How to Fall In

Falling in is an essential skill most fly anglers can successfully acquire. All it takes is a lack of agility and a bit of practice.

For starters, you might wonder why this is an essential angling skill. That’s a perceptive question that shows your analytical skills. Having anticipated some skepticism, here is my proof.

Try this test; ask any angler you admire if they have ever fallen in. The answers, if the anglers are honest and this is always iffy with fishermen, will be that they all have. You will eventually come to the same conclusion that I have; you simply cannot become a great angler without learning how to fall in.

Having succeeded at falling in with considerable frequency, I consider myself qualified to share a few pointers. This skill does have some seasonal influences, so I will also share how these factors change during the year.

Where the river slows, leaves coat the bottom masking holes and obstacles.

Let’s start with fall fishing. Fishing at this time of the year is one of my favorite pastimes. The air is crisp after the summer heat, the trout have begun to perk up, and the heaviest hatch of the season is upon us, namely, the leaf hatch.

Leaves drop in abundance on my local trout streams. They float downstream in such quantities that it becomes difficult to drop a fly between them. Even if you do, the retrieve or pickup will come back with a catch that is more likely oak than brookie, or beech than brown.

Once all these leaves drift downstream, they begin to sink in slower water such as long pools and stream bends. There they settle to the bottom in an even blanket covering any holes or sudden drops that might be hidden beneath them. This creates a special opportunity for anglers to unknowingly step into these holes and sink below their wader tops.

In addition, as if going under were not enough, these leaves suck at your wader boots doing their best to hold you down. The quickest way back to the bank is to gator out on your belly, taking on water along the way.

So, if you want to get in a little fall practice in falling in, simply find an accumulation of sunken leaves and wade into their midst. The stream will do the rest.

In winter, anglers have many opportunities for a dunking and only your own lack of creativity can restrict them. My favorite condition for communing with fishes is a good frost.

Coat the banks of any mountain stream with frost and you have an opportunity to commune with the fishes.

On the mountain streams I fish in cold weather, the banks are steep and rocky, and are necessary to navigate to reach the trout waters below. Put a frost cover on these banks, and you have Mother Nature’s version of a glazed slide into trout water.

For instance, on one winter trip, I began to ease down to a pool where I thought trout might congregate. Thinking more of the fish than the trail beneath my feet, I paid little attention to the heavy frost that could have been measured like snowfall. This was back in the day of felt soles, and since I had already been in the stream, my soles were now frozen and offered no traction whatsoever.

So, combine frost with iced boots and I was soon skating downhill like a surfing otter. My feet immediately went out from under me and I didn’t stop until I was in the stream. Since the path down was well stocked with rock and gravel, I also managed to grind holes in the seat of my waders, which the icy waters alerted me to once I was in the creek.

If you want to practice falling in during the winter, I highly recommend practicing on a good frost with frozen felt soles.

Springtime offers a myriad of ways to fall in as well. Anglers are recovering from cabin fever and their attention is usually turned toward the fish. Aquatic insects are beginning to hatch, trout are starting to rise, and all manner of creatures wander the banks to distract you. That’s usually when it happens.

Spring offers plenty of distractions to induce a tumble.

Perhaps the random root has taken me down more than any other obstacle. These roots can pop up along stream banks, both underwater and on streamside trails. They usually rise just high enough to loop over your boot to lock on the toe, sending you face first into water or dirt.

I’ve tripped on vines as well in much the same way. Some of these are spiked with briars, so you not only fall but pull a host of thorny vines into your exposed limbs. In our part of the world, these briars are stiff enough to poke pinholes through waders, resulting in refreshing leaks once you reengage with the fish. I say refreshing simply because the angler typically works up quite a sweat getting out of the briars.

But note that refreshing and welcome are not always the same thing.

My favorite season for working on falling in has to be summer. The river rocks have become well-coated with a slime that was probably used to invent machine oil or WD-40 though I can’t prove it. Suffice it to say that the rocks become slicker than a greased goose.

In the summer, rocks develop a coating much like goose grease.

If you can’t fall in during such conditions, you are clearly not trying.

In all my years of summer wading, the most impressive fall was made by an angler other than myself. I was merely a witness.

This angler was wading into the middle of the river toward a large rock that emerged slightly above the surface. From where I stood, it looked like the back of an elephant if the rest of the animal was underwater. The angler appeared to be planning to fish a pool on the other side of the rock. Just as he got a rod’s length from the elephant rock, a smaller one took him under.

Splashing and floundering, he made an impressive show of falling in, and frankly, I was a bit jealous of his skill. Clearly, he was a great angler. As he finally managed to get to his feet, I also noted that he wasn’t wearing a wading belt, so his waders had ballooned with about fifty gallons of water inside.

As he tried to wade, the water inside his waders began to shift, and he swayed back and forth as the weight shifted. He sloshed more than a little. Finally, he reached the elephant rock, climbing up with the likely intention of removing his waders and dumping all the water.

But as he leaned forward to climb the elephant rock, he began spilling river water across the top. This brought to life the goose grease that had dried on the rock, so by the time he emerged, the elephant rock was as slick as all the stones he had to wade across to get there.

As he stood, his feet began to slide, and as his feet began to slide, the water in his waders began to shift. In perhaps the greatest feat of falling in I have ever witnessed, he wobbled once, twice, and then on the third time, slipped off the elephant rock into the pool on the back side.

Emerging totally wet back onto the elephant rock, he simply lay on his stomach with his feet uphill and tried to let all the water drain from his waders. Then, he got back in the river and waded without mishap back to his car. Clearly, he had delivered an Olympic performance if they had such a category.

If you want to master the art of fishing, learning to fall in is a necessary skill.

So, after you have mastered casting and catching fish, you may want to start working on the art of falling in if you truly want to become a great angler. Keep in mind the seasonal factors I have shared, and consider how the experience is enhanced by exceptionally cold water.

Should you not find yourself progressing as you would like, remember that the key is a lack of agility. If you haven’t mastered this at first, simply give it time.

It may take some years, but it will come.

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Jim Mize has now mastered falling in regardless of the season. You can purchase his new book, The Jon Boat Years, online or buy autographed copies at www.acreektricklesthroughit.com.