[easymends]

All the posts about indicators lead me to write a quick tutorial about my trout indicator setup. I have experimented with all kinds of various methods and in the past year, have come to really like this one for trout and or steelhead if that is your thing. I truly love to nymph fish and this method has really helped me land fish in all types of scenarios and is just a guideline if you are looking at alternative ways to accomplish nymphing, its by no means the only way so read along if you wish.

First, I start with 20-30 pound Maxima in a length of 12-16 inches. This "butt section" can be looped onto your fly line if your line has a factory or home made loop or you can simply nail knot the section to the end of your fly line, either way seems to work just fine. At the end of the butt section, I tie a non slip mono loop knot and always roll with a Thingamabobber. The loop allows freedom of the indicator and you dont have to worry about it moving up or down on the leader like you would if it was attached to a tapered leader. I notice I detect more strikes because the indicator isnt directly attached to the leader.

For my actual leader I use a straight piece of mono or flurocarbon. Using a straight section is much better for the flies getting down as a tapered leader has too much thickness in the butt section. This piece can vary depending on depth, somewhere from 5-7 feet is the norm. I attach this to the loop via a clinch or uni knot, your favorite knot will work just fine.

Attached to the end of my straight piece of mono or fluoro is my tippet. I like a blood or triple surgeons knot. Above that knot will go my split shot. To my tippet my first fly.

Just thought I would share my setup. Would love to hear your ways of nymphing and comments.

Tight lines.

Todd

 

[Wayne Kohan]

Nice setup Todd. My big complaint about thingamabobbers and some of the other indicators is that they tend to kink your line. My only issue is that with your set up, you have to add or subtract line, that is tie more knots, to change the depth of your drift.

I have become fond of the quick release type of indicators. They float high and are streamlined for casting. They don't kink the line so much, especially if you use them by threading just the indicator on the line and then securing with the plastic stem, instead of putting the line through the stem.

I too enjoy nymphing, both with and without an indicator. I enjoy chironomid fishing as well, though far from expert at it. It is fun to catch fish on dries, but nymph fishing is a blast when you get it dialed in.


Wayne

 

[Old Man]

Well I guess that I do it the old fashioned way. I put my Thingambobber at the top and about 6 feet down I tie on my tippet. Above that knot I stick on a bb weight. On my tippet is my first fly and I do the next tippet off the bend. I use aboput 16 more inches of tippet and that is where I put on my bottom nymph..

I usually start out with a soft hackle and a zebra nymph at the bottom. That worked real nice for me on the Beaverhead last winter.

There are several different ways they do it here in Montana. But I do it the way that is easy for me.

Jim

 

[sroffe]

I suppose if you know the exact depth you want to then that's OK. You're going to limit your self on adjusting your fly depth though.

I haven't dead drifted a nymph to much in my fishing career, but, I noticed two things using that thingamabobber. Keep it close to the fly line. Double wrap your leader around the post.

 

[luv2fly2]

i do it like old man. the advantage is you can change the depth easily. but i had a new one happen. while fighting a large steelie in the ringold area my leader broke at the thingabobber. never had it happen before. it is a wierd feeling to watch the bobber float away and wonder how big the fish was. mike w

 

[poirierpro]

I guess I'm not very smart...cause I dont understand the purpose of this setup. If "kinking" your leader is that big of a deal then why wouldnt you just use that same thick butt section to put your bobber on then use a loop to loop connection from there to your straight mono? The method you use means you have to snip the bobber off everytime you break down your rod...right? And most obviously you can't adjust depth...

 

[thestallion]

Yeah. similar depth fishing water=good system. Changing depth=pain in the ass.

 

[13223]

I've always done fine with a floating line or sink tip and a 5 - 9 ft leader with a fly on the end of it.

Check out this item! It seems to be ideal for what you all are trying to accomplish. It is super easy to see, attaches quickly, and is quick and easy to adjust the depth.

http://www.faqs.org/photo-dict/photofiles/list/1682/2233fishing_bobber.jpg

 

[SilverFly]

While I don't typically use an indi (not a "judgement" thing) I might have a suggestion to help with the variable depth issue. When I use shot I'll tie a short tag of mono to the leader with a uni-knot. When tied properly, with the right line diameters this knot remains fairly secure, yet can be adjusted up/down the leader without damage. The benefit is that you can adjust your effective shot-to-fly leader length very quickly, even on a cast to cast basis. This comes in handy when working through a section with lots of variation in current and depth. A secondary benefit is if your shot hangs up it will usually pull off before breaking the leader (I'd suggest using non-toxic tin or tungsten shot for this reason.) Also works well with a tool fly if you prefer going shotless. Haven't tried it, but don't see any reason a uni tag shouldn't work just as well with an indicator. Allowing you to adjust your effective depth range by sliding the uni-knot up/down the butt section.

While I don't have problem with indicators, I do think they can be limiting in that you are forced to dead-drift while using one. There are lots of situations where you might be dead-drifting a slot, work through it and find it opens up into a pool or run where you want to hang the fly to hang in the current or let it swing (gulp, can't believe I said that .) Hmm, maybe using loop at the end of your indicator tag would allow removing it easily for such situations?

 

[Panhandle]

Way too complicated and unnecessary. As mentioned above, being able to adjust you indicator is key, especially when fishing out of a boat. As well, you have limited yourself from the easibility of jumping to swinging and dryflying because you can't remove your indi with cutting leader. All one must simply do to resolve all of this is to pinch a loop near you butt section, run the loop through the eye of the indi, and pull the indi back through the created hole and tada! I assume this is what most people do. Regardless, you can move you indi and take it off as simply as you put it on without cutting line.