We’ve all heard the saying “Foam is Home” when fly fishing our favorite waters in reference to making presentations among the foam and bubble lines that flow downstream with the currents. Natural floating foam on the surface of the water is the accumulation of leaves, twigs or other organic substances that make their way into the water and begin decaying.
They release compounds known as surfacants. This interaction breaks the surface tension, which in turn allows air to more easily mix with water and creates bubbles. These bubbles congregate to form a fly angler’s friend – foam lines within the feeding lanes.
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| Yuba River Pink Albert - Two Tail Identification |
As with most liquids, water molecules are normally attracted
to each other. This attraction creates tension at the surface of the water,
often referred to as the meniscus, or a thin "skin," which allows
most aquatic adult insects to glide across it.
What’s really cool about foam lines next to the bank is it
allows an angler to be able to sit and observe and see exactly what bug (or
bugs, think masking hatch here) are floating in the drift and what the trout are
keying on, in real time.
Merry-Go-Rounds: Swirling patches of foam that collect both
live and spent aquatic insects, plus providing cover for shy trout. Think of a
Dorado lying under a carpet of kelp in the Pacific Ocean. In this scenario you
may often see a trout’s nose poke through while eating trapped forms of food
within the foam. Making presentations in the foam patch and giving your fly
slight twitches will most often induce a strike.
It does not matter the time of year, or what river or lake
you’re fishing. Probing the foam lines is essential to your success whether you
are fishing dry flies, emergers, or nymphs. Cast less, observe more, and seek
out the foam.
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