Is there any way to insure the indicator you are using does not spook the fish? And how about when the flies are entering the water? Does that effect anything? And what else should I know about fishing with indicators? Because, I have been having some trouble with it lately.

fwiw

i exclusively use thingamabobbers in white... resembles oxygenated water, but that makes no sense because I only use an indicator in frog water. Either way, small thingy in white. The large ones slide on smaller tippets and make those annoying kinks. I have not tried the new version of them yet.

I say high stick it or dont waste your time... if its a flat, I'm up top

Gaeronf ,

If you are spooking fish using an indicator my bet is that it is probably not a good place to use one (low clear water , high clear water ) they are a good tool if you know when and how to use them. They do create shadows when the sun is out and this will spook fish if the water is clear , some hit the water hard and if it is a shallow pool with little to no current it will spook fish in that case to . Its too hard to tell over the computer if the place u were fishing is the right place for an indicator although there are guys on here that will disagree . try a dry dropper or nymph without an indicator . My best advice to you Gaeronf is to purchase George Daniel's book called Dynamic nymphing !!!! It will cover all the bases by an author whos reputation speaks for itself !

Instead of an indicator use an easy to see parachute, elk hair caddis or if it is summer time use a foam hopper and then drop a nymph of the back end to desired length

The yarn indicators spook the least amount of fish.

Yes, flies and indis hitting the water spook fish, so does your line.

This is a big reason I fish only the fast water.

the plus with yarn indicators is that if they go under water you can still see them and they will still indicate strikes.

Gaeron,
My guess would be, if you're spooking fish.....that the reason is much more likely your approach rather than the indicator. Are you sure you haven't cast your shadow over the fish or alerted them with wading/footsteps etc? I'd be sure to try to solidly answer these questions before moving to the possibility that your strike indicator is spooking fish. If you're confident the indicator is the problem, there are some remedies. Certainly, go to a smaller, lighter indicator or move it further up the leader away from the flies. Or, as others have suggested, use a floating fly as indicator. Or lose the indicator completely and watch the line. If I am sight nymphing to a specific fish (this is essentially the definition of "sightnymphing") I will often remove the strike indicator.

With respect to your fly hitting the water - I think this is more likely to spook fish. Try to get your flies to hit further upstream from where you think the fish are and you can minimize this. You might also consider using less weight as added split shots can really increase the "plunk" you make when casting.

I also exclusively use the small thingamabobers as indicators, as they are just so convenient. However, I use all of the available colors, and notice no difference in success. I rarely witness fish being spooked from the indicator unless I cast it directly over them. I spook a lot more fish with my approach. In fact, I often get rising strikes on my thingamabober, at which point I quickly take off my nymph and tie on a dry. This just supports what others have said above, that a nice high floating dry fly would be a much better indicator. I just usually prefer the convenience of being able to change the depth at which I fish easily with the thingamabober. That isn't as easy to do with a dry dropper.

I always use the white or the clear small thingamabobbers for the reason that someone suggested earlier, that they look like water bubbles. Seems like a valid argument to me. However, I wish I had $1 for everytime a fish rose and struck my orange,yellow, or pink thingamabber. My remedy for this is a nice fat size 8-12 bright orange or pink foam beetle.

someone posted a video about yarn vs. thingamabobbers and it was video'd under water while fishing over cutthroats the yarn did suprisingly better

I use thingamabobbers exclusively in all colors. I have success with all colors! He!!, trout come up and bite them all-time!

I'm new here but have been fly fishing for a few years now and I'm with the moderator (fishidiot) that if it's the indicator that's an issue, lose it completely or go to a dropper setup with a good dry as your indicator. The dry fly also helps if you're not sure what the fish will be biting. And when you loose the indicator, you can control the nymph with short tugs at the line to make it look 'alive', or the bouncing against the rocks will help with that, but if you have an indicator it keeps that nymph at only one position in the water and it could be the wrong position. Anyways, just my experiences, and I could be wrong. :D

I use both thingamabobbers and yarn type and like both but for clear and shallow water the yarn tends to work better. I have tried fishing without indicators a few times but I miss to many fish unless I can see them hit.

Most effective nymph fishing is done right on the bottom. Although not easy, force yourself to learn how to fish and feel a nymph rolling along the bottom without the aid of an indicator. Watch the leader where it enters the water for any sudden movements.

The reason i like to avoid indicators is because the velocity of the water on the surface is different than on the bottom or elsewhere in the water column and indicators can create subsurface drag. And if you must use an indicator, a dry fly is better than anything else.

I think fish can be spooked by indicators in clear, slow moving water or pools when they splash down. Going smaller or using dry flies as mentioned helps. Casting well upstream of the fish lies to avoid the close landing of the indicator works. I used to use thingamabobbers but have ditched them in favor of floatmasters. You can move the floatmaster without curling or kinking your line and I use mostly white if there is white foam or bubbles on the water. But really, I am trying to slowly wean myself off them as I feel the same as what others have posted. Although to get across and back into those edies and slowmoving water when fishing across varying currents I find the indys are very effective.

Since reading George Daniel's book, I have been nymph fishing exclusively using a sighter built into my leader. Leaders are simple to tie (6' 20 lb Blue Stren, 6" 10 lb Yellow Stren, 6-8" Jan Siman .35mm bicolor strike indicator, 2mm Tippet ring, 24" fluorocarbon).

My fishing is primarily done on Cumberland Valley spring creeks so I was skeptical how the fish in this clear water would respond to the sighter. After about 10 outings using this setup, I can report that it has not bothered the fish in the least and has definitely made me a better nymph fisherman. I am able to pivk up subtle takes that i would have nissed. When you can identify the take of a 3" chub, you know you've got a winner.