Favorite Indicators

[BPS]

gochs- unkel Joes woodshed on the boulevard has them in a big gumball container on the counter and you just pick whatever you want.

 

[gochs]

NICE! Thanks guys. I'm actually heading out there in a few minutes to get my dad his license.

 

[steve2u42]

i have a question for you guys who use a dry fly as a fly and also as an indicator.
If i am using a size 16 parachute adams and want to use a BHPT nymph with shot to get the nymph down, far enough and fast enough but also keep the adams floating. i do use floatant on the dry fly and also use the 1-1/2x stream depth between dry and nymph seems like when i try this the dry fly sinks too.

 

[gfen]

Sometimes I want my Delorean to travel at 88mph and not bounce back to the future, but it won't because some things aren't meant to be.

You want to dredge the bottom with a boat anchor, don't use a wispy dry fly. Either shed the lead or try a size 12.

 

[steve2u42]

so i guess what your saying is i can't dry fly fish and nymph as a dropper at the same time?

 

[afishinado]

steve2u42 wrote:
so i guess what your saying is i can't dry fly fish and nymph as a dropper at the same time?

You can, but what Gary is trying say in his cryptic style of writing is, there's a limit. In other words, a dry dropper works for shallower and/or slower water presentations. When you need to get your fly down deep in fast and/or deep water, the weight amount of weight needed to sink the fly is greater than the buoyancy of the dry fly. In that case, use a larger dry fly or an Indy with weighted flies and/or a splitshot to get down to the fish.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Royal Wulff

I still use bio strike from time to time, just 'cause I still have some left.

 

[ryguyfi]

jayL wrote:
In order of preference:

Thingamabobbers
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Strike putty
Bright mono
Dry Flies
Pinch on foam

+1


my bottom ones are home made foam indicators, strike putty, coiled sighters and a dry fly. Thingamabobber is king.

 

[CathyG]

gochs,

I buy thingamabobbers from feather-craft.com in single color packs.

 

[jdaddy]

steve2u42 wrote:
i have a question for you guys who use a dry fly as a fly and also as an indicator.
If i am using a size 16 parachute adams and want to use a BHPT nymph with shot to get the nymph down, far enough and fast enough but also keep the adams floating. i do use floatant on the dry fly and also use the 1-1/2x stream depth between dry and nymph seems like when i try this the dry fly sinks too.

I agree with Gary on this one. Dry dropper is better suited for slower moving water with typically standard depth. This gives the dropper time to get down in the water column without all the added weight. A beadhead plus shot is probably going to not only sink the dry but also wreck the drift of dry AND the nymph. Dry dropper is great on those spring creeks in your area.

 

[Swattie87]

I have some Thingamabobbers, and they work well for what they're designed to do...float great, easy to see, easy to attach, don't come off, etc. Downside is yes, they do kink your leader if you attach them straight to it.

If you're using loop to loop connections, the best indicator IMO is simply the loop in the end of the fly line. The loop makes it easier to see than just the end of the fly line nail knotted to the leader. Haven't used a SI since I went to loop connectors.

 

[jrcll]

if i do use one i use a foam ear plug , the ones you get at a hardware store, very cheap, either poke a hole with a needle through the middle or just make a slice in the side and slip it on

 

[sandfly]

Built in indicater on leader, no wind resistance and I can see it out pass 50 feet. for big water early version of thing-a-bobber

 

[Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah]

CathyG wrote:


"I buy thingamabobbers from feather-craft.com in single color packs".


Thanks, I was looking for a place that would sells just one color of these. Thought i was just stuck getting different sizes and colors that i would never use in the pack.

 

[JackM]

On the dry-dropper thing, I can't agree with the "only good in slow water" generality. As Gary suggested, bouyancy is relative. In faster water, trouts can't scrutinize dry flies, the decision is quick. Use a very bouyant imitation is accordance with how much weight you are using and don't worry about an exact imitation. Stimulators and elk hair palmer-hackled caddis are good choices as are foam bodied flies. I have drifter wooly buggers under chernobyl hoppers. With dry-droppers of normal dimensions, I like beadhead nymphs and wets or else I use micro shot a few inches above the wetfly.

Additionally, you can "tight-line" while fishing a dry-dropper imitation in fast water. Grease the leader right in front of the dry fly in these situation and you'll be able to hold the dry fly near or on the surface with a little positive tension in the line from rod-tip to fly. Again, we are talking fast water, where the drag this creates is nearly meaningless.