Thread: Why predatory fish relate to shade...

https://activeanglingnz.com/2015/10/...o-ambush-prey/

Many predators use shade to gain an advantage, as a fish in shade can spot a fish in sunlight about 2.5 times further away than it can be seen itself.

Many pier fishing anglers never even think about the role shade from the pier above plays in the position and attitude of the fish they are seeking ;-)

As a fly fisherman I can relate to this. We had a wonderful brook trout stream a short distance from my house. a person could go there and catch 50 trout, catch & release, in a few hours. It was fantastic! The land was sold and the new owner "cleaned it up". He burnt it off, cut the brush & trees along the stream bed, made it look like a park which was nice for some people, but not me! The trout vanished! The trout in a small shallow, spring fed stream must have tall grass and brush to protect them from the prey above as well as to be able to ambush their meal. The land has been resold and it is slowly coming back but it won't be what it was in my life time. An interesting note, a DNR employee, a forester, even helped him with the "controlled burn", I'm sure he didn't check with any of the people in the stream improvement dept.

Not much vegetation on the beach either ;-)

so all those umbrellas and tents actually help those of us that fish out, huh? nice that "throwing shade" can be a good thing.

I like to fish close by pier for that reason (sun at my back), but if it's crowded the problem is getting tangled in other lines when a king (or shark) makes his run.