I’ve been photographing in small streams that look perfect from the bank...slow, shallow, and crystal clear. But once I’m in the water, visibility (horizontaly) drops to about 6–8 feet, which makes approaching fish difficult. I also find myself getting swept downstream even in water barely over a foot deep (~30 cm) because I can’t hold position or move upstream with the camera.

While there’s not much I can do about visibility, I’m wondering what gear adjustments might help me stay in place in these shallow currents. Trying to manage the camera while fighting the flow is incredibly challenging and takes all of my strength or is often impossible, and walking upstream isn’t an option since that will spook fish. Barely holding onto the bottom in 38F water while waiting 30 minutes for a fish that might never come back is not very effective or enjoyable. It probably doesn’t help that I’m using a Nauticam 5D Mark IV housing with a WACP-1 and two Inon strobes which creates a lot of drag. The two ideas I’ve come up with so far are:

1. Downsize my port size and strobe arm width to reduce drag (though I hate the idea of losing image sharpness).

2. Use something to anchor to the bottom, though that risks disturbing the substrate if I have to “dig in.”

Has anyone found effective ways to hold position or move carefully against the current in shallow water without spooking fish or damaging habitat?

Tom Kline is The Man for this and will, I’m sure, chip-in. Would a reef hook work?