Water craft for Fly Fishing (Stop Look & Listen!)

When I read people discussing watercraft on blogs and in books I often hear phrases like "reading the river" - what does this actually mean?
I like to think of watercraft as observation time. Time to use a variety of techniques to measure, record and observe to give the angler a sense of the likely behaviour of his quarry, much like the horse racing tipster hanging round the training school watching horses being schooled and walking the track in the morning to assess the exact nature of the turf - we need every last morsel of information to make a more informed decision.
What is the water temperature and air temperature?

Is the wind from the east or west?

What the PH of the water?

What colour is the water?

What's the water level?

Are fish rising?

If so what are they feeding on?

Many of these measurements are relative which is why I urge all of my clients to keep a fishing diary to make brief notes to help inform future decisions. There's an old saying which goes something like time spent in reconnaissance is seldom time wasted and this could not be more true in fishing.

Some of the most enjoyable time by the water is spent sitting completely still, hidden behind the reeds just watching, waiting and listening. Suddenly what you thought was a barren river bed has shapes and shadows sliding out of the weeds, a fin of a feeding trout creases through the water under the willow tree and you hear the plop of a beetle falling from the overhanging branch as it lands in the slack water.

It continually amazes me how many anglers turn up at the water side thumping a heavy bag down or chatting in full voice making no attempt to disguise their shadow against the skyline, they then put on their usual fly and cast out as far as they can thrashing the water as they go!
These are usually the anglers who then complain how hard the fishing is that day saying "its a bit slow!" - well no wonder! Every self respecting Trout in the vicinity has legged it!
Watercraft is essential to fishing but try not to think in simple terms of reading the river, think of it as intelligence gathering and reconnaissance - time spent blending in with the natural environment and letting nature carry on in front of you.

That's all for know. Have fun and hopefully see you soon.