We videotaped Arctic graylingThymallus arcticusfeeding on largeDaphnia middendorffianadrifting at different water velocities in an experimental stream with and without stream debris. The angle and distance at which fish first located each prey was determined from the videotapes. Both measures were affected by stream velocity and added debris. Location distance was unchanged at the lower velocities (11.6 and 32.3 cm/s) but declined at higher velocities. However, prey encounter rate increased up to water velocities of 45.8 cm/s, and thus water velocity compensated for reduced search area. Added debris always shortened location distance and decreased location angle. These findings have implications for position choice in streams and search strategies.