[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"learn-card-pools-runs-and-riffles":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"applyCta":6,"authorId":9,"body":10,"cardType":60,"description":61,"difficulty":62,"discipline":63,"editorId":9,"extension":67,"glossaryRefs":68,"hook":77,"meta":78,"navigation":79,"path":80,"publishedAt":81,"readingSeconds":82,"regionTags":83,"relatedCards":84,"safetyDisclaimerRequired":87,"seo":88,"status":89,"stem":90,"track":91,"updatedAt":81,"version":62,"__hash__":92},"learn_cards\u002Flearn\u002Fcards\u002Fpools-runs-and-riffles.md","Pools, Runs, and Riffles",{"label":7,"action":8},"Find a stream near you","open_planner",null,{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":56},"minimark",[13,22,33,39,53],[14,15,16,17,21],"p",{},"Walk a freestone stream and you'll see the same three water types repeating: riffle → run → pool, riffle → run → pool. They alternate because of how flowing water erodes and deposits its bed. Knowing which one you're looking at tells you where the fish are ",[18,19,20],"em",{},"and"," how to fish it.",[14,23,24,28,29,32],{},[25,26,27],"strong",{},"Riffles"," are fast, broken water spilling over rocks. The surface bubbles and breaks. Riffles oxygenate the water and dislodge insects — feeding factories. Fish don't sit ",[18,30,31],{},"in"," riffles (too much current to hold), but they sit at the top and bottom, picking off whatever drifts past. Best fished with a short cast and a drift-along-the-bottom nymph rig.",[14,34,35,38],{},[25,36,37],{},"Runs"," are the in-between water — fast enough to dislodge food, slow enough for fish to hold position. Knee-deep, broken-but-consistent surface. This is where dry-fly fishing peaks during a hatch. Fish hold mid-run, eating from clear feeding lanes. Cast upstream, dead-drift past, and watch.",[14,40,41,44,45,48,49,52],{},[25,42,43],{},"Pools"," are the deep, slow stretches at the end of a run. Big fish live here — they retreat to pools to rest, conserve energy, and avoid predators. Don't waste time fishing the middle of a pool: the holding fish aren't actively feeding. Cast the ",[25,46,47],{},"head"," (where the run dumps in) and the ",[25,50,51],{},"tail"," (where the pool spills back out). Both are seam water.",[14,54,55],{},"Most days, you'll find catchable fish in the run. Pools hold the fish-of-the-day; riffles hold numbers. Runs are where you'll usually be casting.",{"title":57,"searchDepth":58,"depth":58,"links":59},"",2,[],"concept","Walk a freestone stream and you'll see the same three water types repeating: riffle → run → pool, riffle → run → pool. They alternate because of how flowing water erodes and deposits its bed. Knowing which one you're looking at tells you where the fish are and how to fish it.","1",[64,65,66],"fly","spin","bait","md",[69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76],"pool","run","riffle","seam","hatch","presentation","dry-fly","nymph","Every stream is a sequence of three water types. Each one fishes differently.",{},true,"\u002Flearn\u002Fcards\u002Fpools-runs-and-riffles","2026-05-08","130",[],[85,86],"reading-a-riffle","eddies-and-soft-spots",false,{"title":5,"description":61},"published","learn\u002Fcards\u002Fpools-runs-and-riffles","reading-water","lJYlJfAIqCKXHyT6yj2lHOq7DcOmGkTG3UdB-JogYA8"]