Dealing with the Highlights

[jeffroey]

Here's the scenario:

You're fishing a little bit of fast water and working the bubble trail with a dry-dropper rig. You pick your line, gauge your cast distance, position yourself for the highest percentage cast you can make (in other words, you do everything right) and drop your flies right where you wanted to. You only have a half-second to congratulate yourself on your seemingly perfect cast before it happens . . .

. . . . wait for it, wait for it . . .

. . . you lose the dry in the highlights and can't pick it back up.

Okay folks, walk through your process right here. What do you do?

Do you waste a seemingly perfect cast and drift, pick up and re-cast?

Do you set the hook randomly?

Do you have a technique that you use to quickly re-find a white post in the foam once you've lost it?

In this situation, I usually find myself tracking down my line to the visible point of reference closest to the fly which is usually the connection between the line and leader. I'm looking for any subtle movement/pause/etc. there that might indicate a strike but it rarely, almost never-ly comes. I'm guessing I'm getting some takes and just not seeing it at this junction.

What do you do?

 

[Dave_W]

Generally speaking, if I complete a cast with a dry/dropper and immediately can't find the dry due to glare or other obscuration, I will quickly pick up and cast again and try to get eyes on.

If I lose sight of the dry later in the drift, I usually continue to let it drift and try to "recover" it in a few moments and if I still don't see it after a few moments I'll give it a hard twitch to create surface disturbance and this usually solves the problem.

Although I'm middle aged and severely near-sighted, I'm lucky in that my eyesight corrects very well and I still have sharp vision to spot small flies. Those with declining eyesight may need to deal with this situation differently.

 

[Bamboozle]

I fish a lot of tiny (22-32) flies and almost always lose sight because I don't do the white/pink/chartreuse/orange spot thing, For that reason, the most important thing for me is seeing where my fly lands.

Knowing that, I just follow the drift as if I still can see the fly and look for indications of a take (rise, swirl, leader of line movement) and set the hook accordingly.

I do the same thing all the time fishing at dusk when I can barely see anything.

BTW, it may sound funny but a small BLACK yarn indicator added behind your tippet section or a couple of special "low light/glare" flies tied with black indicator wing posts work wonders under those conditions because it contrasts totally to the white of sun glare/highlights.

Other fishermen think I'm nuts when I show them my black strike indicator yarn, until they see how well you can see it in low light or glare... ;-)

 

[jeffroey]

Bamboozle wrote:

BTW, it may sound funny but a small BLACK yarn indicator added behind your tippet section or a couple of special "low light/glare" flies tied with black indicator wing posts work wonders under those conditions because it contrasts totally to the white of sun glare/highlights.

That makes a lot of sense to me Bam. I'm going to give this a try.

Appreciate the feedback from you and Dave.

 

[fritz]

If I lose sight of it in a prime lie I set the hook assuming a fish took it.

Good point by Bam. Black posts in low light conditions work.

 

[Baron]

What keeps the yarn from slipping.

 

[Bamboozle]

Baron wrote:
What keeps the yarn from slipping.

There are about 100 different ways to do it, all more complicated than my method which may be hard to describe, but I can’t seem to find a video of anyone doing it my way:

Cut off a short piece of yarn and have it handy.

Form a small loop in your leader where you want to put the yarn and while keeping Loop #1 pinched closed, make a second loop the same size right next to it.

Pass Loop #2 through Loop #1 but DON’T pull either tight.

Put the short piece of yarn through loop #2 and begin to draw the loops closed.

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART:

When you do this, DON’T let Loop #1 which is wrapped around Loop #2, draw tight against the leader material, but instead, move it up so it goes around the base of the folded over yarn and allow it to tighten around the bottom of the yarn.

If you do it THIS way, you DON’T technically put a knot in your leader and you can get the loops to loosen to move or remove the yarn by simply pushing leader material in on the loop around the base of the yarn.

Once drawn up snug (no need to murder it), you can trim the yarn if desired.

I have been doing yarn indicators like this for decades and never had a problem removing the yarn or ever put a knot or kink in my leader, AND you need no tools or other stuff like O-rings or a fancy “down-under” kit.

I use plain old “egg” yarn in fluorescent orange, yellow & plain black. I pre-treat 18” inch lengths of yarn with Water Shed or any other spray water repellent of your choice and allow it to dry overnight before stuffing it into the container I store it in, which in my case is a small Myran 6 compartment box with holes drilled through the compartments to pull the yarn through.

I also store my Strike Putty, Soft Lead and Payette Paste in the same Myran box so I don't have to fumble around looking for little containers of stuff.

 

[jeffroey]

I recently read a tip on the troutbitten blog about tying a sliding barrel knot using backing under an adhesive foam sighter to make it adjustable. Thought that was a creative approach for anyone using foam sighters.

That was the first thing I thought of when I read your hack - probably going to try adding a black yarn barrel knot to my leader - maybe leave the tag ends a little long - and see how that goes.

 

[dryflyguy]

Fishing dry only - if I lose sight of the fly, I watch and follow the pocket of water where I think it landed.
Letting it drift on through the target area, and pull if I see a rise

This can be a problem during a heavy hatch, when the fly gets lost in the crowd

 

[Baron]

Essentially a clove hitch????

Bamboozle wrote:

Baron wrote:
What keeps the yarn from slipping.

There are about 100 different ways to do it, all more complicated than my method which may be hard to describe, but I can’t seem to find a video of anyone doing it my way:

Cut off a short piece of yarn and have it handy.

Form a small loop in your leader where you want to put the yarn and while keeping Loop #1 pinched closed, make a second loop the same size right next to it.

Pass Loop #2 through Loop #1 but DON’T pull either tight.

Put the short piece of yarn through loop #2 and begin to draw the loops closed.

THIS IS THE IMPORTANT PART:

When you do this, DON’T let Loop #1 which is wrapped around Loop #2, draw tight against the leader material, but instead, move it up so it goes around the base of the folded over yarn and allow it to tighten around the bottom of the yarn.

If you do it THIS way, you DON’T technically put a knot in your leader and you can get the loops to loosen to move or remove the yarn by simply pushing leader material in on the loop around the base of the yarn.

Once drawn up snug (no need to murder it), you can trim the yarn if desired.

I have been doing yarn indicators like this for decades and never had a problem removing the yarn or ever put a knot or kink in my leader, AND you need no tools or other stuff like O-rings or a fancy “down-under” kit.

I use plain old “egg” yarn in fluorescent orange, yellow & plain black. I pre-treat 18” inch lengths of yarn with Water Shed or any other spray water repellent of your choice and allow it to dry overnight before stuffing it into the container I store it in, which in my case is a small Myran 6 compartment box with holes drilled through the compartments to pull the yarn through.

I also store my Strike Putty, Soft Lead and Payette Paste in the same Myran box so I don't have to fumble around looking for little containers of stuff.

 

[Bamboozle]

With a clove hitch, either regular or on the bight, you don't pass one loop through the other so NO, not a clove hitch.

 

[Baron]

Clove hitch with a keeper Then. Aah I'll have to try it out myself. I can't really get around right now but it seems worth while in order to have the versatility of yarn. Thanks

 

[Bamboozle]

No, not a clove hitch of any type or two half hitches. (Did you pass your Tenderfoot requirements? ;-))

Take a look at this image, which is closet thing I've found to describing what I do. (Soon to be declared a "hack" on a website near you...)

Looking at the photo, keep in mind you want the red loop to wrap around the base of the yarn which would be the bottom of the orange "V".

Don't let the red loop wrap around the green loop portion of the leader below the yarn. It will still work, but you will have a very hard time getting it loose to move or remove it and will put a kink in your leader.

The leader with the yarn attached on the far right of this image is the way it should look if you did it right.

It is so easy to do and works so well you be amazed.

 

[Baron]

Well that's about as simple as it gets.I like it. I'm on special meds right now and the wife has me banned from using sharp objects and so forth. When I get back together (Monday @2pm) and get back fishing this will be on of the first things I try. I've read about this before, I think in a Australian Mag, and was impressed by their claims.

 

[Bamboozle]

There is a "New Zealand" strike indicator which uses wool fibers and requires a small piece of tubing and a special "tool" to affix it to your leader. It works really well, but you need carry the tool and these little pieces of tubing.

I tried it and found the method of attaching a bit too fussy for field use and me so I hardly use it any more.

When I have demonstrated the "two loop" method to folks, I use string, fly line or heavy mono and a piece of paper towel to simulate the yarn. It's also an easy way to practice and get the hang of it.

FWIW - Yarn does work well and lands softly, but it can be a pain to cast on a windy day because it is a bit more wind resistant than other "strike indicators" made of plastic, foam or putty. For that reason, when I feel I need them, I have more than few different types in my arsenal.