not a begginer but a beginner on nymphing without training weels ;)

[mike_richardson]

I am a die hard nymph fisherman but i really get a kick out of watching the indicator go under. Weird i know but that is what trips my trigger. I want to learn the techniques necessary for faster water where the indicator is all but useless. Also i want to up my game. I want to check out the book listed on the home page but figured i would pluck the brains of the PAFF pros.

Any insight is helpful, thanks in advance

Mike

 

[McSneek]

Why do you think an indicator is useless in faster water?

 

[mike_richardson]

not useless but i think it inhibits the effectiveness the drag at the top could take you flies downstream faster than a natural drag even with perfect mending

 

[pcray1231]

I have the opposite problem, I suck at nymphing in slower water.

I very commonly use indi's in VERY fast pocket type water. Those big, deep eddies behind rocks. Fly under an indi, cast into eddy, keep throwin push mends to keep the fly line out of the fast water.

If you're actually fishing in the current, though, high sticking, indiless is the way to go. Get close, current helps you get away with it. Flat leader (so that the water grabs it more evenly and less overall). Lots of shot spread out over the leader. Fish a tight line and feel for bites like a bait fisherman does. You should be rolling bottom and be able to feel it in the rod, and it should seem like the drift is way slower than the current (but that's just the surface current!). If not, adjust weight and casting till it's right.

 

[just_jon]

Pat is 100% correct. I'm not a big fan of indicators so I was interested in a different approach (to me) I saw in George Daniel's book. He discussed a leader with a sighter (bright colored mono). The formula in the book starts with a 6-12' butt section of 20 pound Stren Blue followed by 8" of 10 pound Stren Yellow, 8" hi-vis mono( I use Jan Siman .035 bi color mono). I tie a 2mm tippet ring to the sighted to which I attach a tippet approximately times the depth of the water. I try to keep the total leader length to 12 feet. I have found it works well in both fast pocket water as well as spring creeks.

 

[MKern]

In fast water the fish does all (most of the work).
Just keep the line tight and don't be afraid to move fairly close to where you think the fish are.

If the line twitchs, stops, pauses, or anything else "unnatural" set the rod and the fish will already be hooked. Setting just sinks it in a little better.

 

[attackone]

i use a sighter and love it, my numbers have went up alot since i started to long leader czech nymph style fishing

 

[attackone]

pm sent mike

 

[osprey]

I could never get the hang of fishing with ihdicators but i came to be a fairly good nympher without em. Keeping the slack out and your eyes always open for any indication of a take , some famous trout writer once said to look for that little brown "WINK" underwater. i use lead foil from dental x-rays for weighting and you can flatten out the body to make it more real looking. ALWAYS look under the rocks where u r fishing. GOOD LUCK N HAVE FUN!!!!!!

 

[shortrod]

>> I want to learn the techniques necessary for faster water where
>> the indicator is all but useless.
>> not useless but i think it inhibits the effectiveness the drag at the
>> top could take you flies downstream faster than a natural drag
>> even with perfect mending

Try to get the indicator and fly running in the same flow so there is no difference in speed between them. I often switch my approach to facilitate such a presentation.

Employ a "Tuck Cast" to give your fly time to sink. An alternative to the "Tuck Cast" is what I call a "Slam Cast". Aim the cast so that fly, leader indicator slam together. Same result as the tuck.

 

[Shock]

Mike:

I had the goal of getting away from using a float shortly after I got the hang of nymphing. I don't claim to be an expert but some of my observations have been:

*a float greatly interfere with a tuck cast. The weight of the float makes it also tuck which takes away from your flies tucking and interferes with your accuracy.
*Especially in slower water, like on a limestone stream, a float will not detect some suptle takes as well as a sighter. I use a small spot of strike putty on one of the knots in my leader, usually about two feet from the nail knot.
*the less weight you are using to keep your fly down the more a float will interfere with your drift (ie: pulling your flies off the bottom or to the side).
*the more weight I need to use to keep my fly on the bottom, the more likely I am to need a float because the stronger current will keep trying to pull my flyline under which in turn creates more drag than using a float. The alternative is to get closer and high stick like others have suggested.

I hope this makes sense. I don't want to write a book just share some thoughts. In the end, the only way to get rid of the training wheels is to go without and you will learn what works for you and when.

Nymph fishing really boils down to presentation and strike detection both of which are often improved by eliminating the float or bobber as Joe Humphreys calls them.

Just my thoughts,

Shock