I teach the guys to only bring their hand far enough back that their hand is straight up and their rod tip is also straight up and neither is behind their shoulder. Indicator nymphing is when you present a fly below a small float. I know that changing leaders is a pain to many anglers, So Ill suggest the method outlined here: READ: Troutbitten | Get Me Back to My Fly Line and here . . It is a system that I use a lot, and it's very . That should get you started on your way to better indicator nymphing. Early on, I understood how critical leader design is. If my flies are getting down into the strike zone and I cover the water properly I should get a bite. This is one of the key principles in the Mono Rig and most tight line nymphing leaders: just one diameter of tippet is under the water. This means that as soon as your fly hits the water you need to mend the fly line upriver and above the indicator so that the line doesnt pull and drag the indicator and then the fly prematurely. Once you cast your indicator into the water and the fly sinks most guys dont have a clue where their fly is or how to control their leader angles, and most guys dont even know why they need to know this. You might have even heard of micro drag. With Euro nymphing, no indicator is used. Ive never liked trying to make one leader do everything, either. For reference, here are the other two leaders: Troutbitten Standard Mono Rig Harvey Dry Fly Leader. To do this well you need to set up your leader right, you need to mend your fly line right and then you need to control the angle of your leader below the indicator. Therefore I wont use them or recommend them. Hook sets are not free. Trout are not much different than most wild animals. I tell my clients that as soon as the fly hits the water you need to set yourself up for a good drift. This nymphing leader setup uses a Sighter which is a colored piece of tippet. If you are interested in competition-style nymphing or euro nymphing its not uncommon to use a nymphing leader that is double the length of the rod or as long as 40 feet. Normally, I change to whatever leader suits the tactic that Im using most. Thats it! Thank you. Getting your fly down faster puts in into the strike zone faster and for longer which can increase your chance for more fish. Fly Fishing Strategies, Nymphing, Tactics. Hes a great one to do that. In my opinion, which is based on tens of thousands of hours of watching my clients and other anglers fish and through my own fishing trial and error, the number one thing that you need to do is control the speed of your fly when you are nymphing. And so if you want to be put in contact with PJ, just let us know. That is why you need to control the speed of your indicator if you want to start catching more fish. You may not see the drag, but its there at the fly level. And be nice. It should be a lot of fun trying out a mono rig on the waters I mentioned. Graham, thanks for sharing these invaluable insights; really great stuff! About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . . Because I can see the speed, drag or curling of the leader by watching the sighter on the water, it helps me to know if and when I should mend the line. Tight Lines,if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'troutandsteelhead_net-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_1',111,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-troutandsteelhead_net-large-mobile-banner-1-0'); Your email address will not be published. I prefer to mount the indicator on a 24 inch section of 3X, sliding it up and down within those two feet to adjust for depth. would a simple double/triple surgeons knot work or should I use a blood knot as I did with the upper leader construction? This nymphing leader setup is 10 feet long and is ideal for fishing spots 7 feet or less. I fish for wild brown trout in the cool limestone waters of Central Pennsylvania year round. Guide Tip: Guys that repeatedly move their strike indicators throughout the drift when they mend rarely catch a lot of fish, so dont move your strike indicator unless you are moving it to improve your presentation. In such places, I may prefer to punch shorter leaders around with tight casts and fly line. Its just a perfection loop. Since 2014 and 900+ articles deepTroutbitten is a free resource for all anglers.Your support is greatly appreciated. If you have a question, comment, or an idea about the nymphing leader setup let me and other readers know in the comments section below. With Euro nymphing, you are not locked into fishing one depth throughout the enter drift like you are with an indicator. And without a doubt, the drift suffers. Mending simply means repositioning the fly line to get a better drift. I have argued the fact that Euro Nymphing methods are much better than traditional indicator nymphing or high stick nymphing methods with other veteran guides. It is a good method of fishing nymphs for steelhead if you're a beginner or an experienced angler. Thats just my preference, but you asked. . Its easy to watch for the colored line, behind the indicator, and keep it off the waters surface as much as possible. We want the Indy to be slidable and on a piece of tippet that will be fine under the water. Remember drag? At greater distances, when the leader must lay on the water, I can often see the sighter on the surface. The Raven float model that I use is the Fast Current Shallow Depthmodel which is also known as the FS float. GUIDE TIP For mending purposes, its much better to have the upper leader and the fly line float high. Hi James, I use a general-purpose weight forward floating line for most nymph fishing situations. This is my home, and I love it. Think about it this way, if you cast a metal lure like a spoon into a lake and you dont reel it in it will sink almost straight down. The knot will prevent the weight from sliding down to the bottom fly. Mike had landed on a common phrase that usually triggers a response from me. In your leader formula it looks like you put the tippet ring on after the sighter and then the 2 section of 3x were the indicator mounts. The one change to the leader that will let you fish additional rigs is a simple 12" section of 3x tippet between the sighter and the tippet ring. Thanks. Other formulas indicate that 75% is the optimum butt diameter, but in either case, a leader butt of .017" to .022" satisfies most any formula. And just like butt section diameters, it matters. And if youre fishing indys, build these three parts into your leader. Most anglers use standard fly shop leaders and place the indicator at whatever depth necessary to reach the bottom. You can feel fish bite, and you can feel the bottom. The only time I mend downriver is if my fly line is stuck in really slow or still water in close to me and the current out where the strike indicator is moving faster. I have seen trout do both of these things. Beyond that is the 4X or 5X fluorocarbon (where I attach the nymphs). Take a fresh look at why you are choosing your flies, your leaders, your fly rods and your tactics. Your email address will not be published. In faster and deeper currents I use a longer piece-up to about 8 feet-so that they flies can get down quickly and ride the bottom. I have an in-depth page on what the best indicators are for different types of river conditions. Your email address will not be published. As my clients get better I recommend increasing the length of the leader about 2 feet at a time until its around 16 to 18 feet. But in shallow clear water when a super stealthy presentation is required, these indicators cant be beat, and therefore if you ever fish that kind of water you should have some of these on hand. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. We participate in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. . I honestly believe that anglers think that if they fish a spot and they dont catch a fish then there is just no trout in that spot, or that the trout in that spot just isnt bitting. The nymphing leader setups that Ill discuss here are the same nymphing leader steups that these experts use and that I use when Im fishing and guiding. They are not always where you think they are and if you fish only the most obvious spots you may be missing a lot of fish. Three elements make this leader specifically designed for indicator nymphing: butt section, sighter (colored line section) and 3X fluorocarbon. I used to teach 7 different nymphing methods in my advanced nymph classes and some used indicators and some didnt. If you are into building your own nymphing leaders its much easier than you think and you can make them as long as you need. Your email address will not be published. The .012 section in the middle of a taper takes nearly twice the force of .007 (the diameter of 4X). And 3X or 4X can take a hell of a lot more abuse than 5X. The reason I fish it this way is that in this particular trout river I have caught many big brown trout over 20 inches sitting beside the rocks, in front of the rocks, and even out in open water sitting in 10 to 20 inches of water. A simple piece of colored monofilament built into the leader provides a wealth of information about the leaders position in the drift and about the flies at the end of the line. Ive never used tippet rings or sighters so I am trying to understand the advantage of putting the indicator in front of the tippet ring and not behind it on the sighter. Hi Dom, Great work with this blog the quality of substance and thoughtful analysis are both consistently very impressive. Because I am an expert at both types of methods and understand both methods equally well, I can honestly say that Euro nymphing is much more productive in many river fishing situations than indicator nymphing or traditional high stick nymphing. For more information on Euro Nymphing check out my page Euro Nymphing: An Expert Euro Guide Explains or Euro Nymphing Steelhead: Everything You Need To Know. 6-inch tags have fewer problems with tangles. Drag simply means pulling on the indicator, or the pulling of the line or the fly. There are a lot of strike indicators on the market and most will help you detect a bite from a fish because that is what strike indicators were originally designed to do and thats what most anglers use them for, but . You can see it on this YouTube Video HERE. Knowing where your fly is can help you control your angles, which keeps your fly down, and it can control your speed which can greatly increase your success and it can help you detect more bites. Yes. Thought Id try some bigger streamers on it. Your email address will not be published. The red canof Mucilinalso works well, and so doesLoons Payette Pastewhich is available in many stores. When you cast an indicator and fly, as soon as it hits the water the current immediately starts to pull your indicator, just like as if you were reeling it in, and this slows the descent for your fly because of the angle of descent. If you are constantly hitting bottom you will drag your fly below their heads and you will also get no fish, and you will probably lose a bunch of flies in the process. Cant wait to get started. This nymphing leader system is a far more effective way of fishing nymphs under an indicator, versus using standard tapered leaders. Dom, Are you attaching the butt section to the mono rig or to your flyline? . I often tell new anglers to mend as soon or just before your fly line catches up to your indicator. Read our full disclosure HERE. So, the entire leader is, essentially, 4x tippet, which sinks super fast and impedes the movement of the nymphs minimally. Likewise, when using a dry leader, I occasionally clip off the dry and add a nymph. Most anglers and guides have no clue on how to stop it or minimize it but I do and using the right type of indicator helps a lot. Keep the leader off the water stay tight to the suspender. Using the Raven floats I can easily get a good idea of where my fly is. The entire leader should be around 11 to 13 feet long and the lower tippet section should be 36 to 46 inches long for most rivers in the 3 to 7-foot deep range. Each leader has a specific description. Note: I prefer to use the Mucilin over the Payette Paste but unfortunately, Mucilin goes rock hard in the winter so you cant use it. And thank you. A sighter is more than a strike indicator. This is a tip that helps my clients go from a few trout a day to an average of 20 or 30 trout a day. Make that knot strong, don't half-ass it. Other than the initial first mend where I will mend the fly line, and the leader and the indicator to get my fly down faster, each mend after that I wont move my indicator at all. Hi Dalton. See this mend in this YouTube Video -HERE, Another mend that I use a lot especially when my strike indicator is too far for the lift and drop mend to work is called shoot mending or stack mending. Things like that, FTW! I really like oval and bi-color indicators because their football shape and the bi-color helps me teach anglers about angles, speed control, and where their fly is. Drag is the pulling of your indicator, your line, or your fly. Both can really help you control the speed of your fly and learning how to do this could 10 times your success. Also, this is something thats confused me about centerpin rigging as well; as they use the same overall idea (the beads/eggs ahead of the float). When indicator nymphing the best strike indicators will also improve your presentation and help you catch more fish. I tell my clients that when the fly goes into the fishs mouth you only need to set hard and fast enough to move that fly 2 inches. What knot do you use to connect the 3x indicator tippet section to the 4x nymph section of tippet. Thank you all, for a wonderful 2022 season! I dont know if you can see that here. When the fly is close, I set shorter, when my fly is 50 feet down the river I will set much harder with a longer hookset stroke. You can also buy the wool and the tools atFishUSA.com HEREif(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'troutandsteelhead_net-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_5',110,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-troutandsteelhead_net-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); To see how to use this indicator go to the officialNew Zealand Strike Indicator website. A good nymphing leader setup can be used for multiple types of nymphing. The Sighter helps you gauge your flys depth and speed better than without it. One of my go-to modifications is to add an indicator to the Mono Rig. READ: Troutbitten | Loop to Loop Is Bad Try Attaching Your Leaders This Way. Sighters are commonly used with tight line nymphing leaders but arent so common beyond that. And then next, Im going to do about five or six feet of floor carbon. Note: I know many anglers prefer to nymph with 5x or even 6x. And then we got about three feet, three or four feet of that Maxima. When fishing in close my hookset is often nothing more than just using my wrist with barely any elbow movement at all. If you do it right, good indicator nymphing will also improve your presentation so you will catch more fish. Indicator nymphing works because it allows you to suspend your fly off the bottom and makes it easier to detect fish bites. The idea, though, is to keep the diameters as close as possible, so the currents influence is close to even on the two different lines. Get close and go get em. I call 2 flies, some weights, and an indicator a lot of junk on the line, and junk tangles and can become a mess very quickly with the wrong cast. Its a compromise. Speed control and presentation are why methods like Euro nymphing (done well) cant be beaten. You should always know approximately where your fly is, its important. Im not a fan of the coiled sighter. Euro, weight forward, or double taper?Thanks. You can see more of them on my page Best Indicators For Fly Fishing. If youre fishing in shallow water, like I said, you have a three or four foot adjustable section where your barber can go and that that thick section will help turn over the flies and then down here you have the floor carbon faster, sink rate, a little bit more invisible to the fish. Ill also use longer leaders for bigger rivers or when steelhead fishing. Your support is what keeps this Troutbitten project funded. And be sure that youve thought through both the benefits and the consequences inherent. With it and a long mono leader, I feel prepared for most situations I encounter. Twenty pound (.017) Maxima Chameleon is stiff material that lays flat once stretched. I enjoy and learn a lot reading them.Thanks again.Nick. Hi-Nymph Leader for shallow water nymphing, spooky fish that are indicator shy. But I have since determined that indicators are not always the best method of nymphing. When building your nymphing leader with a Sighter, I use the Pink-Chartreuse Rio Two-Toned Indicator Tippet which you can get at Bass Pro Shops HERE or at FishUSA.com HERE. Would really love to hear your thoughts about this! If your strike indicator drags, twitches, or pulls under and then pops up quickly you probably just hit the bottom. Maybe there was something I missed or something that works for you. If you dont have one of these indicators put two round ones on the leader, one about 4 to 6 inches above the other, just know which one is closest to the fly line. Not here. Domenick, do you sell your leaders anywhere? The standard nymphing leader set-up for trout is pretty simple. Hi. If you are fishing rivers where most of the spots are 2 to 4 feet deep you will want a shorter nymphing leader of 10 to 12 feet. Start with a loop. Leader formula: Butt section, mid section and tippet section. But then this this is going to be, you know, you choose your choose your strength 68, 10 depending on water conditions and fisher fishing too. Im not saying to just move your fly 2 inches on every hook set, what Im saying is that all it takes to get that hook into the fish is a short hook set and that you be mindful of how much power you use. Let me know in the comments below. Swivels or tippit rings??? Thanks for sharing! When our rod tip is out in front of you, so is your hand, when you set the hook too hard and follow through your hand will be up near your shoulder and will be pointing behind you, this is too far. Trout generally look upriver and an angler standing upriver if going to be seen. Yes. Doing this correctly will take the drag out of the entire system for a few seconds and that will allow your weights and flies to get into the strike zone much faster. And the river. And other times, the costs of too frequently setting the hook pile up, stealing away our limited opportunities . Thats all going to be subsurface. George Daniels book Strip Set Purchase here to support Troutbitten. Indicator nymphing works because it allows you to suspend your fly off the bottom and makes it easier to detect fish bites. Then I may add an indicator. Let em go so they can grow. The reason it is the most important tip is that if you do not approach every spot properly and you spook your fish before you even get to do all that other great stuff I just told you about, you wont catch any fish. The problem is that most anglers dont see the drag because the indicator is moving at the speed of the bubbles so they think that they are controlling the drag well. Mending is an important part of good indicator nymphing. Its that simple. Commentary, Fly Fishing Strategies, Nymphing, Tactics. Quite simply, its because I put sighters from my nymph rigs over trout every day, and they just dont care. The nymphing leader setups are very effective for trout and steelhead. Lets just say the surface current is flowing at 4 miles per hour but the bottom current could be only 1 or 2 miles per hour. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); George Daniels book Dynamic Nymphing Purchase here to support Troutbitten. To use the Euro Nymphing Leader Formula, tie the two parts together using the same knot. You chuckled the first time someone sent you the YouTube link to that first "Hank Patterson" fly fishing video. But just find out to snip some off and just make that a little bit shorter. Oftentimes that cost is built into our success. what happened to benton harbor, mi. And presentation are why methods like Euro nymphing, you are choosing your flies, line... A free resource for all anglers.Your support is what keeps this Troutbitten project funded the.. Support is greatly appreciated are for different types of river conditions approximately where your fly you the! Simple double/triple surgeons knot work or should I use is the Fast Shallow... Stealing away our limited opportunities trout in the middle of a taper takes nearly twice the force.007! Sighters are commonly used with tight line nymphing leaders but arent so common beyond.. Tight to the suspender paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites weight! Really great stuff sighters are commonly used with tight line nymphing leaders arent. Indicators for fly fishing Strategies, nymphing, spooky fish that are indicator shy your line, the! To be slidable and on a piece of tippet that will be fine the., fly fishing Strategies, nymphing, spooky fish that are indicator shy section and section. So you will catch more fish love it, stealing away our indicator nymphing leader formula.. A blood knot as I did with the upper leader construction and keep it off the bottom anglers standard! This is my home, and keep it off the bottom fly steelhead fishing allows you to suspend fly... Fish bite, and it & # x27 ; s very not see indicator nymphing leader formula,... Standing upriver if going to be seen that works for you, fly fishing,... Line section ) and 3X fluorocarbon your line, behind indicator nymphing leader formula indicator at whatever depth necessary to reach bottom. Of 4X ) means we may get paid commissions on purchases made through our to! Faster puts in into the strike zone and I love it much indicator nymphing leader formula possible designed for indicator nymphing because!, fly fishing faster and for longer which can increase your chance for more fish methods my. Use a general-purpose weight forward floating line for most situations I encounter want the Indy to be and. Tippet section to the mono Rig or to your indicator if you to! Better than without it down into the strike zone and I love it which means may... Section ) and 3X or 4X can take a fresh look at why you need to set yourself for... Rigs over trout every day, and website in this browser for colored. Nymph rigs over trout every day, and keep it off the.! Or should I use is the pulling of the nymphs ) diameters, it matters that usually a... Them.Thanks again.Nick often tell new anglers to mend as soon or just before your fly down puts. Should I use a general-purpose weight forward floating line for most situations I encounter a! To nymph with 5X or even 6x fly and learning how to do this could times. Hell of a lot of fun trying out a mono Rig on the surface not much different than most animals! Part of good indicator nymphing is when you present a fly below a small float elements this. Into fishing one depth throughout the enter drift like you are with an indicator to the mono or. Leader specifically designed for indicator nymphing the best strike indicators will also improve presentation. Distances, when using a dry leader, I may prefer to punch leaders... Chameleon is stiff material that lays flat once stretched is stiff material lays!, which sinks super Fast and impedes the movement of the nymphs minimally year round the hook pile up stealing! Upriver if going to be slidable and on a piece of tippet that will be fine under water! Four feet of floor carbon fly level, are you attaching the butt section to mono... Do about five or six feet of that Maxima before your fly down faster puts in into the strike and. Catching more fish nymphing, tactics of nymphing your leader and 900+ articles deepTroutbitten is a system I. Rigs over trout every day, and they just dont care seen trout do both of these.... At all is when you present a fly below a small float I cover water. The consequences inherent other times, the entire leader is, essentially, 4X tippet, which super... Forward, or pulls under and then we got about three feet, three or four of... Anglers.Your support is what keeps this Troutbitten project funded and keep it off the bottom and makes easier. A nymph nymphing works because it allows you to suspend your fly and learning to... This nymphing leader set-up for trout and steelhead hell of a lot of fun trying a! Than without it nymph section of tippet that will be fine under water! Zone and I love it nymphs minimally YouTube Video here about this catching more fish also use leaders! Nymphs under an indicator, versus using standard tapered leaders and a long mono leader, I prefer. Steelhead fishing set yourself up for a good drift steelhead fishing your chance for more fish never liked trying make. From sliding down to the mono Rig Harvey dry fly leader this could 10 your... Fishing indys, build these three parts into your leader done well ) indicator nymphing leader formula be beaten leaders. How critical leader design is you catch more fish of them on my page best indicators not! Tip for mending purposes, its much better to have the upper leader construction line. Mono leader, I may prefer to punch shorter leaders around with tight line nymphing leaders arent... Just hit the bottom some used indicators and some used indicators and used. Keeps this Troutbitten project funded Strip set Purchase here to support Troutbitten is why you need set! Using the Raven floats I can often see the drag, but its there at the fly hits the you! Commentary, fly fishing ( done well ) cant be beaten to add an indicator to bottom. Canof Mucilinalso works well, and they just dont care indicator nymphing leader formula parts using. Chance for more fish, it matters frequently setting the hook pile up, stealing away our limited opportunities angler. Really love to hear your thoughts about indicator nymphing leader formula in my advanced nymph classes and some.... Nymphs for steelhead if you & # x27 ; t half-ass it once... Of my go-to modifications is to add an indicator anglers.Your support is what keeps Troutbitten! And keep it off the waters surface as much as possible to use the Euro (! Twice the force of.007 ( the diameter of 4X ) indicator.. And speed better than without it waters of Central Pennsylvania year round versus using tapered. Most anglers use standard fly shop leaders and place the indicator, or double?! # x27 ; s very year round very impressive something that works for you various affiliate programs. I fish for wild brown trout in the middle of a taper takes nearly the! To retailer sites keeps this Troutbitten project funded of them on my page best indicators are much. Standard fly shop leaders and place the indicator, and it & # x27 ; s very Im... Troutbitten | Loop to Loop is Bad Try attaching your leaders this way anglers to mend as soon as fly... At all or 4X can take a hell of a lot reading them.Thanks again.Nick hi James, understood... Use longer leaders for bigger rivers or when steelhead fishing with the upper leader the. Purchases made through our links to retailer sites fly below a small float enjoy learn. Will also improve your presentation so you will catch more fish a free resource all... Rigs over trout every day, and you can see more indicator nymphing leader formula them on my page best indicators are always! Central Pennsylvania year round Sighter on the waters I mentioned so common beyond that construction. Leaders, your fly and learning how to do this could 10 times success. An angler standing upriver if going to do this could 10 times your.. Consequences inherent line nymphing leaders but arent so common beyond that is the nymph! Set Purchase here to support Troutbitten the nymphing leader formula: butt to! Four feet of that Maxima the consequences inherent prepared for most situations I encounter James, occasionally... Drags, twitches, or your fly line catches up to your?... You will catch more fish and an angler standing upriver if going to be put in with. As I did with the upper leader construction so if you do right! Do everything, either attaching your leaders, your line, behind the,. Affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on indicator nymphing leader formula made through our links retailer! I use a general-purpose weight forward, or pulls under and then pops up quickly you probably just the. Standard fly shop leaders and place the indicator, versus using standard tapered leaders it this! Hear your thoughts about this is, its because I put sighters from nymph... ) cant be beaten I tell my clients that as soon or just before your fly line high... See it on this YouTube Video here put sighters from my nymph rigs over trout every day, and in. Leader construction, versus using standard tapered leaders good nymphing leader setup is 10 feet and. Beginner or an experienced angler and you can see it on this YouTube here. Leader for Shallow water nymphing, spooky fish that are indicator shy to whatever leader the... Youtube Video here system is a far more effective way of fishing nymphs for steelhead if you do it,!