On 2011-02-06 15:24:49 -0500, Larry L said:

So I went out an hour or so each day, a couple days last week and
chucked a bobber, shot, and little beady thingies.

I didn't do well.

It finally occurred to me that IF I'm going to fish that way, maybe I
should really learn how.

I only ( or real close ) fish this style, here at home, and in the
'off season' aka now. Here are a couple shots of water close to
home. Let me point out that they don't do justice to the AMOUNT of
water involved. MOST of the water in both shots is WAY too deep to
wade and even the riffly looking stuff is deep enough to be a
challenge to an old fart like me. ( more than knee deep where I was
standing, to help ya judge )

http://www.kimshew.com/stangood.jpg

http://www.kimshew.com/stanrif.jpg

The guys that are catching the most are all fishing little tiny
nymphs, lots of weight and concentrate on a very few places. the
river was written up in a national mag a while back and those few
places get hammered. Even though "doing well" here would be "ho hum"
some places we're only a couple hours from the Bay Area

I simply find it impossible to maintain interest and confidence bobber
fishing. I'm hoping for tips and encouragement to help me
improve. Do you guys just fish the same slots over and over and
over ( seems to be the style of choice for many I observe )? if so,
how do you 'know' when enough is enough at a given spot?

Anyway, here is your change to write an indicator fly fishing tutorial
with an eager audience awaiting your efforts.

A trout is an eating machine. I have seen fly fishermen sitting on the
grass *waiting* for *the* hatch. I went just above them (so as not to
disturb their spot on the stream) and caught 10 or so very nice
rainbows/browns on nymphs. On my walk back to my car, they were still
waiting. Hmmmm.

Trout are like women: Find out what they want and give it to them.
Most of the time it is sub-surface stuff. However, I must admit, there
is nothing quite as pure as watching a big brook trout or salmon come
up and snatch your dry fly.

Most of the time when I nymph, I do not use a strike indicator. If I
am high sticking a run, I find it burdensome to use an indicator. It
takes practice, but simply watch your leader/line connection where it
enters the water. You can see the strike no matter how subtle it is.
Further, I am not, nor have I ever been, a fan of multiple fly set ups.
*KNOW* what they want and use a single fly.

I *do* use a strike indicator if I am long-line nymphing --- casting
more than 30 or 40 feet. It usually requires alot of mending, but it
often allows me to fish water that most would normally pass by simply
because they can not reach it with a "normal" nymph drift.

I often see fish "blinking." That is, they turn their head to suck up
a nymph. I will fish a spot like that until my nymph can no longer
fool them. I remember a run on the Zhuponava River in Kamchatka. I
was fishing a 7 weight with sinking line and a great big streamer on
it, hoping to lure a big (30+) rainbow. I passed a spot on the river
where there had to be at least two dozen dolly vardens "blinking". I
ran back to the raft, grabbed my 6 weight with a floating line, cut off
the Mouse tied to the tippet, and attached a size 16 Pheasant Tail. I
added one small split shot about 15 inches above the fly (tippet/leader
knot), and proceeded to catch char after char after char, some of them
in the 4 - 5 pound range. After about 10 fish the Russian guide came
over and asked what I was doing. He had never seen nymphing. So, I
turned him onto the "dark side" by teaching him high sticking. I left
him with my rod and went back to the raft for my 7 weight and back to
streamer fishing. He didn't stop smiling for several hours.

One thing to remember, Larry, regardless whether you use a strike
indicator or not: Your indicator, be it one attached somewhere to your
line, or just a spot on you line where it enters the water, should
always move slower than the current on top. That is the primary use of
the split shot. If your indicator is moving at the same speed as the
surface current, then you have a big drag problem. Add weight until
you no longer have drag. It is easy to get a fly down without the
split shot (weighted while tying, beadhead, etc), but chances are you
will still have drag. If you do, simply add a bigger shot. BTW, while
nymphing, if you do not snag the bottom every once in a while, you
don't have enough weight.

And, always remember, when the hatch starts, rip off the nymph and
shot, and put on that dry.

Dave (a dry fly fisherman who waits for the hatch by nymphing and
catching fish)