Nymph Training

[DaddyO]

I also use Tungsten beads on my nymphs. All of the info above is good info. Watch your indicator closely. It should move at about the same speed as the water around it. If it stops, bobbles, goes under, twitches or makes any other movement, set the hook. I tell all of my newbies that hook sets are cheap. They don't cost a thing.

The more you do this, the more you will recognize what movement of your indicator means. You'll know if it's a fish or if your just bumping the bottom.

Now, as far as keeping it on the bottom goes.... You'll just need to try different depths. Sometimes you'll have better luck with the fly within 6 or 8 inches of your indicator. Also, if you feel like you made a good drag free drift through a section of water, and you see fish holding in that water, make a couple of more drifts over them. If you don't get any looks or takes, change the fly. Maybe even put on a couple of different flies and see what they like.

Most of all, keep at it. Once you get the hang of it, you'll catch fish wherever you go. Good Luck.

[dgames]

I wouldn't even try to differentiate between a fish take and the bottom. If you indicator does anything unusual, gently lift the rod. If it's the bottom, cast again. You will be surprised how often what you might have thought was the bottom was actually a fish.

Amen on the importance of the drift. I almost never catch anything if I have any drag on the indicator.

Another thing I will add, is avoid having large diameter leader between your indicator and your fly. I generally like to be 4x or smaller immediately below my indicator. Thicker material below the indicator does multiple bad things. First, the larger diameter won't sink as fast. Second, the stiffness you find in the butt half of a tapered leader will mess up your drift and will also resist straightening out. Then when you do get a hit, your indicator doesn't pick up the take as quickly because of slack in the stiff line. My favorite way to indicator fish in slower water is to fish a Stimulator Dry as my indicator, tie 6x or 7x flouro to the bend of the hook, and tie a small tungsten bead head fly to the other end of the dropper. This kind of rig is incredibly sensitive to strikes. As long as you keep drag off your stimulator, you get a really good drift.

A final thought on indicator fishing - expect a strike. If you are expecting a take, you will be able to react quickly when it does happen. On the other hand, if the strike takes you by surprise, you will not react quickly, and when you set the hook, you will invariably set it too hard and break the fish off.

[Al Agnew]

I wouldn't even try to differentiate between a fish take and the bottom. If you indicator does anything unusual, gently lift the rod. If it's the bottom, cast again. You will be surprised how often what you might have thought was the bottom was actually a fish.

Amen on the importance of the drift. I almost never catch anything if I have any drag on the indicator.

Another thing I will add, is avoid having large diameter leader between your indicator and your fly. I generally like to be 4x or smaller immediately below my indicator. Thicker material below the indicator does multiple bad things. First, the larger diameter won't sink as fast. Second, the stiffness you find in the butt half of a tapered leader will mess up your drift and will also resist straightening out. Then when you do get a hit, your indicator doesn't pick up the take as quickly because of slack in the stiff line. My favorite way to indicator fish in slower water is to fish a Stimulator Dry as my indicator, tie 6x or 7x flouro to the bend of the hook, and tie a small tungsten bead head fly to the other end of the dropper. This kind of rig is incredibly sensitive to strikes. As long as you keep drag off your stimulator, you get a really good drift.

A final thought on indicator fishing - expect a strike. If you are expecting a take, you will be able to react quickly when it does happen. On the other hand, if the strike takes you by surprise, you will not react quickly, and when you set the hook, you will invariably set it too hard and break the fish off.

Great idea on keeping a small diameter leader below the indicator! I hadn't thought of that, and I think it would definitely make a difference. After all, when you're chucking and ducking nymphs with a lot of weight, it isn't classic fly casting and you don't need a nice tapered leader. I think I'll take off the leader I have on my nymphing rod and put on straight fluoro. Only thing I might do differently is go up to 3X on the main "leader" and drop to a piece of 4X tippet where my flies are. I'm not a big fan of going really light line.

I've gone over it here probably, and covered it for Jack on another board, but here's my basic nymph set-up, now modified by the straight 3X fluoro...

Straight 3X fluoro coming off the fly line, about 6-7 feet of it for Ozark streams where you're seldom fishing water that's very deep. Use a blood knot to tie an 18 inch piece of 4X fluoro tippet to the end of it. Tie on a beadhead nymph to the tippet with a palomar knot, so that the fly is about 6 inches below the knot attaching the 3X to the 4X and the rest of the piece of tippet remains as the tag end of the palomar knot. To the end of it, tie on a smaller, non-beadhead nymph. Now you've got two flies, of two different sizes, about 10 inches apart. Put on your split shot just above the knot connecting the two pieces of fluoro...the knot keeps the split shot from slipping down to the upper nymph. Attach your indicator (I'm now using Thingamabobbers exclusively...love those things because they really float well and telegraph everything that's happening down there) up pretty close to the fly line. If you're fishing a shallow riffle, less than two feet deep, you'll have to move the indicator closer to your flies, but I like it to be about twice the distance away from the flies as the depth of the water. Oh, and use plenty of weight...in fairly fast water I'm going to have on two BB split shot, in moderate current one BB. In high water and heavy current I might have three or four BB.

One other thing that I didn't see mentioned...fish the drift all the way out to the end, where the indicator stops drifting downstream and swings around. Trout very often take on the swing.

[Wayne SW/MO]

You'll catch more fish without a bobber/float/indicator. A small piece of yarn is more than enough, but nothing is even better. Learn to focus on your line and you will catch more fish. When your line hesitates, turns or changes direction when you think it shouldn't, lift.

This is also true of jerkbaits which should be starting to shine for smallies. Watch for the "tic", that's your sign.

[Trout Commander]

Great idea on keeping a small diameter leader below the indicator! I hadn't thought of that, and I think it would definitely make a difference. After all, when you're chucking and ducking nymphs with a lot of weight, it isn't classic fly casting and you don't need a nice tapered leader. I think I'll take off the leader I have on my nymphing rod and put on straight fluoro. Only thing I might do differently is go up to 3X on the main "leader" and drop to a piece of 4X tippet where my flies are. I'm not a big fan of going really light line.

I've gone over it here probably, and covered it for Jack on another board, but here's my basic nymph set-up, now modified by the straight 3X fluoro...

Straight 3X fluoro coming off the fly line, about 6-7 feet of it for Ozark streams where you're seldom fishing water that's very deep. Use a blood knot to tie an 18 inch piece of 4X fluoro tippet to the end of it. Tie on a beadhead nymph to the tippet with a palomar knot, so that the fly is about 6 inches below the knot attaching the 3X to the 4X and the rest of the piece of tippet remains as the tag end of the palomar knot. To the end of it, tie on a smaller, non-beadhead nymph. Now you've got two flies, of two different sizes, about 10 inches apart. Put on your split shot just above the knot connecting the two pieces of fluoro...the knot keeps the split shot from slipping down to the upper nymph. Attach your indicator (I'm now using Thingamabobbers exclusively...love those things because they really float well and telegraph everything that's happening down there) up pretty close to the fly line. If you're fishing a shallow riffle, less than two feet deep, you'll have to move the indicator closer to your flies, but I like it to be about twice the distance away from the flies as the depth of the water. Oh, and use plenty of weight...in fairly fast water I'm going to have on two BB split shot, in moderate current one BB. In high water and heavy current I might have three or four BB.

One other thing that I didn't see mentioned...fish the drift all the way out to the end, where the indicator stops drifting downstream and swings around. Trout very often take on the swing.

Berkley Vanish (or other flouro that comes on a big spool) is much cheaper than 3X "tippet" on the small spools. I also use the beadheaded fly as the dropper so when it anchors I don't lose contact with the other fly and spread my two flies out a little more and put the split shot between them, again, to maintain direct contact with one fly at all times, even when the split shot anchors. I also don't use a bobber (in most scenarios) and have realized that I was missing strikes while using one.

[DaddyO]

Well, my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. I have to use the strike indicator because I can't see the line anymore.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Well, my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. I have to use the strike indicator because I can't see the line anymore.

There are ways around that. A small piece of the tubing used to secure braided loops works well. Put a perfection loop in your leader 2/3rds of the way down with a 1/4" piece of the tubing behind it. It will show any movement in the leader much faster than anything larger, especially floating.

I realize that there are times when something is needed to control depth during a drift when a high stick won't work. That's the time for a big dry as an indicator in my opinion.

[Al Agnew]

To each his own. I've done quite a bit of tight line nymphing. It works well if you can get close to the fish. If you have to make a cast long enough that you can't keep your line off the water by high-sticking, an indicator works better. If you're fishing a smooth surface flat with gentle current, a dry and dropper is my choice. But mainly I keep the indicator on even if I'm fishing close, I just keep the line off the water down to the indicator. Another good thing about using an indicator is I find it makes it much easier to fish longer drifts. I can make a cast well upstream, take in line as it drifts toward me, and let out line with little up and down mends as it drifts on down below. The indicator tells me if I'm getting a good drift the whole way.

[dgames]

To each his own. I've done quite a bit of tight line nymphing. It works well if you can get close to the fish. If you have to make a cast long enough that you can't keep your line off the water by high-sticking, an indicator works better. If you're fishing a smooth surface flat with gentle current, a dry and dropper is my choice. But mainly I keep the indicator on even if I'm fishing close, I just keep the line off the water down to the indicator. Another good thing about using an indicator is I find it makes it much easier to fish longer drifts. I can make a cast well upstream, take in line as it drifts toward me, and let out line with little up and down mends as it drifts on down below. The indicator tells me if I'm getting a good drift the whole way.

Exactly my thoughts as well. Love the longgggg drifts you can get with indicators or dry/droppers.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Exactly my thoughts as well. Love the longgggg drifts you can get with indicators or dry/droppers.

You like that use a spinning rod with light line and you can really get looooooooggggggg drifts.