Ban the Bobber!
Many of us rely upon an indicator when nymph fishing. After a while, when we’ve set the hook on enough snags and missed enough fish, doubt starts to come to mind. I’ve actually found the bigger the bobber, the bigger the misses.
Why is that? I think you need to start with the fisherman. I live for a dry fly bite…..warmer water temperatures. So, I predominantly nymph fish when it’s cold. Typically, the colder the water, the subtler the strike. So big bobber, easy miss.
Many prefer to not use an indicator, tight lining if you will. This competition style technique can be very effective at picking up the subtle strikes. Many folks preach about getting your nymph to the bottom. I actually think this is a mistake. While trout will often lay as close to the bottom as possible to conserve energy in the slower current, they don’t feed off the bottom. They don’t grub. They feed at their level or higher in the water column. They look up. So, if you bouncing the bottom and catching more whitefish than trout, you could be swimming your nymph below eye level. Bring it up a few inches.
I like to use as small as an indicator as I can, typically yarn, but the conditions really dictate what you should use. One often over looked benefit of an indicator is the nymph will subtle bounce up and down was the indicator rises and falls on top of the water. This mimics a nymphs subtle swimming action.
That’s it for now my fishy friends, until next time!
Tight Lines and Screaming Drags!