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#1
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Ok, here's the deal:
The following is the most effective way I know to fish small, unweighted nymphs in medium to deep water. This isn't necessarily a tailwater strategy, and it's definately not a spring creek deal. It is, for instance, the way I like to nymph-fish rivers like Montana's Gallatin, Yellowstone and Madison above Ennis. Strike indicators have made a big splash recently. I use them a lot myself. Except my strike indicator is always a fly of some sort--so I can catch fish on the bobber too; sometimes it's a bushy #15 PMD in front of an emerger, and sometimes a big foam-bodied fly on top of a fat stonefly nymph. But indicator fishing doesn't work so well for bottom hugging riffle fish, and even less well for nymphing into deep, rolling runs. In freestone streams and rivers--especially for rivers like Montana's Yellowstone--the most reliably effective way to fish nymphs is to fish an unweighted, free drifting nymph in deep water. One way to do that is with a short leader and sink tip line. But that strategy doesn't work well for small nymphs because it is too hard to vibe out subtle strikes. Short leader sink tip rigs are better suited to unweighted streamer fishing. Another way (to fish unweighted nymphs in deep water) is to put weight on an extra-long leader, and to fish without any indicator. When fish aren't up near the surface, sipping emergers or gulping dry flies, it doesn't mean you can't catch fish. It means you have to fish deep with an unweighted fly. All of the very best nymph fishermen I've ever encountered fish that way, usually with a surprising amount of split shot on the leader, 18" to 30" up from the actual nymph. So here's my twist. I've actually posted this once before. But as time drifts by, I've become more convinced this is the very best way to fish small nymphs: ....Use an extra heavy barbell-eyed Crazy Charly as the weight, rather than split shot. There're two reasons for this: 1) The Crazy Charlie does the same job: it gets the unweighted nymph down into deep water, but it also catches fish. It never catches as many fish as the small nymph, but it almost always catches bigger fish. Often (usually, in fact) the biggest fish of the day. 2) The crazy charlie is flashy. Because of its pearly-white crystal flash wing, it catches the fish's attention-- much like a miniature trolling-rig cow bell. The fish do a double take when the see the Crazy Charlie drift by. And then they take the nymph. I'm into my third season fishing this way now, and my success rate (especially for bigger fish) has never been so high. I figured this technique out by accident, several years ago, when fishing the North Platte in Wyoming, near Gray Reef dam. So, the obvious name for the rig is the "Gray Reefer." The name is joke, sort of, but the technique is deadly serious. The Gray Reefer is dynamite. Works like magic. |
#2
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![]() Salmo Bytes wrote: ...Use an extra heavy barbell-eyed Crazy Charly as the weight, rather than split shot. There're two reasons for this: 1) The Crazy Charlie does the same job: it gets the unweighted nymph down into deep water, but it also catches fish. It never catches as many fish as the small nymph, but it almost always catches bigger fish. Often (usually, in fact) the biggest fish of the day. 2) The crazy charlie is flashy. Because of its pearly-white crystal flash wing, it catches the fish's attention-- much like a miniature trolling-rig cow bell. The fish do a double take when the see the Crazy Charlie drift by. And then they take the nymph. I'm into my third season fishing this way now, and my success rate (especially for bigger fish) has never been so high. I figured this technique out by accident, several years ago, when fishing the North Platte in Wyoming, near Gray Reef dam. So, the obvious name for the rig is the "Gray Reefer." The name is joke, sort of, but the technique is deadly serious. The Gray Reefer is dynamite. Works like magic. Using a Crazy Charlie is interesting. Since you don't use an indicator, do you watch the leader for takes or do you fish an almost tight line to feel the takes? Are you short line fishing the flies? On big heavy water I'll use weight plus a big stonefly as the lead fly with a small one as a dropper and after letting the fly sink, I fish it with an almost tight line to sense the take. I make long casts and cover alot of water with the technique. It can can be very productive when the fish are aggressively feeding but most of the time, I'm sure I miss the majority of the takes. Willi |
#3
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Willi wrote in message ...
Using a Crazy Charlie is interesting. Since you don't use an indicator, do you watch the leader for takes or do you fish an almost tight line to feel the takes? Are you short line fishing the flies? When fising without an indicator, and especially with weight on the leader, I tend to fish upstream and short with a tight straight line. Sometimes you need to make a long cast, just to get enough sink time. But the fishing part of the drift still ends up short, close and straight. I (think I) remember, from "Larger Trout for the Western Fly Fisherman," that Charles Brooks argues against tight line nymphing. But I just dont' believe it. I've watched George Anderson pull more fish out of the water, without taking a step, than you would imagine possible. He doesn't fish with loops of slack in his line, ala Brooks. And he is the best. |
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