Beginning and Indicators...

[Padraic]

wetnet wrote:
I'll probably get beat up for this, but there seems to be 2 basic ideas about indicators.

I won't beat you up for it.

To build on what you said though...

I like the "In line" setup when nymphing fast water with an uneven bottom. My favorite in line setup was two bits of strike putty put onto knots in my leader. I'd watch the two dots of putty, when the bottom one ticked upstream, it was probably a trout taking the nymph. The benefit of the inline is that you can react to the changes in depth and current in pocket water. It works well with traditional high stick nymphing techniques.

Floats or dry flies as an indicator are great when you are fishing a pool. In that situation, you have to fish from a little further off or risk scaring the fish. Also, the bottom of a pool is usually more even than pocket water. So having a rig that keeps the nymph at a constant depth is not a problem. In fact, it's a benefit.

 

[afishinado]

Padraic wrote:

wetnet wrote:
I'll probably get beat up for this, but there seems to be 2 basic ideas about indicators.

I won't beat you up for it.

To build on what you said though...

[color=CC0000]I like the "In line" setup when nymphing fast water with an uneven bottom. My favorite in line setup was two bits of strike putty put onto knots in my leader. I'd watch the two dots of putty, when the bottom one ticked upstream, it was probably a trout taking the nymph. The benefit of the inline is that you can react to the changes in depth and current in pocket water. It works well with traditional high stick nymphing techniques.
[/color]
Floats or dry flies as an indicator are great when you are fishing a pool. In that situation, you have to fish from a little further off or risk scaring the fish. Also, the bottom of a pool is usually more even than pocket water. So having a rig that keeps the nymph at a constant depth is not a problem. In fact, it's a benefit.

I agree completely. A little strike putty for visibilty works well, or you can tie on a "sighter" made of highly visible line. With this set-up you can fish a all depths by controlling your casts (dumping slack or not) or by casting further upstream to allow your flies to sink deeper. It makes it very easy to hug the bottom where there are many depth changes right in front of you in the stream. No need to adjust anything.

As Pad mentioned floating indies work on slow even-bottomed pools, also I would like to add that they work well for nymphing across different current speeds and for long distances where you can mend to the indy to get a good drift.

Back to the original question though. As a beginner, I recommend that you use a floating indy and concentrate on getting a drag-free drift (like you are fishing a dry fly). When you master that, you can begin line watching.

 

[wetnet]

Whew! I thought the bobber comment would get me. Everyone seems to built onto what I said so you've got a wonderful bunch of options to find out what works for you. That's what counts, isn't it? So about bobber options, my experience is limited to a large dry, like in a dry dropper. Maybe the crew here can add some dimension to that as well. I can't help you much there.

I don't necessarily agree about floating verses in-line and which one first but I'm going to think on that one. I think I may be in agreement about the non-drift. It was just easier for me..no it was hard to learn the inline, I looked like a druken sailor, my rod weaving too far back then too far ahead. Heck something else to try out to keep me addicted. :-D

 

[Padraic]

You know, another good exercise for learning nymphing is to tye on a really bright fly like a green weenie or a glo bug. Drift that through a run of really clear water and you'll see how a nymph moves through the water.

For that matter, a nymph or glo bug is another good indicator. Tye one on, then put a foot or so of tippet on the bend. To that, tye on a pheasant tail or hare's ear. Very often, trout will be attracted to the bright fly and take the more realistic one.