Seeing The Fly

[Paulson]

I have noticed when fishing a small nymph or midge, I just cannot see the fly. Does it come with time? any tips? I don't use a strike indicator and I do use polarized sunglasses.

 

[osprey]

You are not always going to be able to see the fly , you said you were fishing nymphs , which most of the time are supposed to sink and bounce along the bottom , to detect a strike when you can's see the fly the first thing is to keep as much slack out of your line as you can by mending it and often it's during the mend when you will feel the take , also watch the line for any movement or if your line stops in current etc. Hope this helps GOOD LUCK

 

[dryflyguy]

I'm assuming you're fishing these dry.
And midges can be very hard to see some times - depends on how close to it you are, and the way the glare is on the water.
Often have the same problem when fishing ants and beetles too.

What I do is watch closely where the fly lands - and if I can't see it, I just lift the rod if I see any rise in that area of the stream.

I was really having trouble seeing even larger flies a few years ago. Then, at my next eye exam, I found out I needed distance correction added to my prescription glasses

 

[Paulson]

Yes, I am fishing them dry.

I am still learning to mend the line better, I can see how it helps. I was also ever so slowly pulling in the slack to match the drift of the water. Today I missed a few because I had delayed sets on the hook because of too much (if I were to blame it on anything but myself ) . I generally just follow to end of the floating line and watch that as my indication, I refuse to use a strike indicator just because.

Thank you guys!

 

[osprey]

dryflyguy............i agree that when fishing dry flys when i lose sight of the fly any rise that i see will bring a set the hook response , the fly sometimes is nowhere near where i think it is and more often than not in that situation i get hooked up for sure you got that right.

 

[sroach]

I am glad you brought up this topic, I am thinking about it last time I floating some ants.

I kind of do the same thing Paulson said, I try and watch several feet behind my fly line and pull up on any rise near it.

 

[pcray1231]

Yeah, seeing small, dark colored dries is difficult. A lot of it is in casting, you learn where it "should" be and focus on that area, and strike on any rise. This is the case with even larger, brighter flies at dusk, so learning the art is helpful.

Agree with dryfly that you gotta do your best to see it when it lands. If you see it, you can focus on it and follow it. But when you lose it, it's exceedingly difficult to find it again.

The biggest problem with not seeing it, for me, is that you don't know if it's floating or sunk, experiencing drag or not, etc. You don't know what you need to adjust.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Anyone try tying it off the bend of an EHC or something like that? When I fish tricos, I usually tie it off of a more visible fly.

 

[ryguyfi]

Sometimes when fishing VERY small flies, I take some strike putty and put a small amount on my first blood knot up from the fly. Not enough to negatively adjust my casting, but enough to know approx. where my fly is.

 

[Paulson]

Pcray, that what it seems like. I was able to see the fly get on to the water and judged the speed of the water. But is is hard to know if your snagged up something seriously or during this time of year if it is a leaf. That's just fly fishing.

Sasquatch, I havn't started doing dropper rigs just yet, I'm working on may casting and hook sets. I want to get that down before I'm tangled around two flies and leaders.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

ryguyfi wrote:
Sometimes when fishing VERY small flies, I take some strike putty and put a small amount on my first blood knot up from the fly. Not enough to negatively adjust my casting, but enough to know approx. where my fly is.

Yeah. Same kind of ideas as to why I put on the EHC. Only difference is, I'm extending my tippet by doing this, so I have to take that into account.

 

[Paulson]

Speaking of extended tippet (giggidy), I've found I like using a 9ft leader (in most situations) with at least 4 ft of tippet. If I were to use a dropper, I'd use the depth of the water for the additional tippet.

 

[osprey]

Something i don't understand is you say you are fishing nymphs as dry flies. Please if you would explain what you mean , do you mean actually floating on the surface or do you mean just below the surface in the film? Midges as dry flys , yep , do it alot with some great success , you can catch some big trout on very small flies. I never heard of anyone fishing nymphs as actual dry flies , emerging imitations , yeah , but i thought nymphs were supposed to be fished somewhere below the surface. Also if i can ask what is giggidy? Is it a type of floatent?

 

[The_Sasquatch]

giggidy was just a pop culture reference that a certain dirty character on a certain dirty cartoon says anything someone says something that resembles something dirty. I guess, "extended tippet" sounded dirty ;-)

I think the "I fish them as dry" was in reference to the midges.

 

[osprey]

Squatch.............are you Paulsons lawyer? jk

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I'm no one's lawyer!

 

[Paulson]

I'll have him sue you Osprey!

I think I misunderstood what he had said, I am definitely fishing them sub surface along the bottom.

 

[Stagger_Lee]

I have a very hard time following the fly, especially the small and/or darker ones. That is intensified when if I forget to throw in my contacts. Someone mentioned tricos .. fished them once for an AM in July and couldn't follow them at all.

How do you fish a midge "dry'? Aren't they tied to stay under h2o?

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Paulson wrote:
Yes, I am fishing them dry.

I am still learning to mend the line better, I can see how it helps. I was also ever so slowly pulling in the slack to match the drift of the water. Today I missed a few because I had delayed sets on the hook because of too much (if I were to blame it on anything but myself ) . I generally just follow to end of the floating line and watch that as my indication, I refuse to use a strike indicator just because.

Thank you guys!

If you are going to nymph fish at any distance where you cannot high stick you should use some sort of a strike indicator. You will catch more fish.

 

[dryflyguy]

Stagger_Lee wrote:
I have a very hard time following the fly, especially the small and/or darker ones. That is intensified when if I forget to throw in my contacts. Someone mentioned tricos .. fished them once for an AM in July and couldn't follow them at all.

How do you fish a midge "dry'? Aren't they tied to stay under h2o?

You can tie them to fish dry or wet - just like another aquatic insect. And the fish certainly do take them on the surface