Indicator Position

[Trout Commander]

Oh boy JDC...now you done gone and done it......

The first time I drifted right in front of me to watch my rig I didn't even think of catching a boot bumper but sure enough, one went for it. My rod hit the water surface so hard and fast it spooked the fish and it took the slack out so quick it didn't come unbuttoned for a few seconds. I immediately looked around to make sure no one had saw as if I had narrowly avoided a slip and fall by flailing my arms about. I was so embarrassed by what others would think and found it comical to myself because I knew my intentions at the same time. Kind of like the time, before I had any casting rhythm, and my back cast still into the water and I foul hooked a stocker on my forward cast. I thought I had snagged a rock at first .

[FishinCricket]

If you use a couple split shot, not only can you position your indicator considerably lower, but your flies will also get to the desired depth quicker and stay there longer.

And if you attach all of that to an ultralight you'd be all set! No need in wearing your arm out slinging that (2-4 oz) bobber setup around all day...

I was so embarrassed by what others would think

And yet you still flyfish?

[flytyer57]

The first time I drifted right in front of me to watch my rig I didn't even think of catching a boot bumper but sure enough, one went for it. My rod hit the water surface so hard and fast it spooked the fish and it took the slack out so quick it didn't come unbuttoned for a few seconds. I immediately looked around to make sure no one had saw as if I had narrowly avoided a slip and fall by flailing my arms about. I was so embarrassed by what others would think and found it comical to myself because I knew my intentions at the same time. Kind of like the time, before I had any casting rhythm, and my back cast still into the water and I foul hooked a stocker on my forward cast. I thought I had snagged a rock at first .

This reminds me of the first time I went fly fishing. I was fishing for steelhead. I went to make a backcast and low and behold, I had hooked a 6" sucker. Well, on my backcast, that little sucker come flying out of the water and landed a good 30' behind me.

[Gavin]

Nymphing is a constant process of change...add or remove weight, adjust the distance between your shot & your fly, adjust your leader lengh longer or shorter, fish with an indi, or without...Every spot on the river is different. Cheers.

[stlfisher]

This reminds me of the first time I went fly fishing. I was fishing for steelhead. I went to make a backcast and low and behold, I had hooked a 6" sucker. Well, on my backcast, that little sucker come flying out of the water and landed a good 30' behind me.

I have tossed quite a few bluegill over my shoulder that way...always feel kind bad when I can't find them.

As far as indicator goes I setup what I think will work, watch it drift a few times, and then adjust accordingly. I don't like spilt shot so I weight my nymph's quite heavily when I tie them, but my buddy uses split shot often. It all works depending in your preference.

[ozark trout fisher]

If you use a couple split shot, not only can you position your indicator considerably lower, but your flies will also get to the desired depth quicker and stay there longer.

I got ya. But the flip side of that is you can't let the fly hang in the current below you if you're using split shot. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you fish out the swing you'll pick up a lot of fish that way. But then sometimes dredging with a lot of weight is the way to go- I'm kind of biased because I'm prefer not to chuck and duck if I can avoid it.It takes a lot of the fun out of it for me.

Chuck and duck nymphing is one of those things that I'm fine with when it's working, but gets old pretty darn quick when it's slow. The fly cast is an important part of it for me.

[Mitch f]

And if you attach all of that to an ultralight you'd be all set! No need in wearing your arm out slinging that (2-4 oz) bobber setup around all day...

And yet you still flyfish?

These guys speak a language unknown to me, I agree cricket! Their process reminds me of an old algebra teacher of mine that was so excited about the equation and couldn't give 4 f****ks about the result.

[flytyer57]

These guys speak a language unknown to me, I agree cricket! Their process reminds me of an old algebra teacher of mine that was so excited about the equation and couldn't give 4 f****ks about the result.

Time to learn.

The end result is another challenging way to catch fish.

It's not as hard as it looks. I learned how, sorta.

And you don't have to become one of those elitist snobs either. I sure as hell heck didn't.

[Mitch f]

Time to learn.

The end result is another challenging way to catch fish.

It's not as hard as it looks. I learned how, sorta.

And you don't have to become one of those elitist snobs either. I sure as hell heck didn't.

I just don't have time anymore to learn anything new. I certainly don't think you're an elitist snob. If this whole invasive species thing keeps getting worse, we won't have anything to talk about in 10 years anyway. So it will all be a moot point quicker than we think.

[Al Agnew]

I tend to tailor my water to my nymph rig. What I mean by that is that I simply won't use a regular nymph rig in some types of water, especially the slower runs. In that water my smallmouth fishing roots come into play and I'll put on a streamer and fish it aggressively.

So most of my nymph fishing is done in faster water, 1-5 ft. deep. I am a firm believer in weight. I want my weight ticking the bottom, with the strike indicator being carried a little faster by the current so that it's always downstream of the nymphs. The faster the water, the more weight I'll use, but one or two BB size split shot is my usual amount of weight. The way I rig is, I'll tie on a piece of tippet to the end of my leader, about 18 inches in length. My split shot goes on just above the knot, so that the knot keeps it from every sliding on down to the nymphs. Then I tie on the topmost nymph about 6 inches below the knot, using a palomar knot so that the last 12 inches of the tippet is the tag end of the knot. Then I tie on the second nymph at the end of that long tag end. The leader is usually 7.5 ft., and I put the strike indicator about 4 feet up from the split shot if I'm fishing the shallower, faster water, and up to 7 ft. above the shot if I'm going to be drifting through deeper water.

If the fish don't seem to be feeding on the bottom, instead of an ordinary nymph rig I'll use a big dry fly with a small nymph and a very small piece of shot for a dropper, usually 2-3 feet below the dry fly. This is my alternate rig for those slow, smooth runs.