Fly fishing, like much of life, is often made a great deal more user-friendly when you learn to read the signs.
Obvious signs abound.
Things like the time of day, cloudy or sunny, water flows, water clarity, today’s hatch de jour (or lack thereof), wind, one’s hydration / hangover status and whether or not there’s a truck parked alongside my run on the river, dammit.
The real trick, on the other hand, is reading the not so obvious signs.
Why is this seam fishy and the one 7 yards over not? Is that 24 inch pig at the head of the pool lazily sucking nymphs at 18 inches or 36? That rainbow sipping midges will tolerate one cast and one cast only; is it approach A or B?
Why did the guide boat ahead of you cross to the other bank here?
Your buddy fifty yards away on the Firehole, after a fishless two hour run, changed flies ten minutes ago and has nailed a fish on every forth cast; what has he seen that you missed?
Some signs just make you smile.
When your local joint hamburger bag (brown paper of course) has a smear of grease on it you know lunch is gonna be good.
I like to read the signs.
