The dark water of the Upper Owens River meanders through an immense valley. Along it's course can be found innumerable bifurcations. The confluence of two or more branches most often makes for fertile hunting, as trout will linger and wait for food to come their way from either source.
In the photo above, the turbulent white water seen in the center of the image is the tell-tale demarcation of the joinder of the two currents. It forms a white line or "seam" between the two moving bodies of water. A fly placed at the upper end of the seam near the triangular point of land and allowed to float down the length of the line will surely cause a trout lurking there to rise. Additionally, if no response is achieved, a fly near the tale end or shortly after the confluence has flattened out, can be deadly too.
The fish to the right was taken from the seam in the above photo on an elk hair caddis, danced along the upper portion of the confluence near the point of land, and allowed to move down the seam. Irrisistible!
Next time you're fishing a meadow stream, be on the look-out for branches of the stream that come together and explore the confluence. You might just be surprised!
There is a remote place amid the peaks of the high country where the air is crisp and clean, and the smell of pine is truly intoxicating. Where lakes appear as smooth as glass, like giant mirrors, reflecting cotton ball clouds gliding across their surface. A place where time stands still and the wind moves the tall grass to and fro in gentle waves. Only in this high country can be found fish so colorful that they resemble drops of liquid gold.....
