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| That is an awesome skill! I'm jealous 
Guessing patience plays a large part in that!
I've heard it is still practised in the Falklands oddly enough. | |
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It takes plenty of initial practice to understand what to look for and not to freak out like a girl when you do eventually feel a tail brushing your wrist. Hunting like this is deeply satisfying; no tools, no money, no rush.
Finding the right sort of river / pool is important. Anywhere with overhanging banks, rocky pool areas, shallows and fast moving areas are ideal. Fish like to rest after dealing with fast flowing water, and will often look for a rock or shadowy bank to catch their breath.
Expect to get wet. Get a feeling for which way the fish are facing. This requires patience. Don't make the noob mistake of stalking when the sun's overhead; cloudy days or morning / evening are best. Before full moon you'll catch males, during and after you'll catch females. Weird, but oddly true.
Either wade in shallow water or lie on a bank, minimising your overhanging shadow. Beware that banks can have all manner of things you don't want to be fiddling: old fishing hooks, glass, river rats, gunk. Keeping still, cupped fingers, slide your hand slowly behind where you feel the fish may be. You won't catch anything but dirt under your nails for the first fifty times you try this, but you may get lucky and the win is worth the wait.
Chances are they sense you and are off, but there are happy times if they don't. Tiny, tickley vibrations from your fingertips along the underbelly of the fish will curiously not cause it to swim away, although you need to be determined and get your other hand on it pronto to grasp, 'bend' the fish into a crescent shape so it can't bolt off and immediately get it out of the water and away onto terra firma. A brisk, heavy strike on its head and you're done. In a good river you can catch quite a few, but beware it's considered poaching.
You'll notice I use terms like 'feel' and 'sense'. Hunting can't be rushed and calls on sensory 'intelligence' as much as a sharp eye and patience.
Fish ought to be longer than the span of your hand. If anyone in the Zurich area fancies their chances, downstream from the Werdinsel is a good place to start. It's also a nudist gay cruising area; more than fish are 'hunted' there...