Re: [VFB] QUOTE FOR THE DAY- Actually....

[DonO]

Actually, considering the trout's 'cone of vision', the 1st thing it'll see (above the water) is your line, leader, and fly whizzin' over his head.  The next thing he'll see is your rod tip. Then he'll see your head, then torso, as they come into his view.  What aids the fisherman most is calm water with the trout right under the surface.  This fish is almost blind to the world above, even though you can see him perfectly.  Ripples on the surface (chop, waves, etc.) flash extended views of the upper world and give the fish and extended range beyond the cone.  And the deeper the fish is, the more chance he has to see you (the cone gets bigger, plus the ligh refraction angle) and the less chance you have to see him.  I did a quick Google and the 1st article had a good verbal explanation, but there's LOTS more on the subject.  The F&S site (url below the quote) has a good illustration of the phenomenon.  This is the reason good fisherman crawl up to a good-looking spot. "When light enters the water at other than a vertical angle, it is refracted by the water. Physical laws say that light penetrating the surface of the water is always refracted at 48.5 degrees and light reflecting into the air is bent at the same angle. This angle defines a "cone of vision" that allows fish to see into our world.  The fish's cone of vision -- which has been described as "like looking up from the throat of an imaginary funnel" - is 83 degrees. As the fish goes deeper, the fish's window of vision to the outside world grows bigger. A fish in shallow water can see only things quite near to it, but in six feet of water the fish can see five feet in every direction. What this cone of vision means to the practical-minded, clued in, switched on angler is that the fish can often see you even if you can't see it. Yes, that's right ... even if your line of sight view of the fish is obscured, light carrying your image is bent so that the fish can see you. " Ripley Davenport Distant Streams Ege Alle 5, st tv DK-5631 Ebberup Denmark   (go 2/3's of the way down...) http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/include/article/0,,notebook1_4_04,00.html So, Lefty, that fish is going to see your fly rod and the sun's reflection off of it long before he see's your flashy polished Wheatley fly box and hemostats and mirror-finished sunglasses.  And if he's right under the calm surface, you can be sending him flash-messages with a mirror and he couldn't see them.   DonO   ----- Original Message ----- From: Jimmy D. Moore "Trout fisherman often give away their presence to the fish by the equipment they are wearing. The yo-yo hanging on the fly fishing vest that attaches to the hemostats or line clippers is often plated with chrome, giving off flashes of light. Some fly boxes that you wear on the chest are also bright aluminum-not a good idea. I recently fished with a fellow who wore a bright yellow hat on a meadow stream in Pennsylvania.  >From 100 yards away you could see his every movement.  I'm sure that trout near him could, too." "Advanced Fly Fishing Techniques" Lefty Kreh