On 12 Nov 2006 07:27:40 -0800, "salmobytes"
wrote:

Assumption(s)
1) In order to fish nymphs successfully you have to get the
fly down (emergers are not nymphs, by this assumption).

2) A heavily weighted fly does not drift naturally (does
not work well)

3) Split shot 12-24" up the leader allows the nymph
to drift naturally, but strikes become harder to detect.
Split shot on the supple part of a leader tends to
sink that part of the leader deeper than the fly. So, when
the fish takes, the leader has to straighten some before
you can feel the strike

4) A sink tip line with a short leader allows the fly
drift naturally. But because the weight exists as part
of a stiff end section of fly line, the line tends to
stay straight, so it is easier to feel the strike (compared
to split shot on the supple leader).

However, sink tip lines are a pain the butt, and they
make it impossible to quickly switch back to dry flies,
when conditions call for it.

A solution:
Stick with the *extra-short* leader, but put it on a dry line.
Put an extra-big, pea-sized split shot at the junction
of the end of the fly line and the leader butt. It's not a
perfect solution. It's not as easy to cast as a sink tip,
but it is castable, and you can get the nymph down.
You can feel the strikes and you can switch back to
a dry fly without changing rods or lines.

Your solution appears to conflict with Assumption #3.
And I'm not sure Assumption #2 is well-founded...

/daytripper