Reading the Water: How to Identify Trout-Holding Lies in Rivers and Lakes

By Mike Tenner | TroutFlies Australia | Updated 2025

If you've ever cast into a beautiful river or lake and wondered, “Where the hell are the trout?”—you're not alone. Knowing how to read the water is a crucial skill that separates casual casters from consistent catchers.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to identify the key spots—called trout lies—where fish hold, feed, and hide in both rivers and lakes across Australia.

🧭 What Is “Reading the Water” in Fly Fishing?

Reading the water means observing and interpreting currents, structure, depth, and light to determine where trout are likely to be. Rather than casting blind, you’re fishing smart—targeting the 10% of water that holds 90% of the fish.

🐟 Types of Trout Lies

Let’s break it down. Trout hold in different places depending on what they’re doing:

1. Feeding Lies

Where trout sit to intercept food drifting toward them with minimal effort.
✅ Found in: Seams, riffles, tailouts, current edges.

2. Holding Lies

Safe resting spots with protection from current and predators.
✅ Found in: Behind rocks, undercut banks, deep pools, logs.

3. Shelter Lies

Emergency escape areas used when spooked or avoiding light/heat.
✅ Found in: Under logs, root balls, dense weed beds, undercut ledges.

🏞️ Reading the Water in Rivers

Trout are masters of energy conservation. In rivers, they seek out spots where food comes to them with the least amount of swimming.

🔀 1. Seams

Where fast and slow water meet—a feeding lane buffet.
🎯 Cast just into the slower side of the seam.

🌊 2. Riffles

Shallow, oxygen-rich areas with bubbling surface water.
💡 Prime for nymphing and dry flies during hatches.

🍃 3. Pools

Deeper, slower water where trout rest or cruise for food.
🎣 Try streamer fishing or indicator nymphing.

🪨 4. Behind Rocks

Creates a calm pocket downstream—trout love this ambush zone.
📍 Look for soft water “pools” below boulders.

🌿 5. Undercut Banks

Shade, cover, and flow relief.
🔥 Especially productive in summer and clear water.

🌀 6. Eddies

Water that curls backward behind obstacles or along bends.
🎯 Often overlooked—cast into the swirling current edge.

🏖️ Reading the Water in Lakes & Stillwaters

Stillwaters require a different approach—there’s no current to concentrate food, so trout become cruisers.

🪺 1. Drop-Offs

Where shallow flats plunge deeper.
🎣 Trout patrol these edges for food. Fish a sinking line or long leader.

🌾 2. Weed Beds

Food factory and ambush cover.
💡 Use nymphs or small streamers retrieved slowly along the edges.

🏝️ 3. Inflow & Outflow Points

Natural current draws bring oxygen and food.
🎯 High-traffic feeding areas, especially early and late in the day.

🪨 4. Submerged Structure

Rocks, logs, or clay shelves provide ambush points and cover.
👁️ Use a polarised lens to spot underwater features.

🌅 5. Windward Shores

Wind pushes food and insects toward one side of the lake.
💨 Fish where the wind is blowing into the bank, not away from it.

📸 Visual Guide to Trout Lies (Downloadable PDF)

👉 Click here to download our free "Reading the Water" cheat sheet – perfect for printing or saving on your phone for riverside reference.

🧰 Bonus Tips from Mike Tenner

• Observe Before You Cast: Spend 5 minutes watching. Rises? Swirls? Insect drift?

• Start at the Tailout: In big pools, trout often stack near the exit where current accelerates.

• Use Stealth: Good water reading means nothing if your shadow spooks the fish.

🐾 Example: Reading the Water on Tasmania’s Tyenna River

• Riffles: Fish upstream with a Parachute Adams or small emerger.

• Undercuts: Perfect for swinging a Woolly Bugger tight to the bank.

• Seams: Nymph with a lightly weighted Hare’s Ear or Flashback Pheasant Tail.

🎣 TroutFlies Australia’s Water-Reading Fly Pack

We’ve built a special “Reading the Water” Fly Selection Pack with patterns ideal for:

• Seams

• Deep pools

• Drop-offs

• Weed lines

Final Cast

Learning to read the water is like learning a new language—and the trout speak it fluently. The more you practice observing structure, flow, and food sources, the more water becomes your guidebook.

At TroutFlies Australia, we don’t just sell flies—we teach you how to fish them smarter.

Have questions about a specific river or lake? Reach out—we're happy to help.