techniques can be effective from a boat. You can achieve uninterrupted dry fly drifts by going down a river/stream in a boat keeping pace with the current.

Although constant maintenance is a drawback, the best fly fishing boats are traditional clinker-built displacement hulls. These boats are quiet and drift nicely. Aluminium boats are not ideal for fly fishing although they are more practical with less maintenance.

Some people use ‘float tubes’ – inflatable tubes used in conjunction with body waders and flippers – as a viable alternative to a boat. These are usually used on smaller stillwaters. The float tube can be handy as an alternative to a boat although sitting so low in the water does make many conventional techniques difficult.

Brook Trout Fishing - Features

What Features do I Look for in Rivers?

Backwaters
Banks
Bank Cavities
Bank Undercuts
Bends
Boulders
Boundary layer
Bridges
Broadwaters
Bubble Lines
Convergences
Current Seams
Current V's
Dams
Embankments
Flood- Marshes
Logs
Pocket Water
Pools
Pool Heads
Pool Middles
Pool Tails
Rapids
Riffles
Runs
Scum Pockets
Side Channels
Streamside Cover
Tributaries
Weed Beds
Weirs