Indicators

[troutbert]

Have not used any in decades. Watch the end of my fly line
and when it hesitates, set hook.

Me too. I started fly fishing before indicators existed.

I tried several different kinds over the years, but didn't like any of them, and never got in the habit of using them.

As you said, watch the end of the fly line. And this is not limited to just very short tight line fishing.

You can nymph fish without a bobber and with plenty of line on the water. You can use reach casts and mends to get long drifts. This type of nymph fishing was very commonly used and the techniques were highly developed before the dominance of indicator and "Euro" nymphing.

Is there even a commonly used term for this type of nymphing? I usually call it "old school nymphing."

 

[KeviR]

The Orvis stuff was/is way denser, almost clay-like so you need less, it takes up less room and it sticks way better and not on your fingers. You can also easily use a very tiny amount like I do when fishing tiny midge pupa a few inches below the surface on a slack leader. When I'm fishing this way I use an indicator about the size of a peppercorn.

It also came in a glow-in-the dark white version which comes in handy once in awhile and it never dries out so it is reusable indefinitely and therefore it lasts a long time.

For example, I fish with a couple of different set-ups and use another discontinued product called a Fly Trap, a small ventilated aluminum box with ripple foam inside used as a fly patch. Inside the bottom of both of my Fly Traps are little blobs of Orvis Strike Putty that I've used and reused MANY times for many years.

Bottom line, I tried the Loon stuff way back when I was experimenting. I didn't like it at all in comparison and threw it away. Once I tried the Orvis Strike Putty, I stocked up and never bothered to look for a replacement or try anything else.

When I'm nymphing "old school" like TB and NbT described, I will usually add 2 or 3 very tiny bumps of strike putty a few feet above the flies. It nominally floats, but with a very small amount, it really doesn't float that much. It's really more of a way to color the leader to make it visible. I find it greatly improves strike detection, well before the fly line moves. In fact, I like to keep slack in the upper part of the leader so the nymph(s) are drifting more freely than they would if the whole leader was straight from the fly line to the flies.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Is there even a commonly used term for this type of nymphing? I usually call it "old school nymphing."

I think its appropriate to just call it nymphing. Or maybe fly fishing with nymphs.

 

[tomgamber]

I'm such a sightseer when I fish. I rarely staring at the end of my line. I do so much more by feel than visually. Sometimes I'll be trying to fix something and I'll try to put myself into a position to see what I'm doing and between not seeing very well and having progressives that don't help unless you are perfectly lined up, I find it and have always found it much easier to feel with my hands and just visualize what's going on that react to what I'm seeing. Sounds weird but it works for me.

So when I started nymphing way back when it was all new to me I just felt for the bump. I probably missed fish but I watched guys miss fish with an indicator when they snatched it out of the water, and then its no longer there for that fish or another fish to take a swipe at. So maybe i get second or third hit before I detect it rather than remove any possibility of it because I saw a pause or it hit and rock and dipped a little and strike prematurely.

So I carry them and very rarely use them. I think they are supposed to work better than my senses, but I haven't had that experience, So I usually have some Thing-a-ma-bobbers buried so far down in pack that i can't find them anyway. But that's the kind I use, when I can find them, cuz they're easy on and off.

 

[Bamboozle]

When I'm fishing size 24 - 32 midge pupa, it is typically on long leader 12+ feet tipped out at 7X or 8X. I put the putty anywhere from 8" to 18" above the fly and I cast so the leader is slack. The takes are EXTREMELY subtle with an almost immediate rejection so looking at the end of my fly line would be too little, too late.

In the "olden" days, I greased my leader up to that point and HOPED I could see it move to detect a strike. However, if the light wasn't exactly perfect, I couldn't see squat so my confidence went down and I often abandoned fishing tiny midges in the film. The putty solves that problem.

I also fish a lot of small streams where I am fishing nymphs in water barely 12" deep and casting directly upstream with varying currents and backgrounds making sighting difficult. An indicator allows me to suspend my fly at the shallow depths I typically encounter and I can see it much easier in broken water.

I use indicators when & where they offer an advantage and boost my confidence and make no apologies or have any embarrassment for using them...

It could be worse, I could use Squirmy Wormies under an indicator or even without... 😉