Big Water.

We work on some fairly large water throughout the season. Many folks are intimidated by the shear size and volume of water we introduce them to. That's a good thing. Having a healthy respect for moving water keeps one safe. Keep a few things in mind the next time you step into grande aqua.

• A wading belt, solid boots with bombproof traction and a wading staff are not fly fishing fashion statement accessories. . They are tools. Know how to use them.

• Read water. That sounds like a some kind of mysterious voodoo skill. It's really not. Take the time to really study the area you are about to wade/fish. Structure both above and below the surface will have a dramatic effect on flow. Shelves, buckets, pockets, eddies and riffles are the school zones of the flow. Slow down in these areas. 

• Work the edges. Don't think middle. Think the edge. That nice slow piece of water that everyone steps through. Fish it first. We catch quite a few fish every season without ever going over our ankles.

• Milk the riffles. Wide and fast. Read these carefully. There is structure within a riffle that goes unnoticed by many anglers. The fish do not ignore it. Just enough for them to tuck in front, behind or to the side. 

• Don't spook. The big glide. That nondescript moving water that doesn't look like much until you see a snout suck up something. Observe. Plan. Commit. Keep those presentations drag free, quiet and long.

• Foam is home. Never pass up a foamy eddy. Ever. No matter how small. These are the fly paper of the river. The cafeteria is open.

• Think small. Don't take the whole river into your field of vision. Break it down into a grid in your mind's eye. Keeping it in a 30' x 30' area is easier than trying to fish a baseball field. Think infield not outfield. Be a catcher and call the pitches.