The science under every rise

Read the Rise is a fly fishing guide built on one idea: you catch more fish when you understand what's happening beneath the surface. Which insects are hatching, what stage the trout are eating, how the water is running today, and why a fish holds where it does.

Meet the founder

Hi, I'm Test Testmaster. I'm a casual fly fisherman with a not-so-casual obsession with data. I studied entomology and zoology in college, which means I can't look at a riffle without wondering what's living under every rock in it, or watch a trout rise without asking what it just ate and why.

I started Read the Rise because most fishing advice stops at "use this fly." I wanted the why: the life cycles, the water temperatures, the hatch timing and the behavior behind the bite, all in one place you can check from the riverbank.

How Read the Rise works

Live river conditions from U.S. Geological Survey gauges, with plain-English notes on what they mean for fishing.
Every fish and insect on the river, with life cycles, the flies that imitate them, and how to fish each one.
A fly picker that turns the month, the water and what you're seeing into a rig, with the reasons behind it.
A glossary that explains every technical term in plain English.

Accuracy and independence

Hatch timing changes year to year and every river has its quirks, so treat our recommendations as a well-informed starting point, and corrections from local anglers and fly shops are always welcome. We choose every recommendation ourselves. Some fly links go to a sponsoring shop; our sponsorship disclosure explains how that works.

Say hello

Questions, corrections from the river, or interested in sponsoring a river? Email bite@readtherise.com.