While you might get lucky pulling up to any old spot at a river and throwing a line, learning the areas trout prefer in a stream will increase your chances of catching fish. To understand where to find trout in a river at any given time, it is important to have a basic idea of how trout behave and why they relate to certain areas in the river.

Stream-dwelling trout have a few basic needs:

Oxygen: Trout need to breathe in order to live. In a river you will generally find trout close to current where the water is more oxygenated. Avoid large stretches of stagnant water.

Food: Trout need to eat and will seldom stray far from a food source. Find the food and you will find the fish.

Shelter and Rest: Trout like to be near current, but they are also quite lazy. They like to find objects to rest behind, and other areas where they can sit outside the main flow. They also need a place to hide from predators. This can be the same structure that blocks the current, or it might be overhead shelter like a tree or bush. Bonus points if the area has quick access to deeper water.

Keeping these elements in mind, you can closely examine the stream environment to find some fish. Read more about how to identify different sections of river in order to better locate trout on Fix.com.