On 6 Nov 2007 13:15:53 GMT, Scott Seidman
wrote:

If the water seems real
fast, a tungsten bead might be the way to go

Or very deep. When it is deep of fast, I tend to use a weighted
stonefly nymph as the top one (to get the rig down) and the *entended*
fly as the bottom one.

Years ago when I got into nymphing I always fished with multiple flies
(I stopped at 3). The biggest problem I had with them was tangles,
especially after catching a fish. There is also the danger of
catching two or three (!) fish at a time. I know it sounds good, but
you really don't want that to happen. I've had two on at the same
time and it broke the tippet. And, the only time I have hooked myself
deeply was on a multi-fly set up while removing the hook from the
fish. One slip, the fish was back in the water, and the other hook
was deep in my finger - no barb, thankyouverymuch!

I now fish with only one nymph and use non-toxic shot to get it down.
Remember, you want the drift to be slower than the surface water
(bubbles, foam, stuff on the surface is how you would measure the
surface speed). Having more than 1 fly can often upset your "tuning"
of the rig, i.e., getting the drift at the right depth and speed.

But, hey. Experiment. It is always a good practice to do so. Best
to learn the circle cast also as used by Lefty. No false casts.
Simply pick up the rig after it has gone past you down-stream and in
one giant lob, cast it back up-stream.

Dave