Nymphing - indicator-to-nymph MAX distance

On Thu, 2 Jun 2005 18:39:14 -0500, "Wolfgang"
wrote:

Leisenring.....Leisenring.....um......dead guy?......used to fly
fish?.....downstream, with a nymph?.....that Leisenring?


d;o)

Danl wrote:


I prefer using #10 - #18 LWSHs (Lead Weight Substitute Holders) sold at most
fly shops, but sometimes by other names. Most come with a convenient built
in barb-like doohickey that assist in holding the LWS onto the
hoo....err...LWSH.



last year, just below the dam on the madison above cabin creek
campground, there was an older fella (shutup) about 50 yards ahead of me
fishing with a downstream sweep. i was moving along the mountain side
currents. he was catching a fish...some big ones...on almost every
cast. i was...er...wasn't catching anything but a few bruises. i
thought he was swinging wets. no one else in the area was catching
anything. i changed flies 10 or more times before i neared the *******.
when he brought a fish in, i brazenly cast into his lanes as he
concentrated on unhooking his catch. nothing. i looked closer to make
sure his feet were below the water surface. yup, a mere mortal.
whatthefukwashedoin?? when i finally got close enough, i couldn't stand
it any longer, and i asked what he was using....

says he: "i'm cheating today, wanted to catch a few...salmon eggs".

says a bewildered i: "uh...what color?" g

once up close enough to see, i discovered that what i thought was simply
a peculiar fly cleaning gesture made after releasing each fish was
actually the motion used in opening a little jar, retrieving an egg, and
placing it on a lwsh.

hell, i didn't know the madison had salmon egg-layers in it! BG
but the trout sure did love those eggs...

jeff

rw wrote:

Wayne Harrison wrote:


i can't believe that the same guy who tied those amazing, tiny
flies that you sent to me can withstand the grotesque feeling of
launching an ounce or so of lead with a fly at the end of the chain...


An ounce or so? Get real.

A couple of #4s is just about all you'll need, except for runoff
conditions.


....and, um, when did obvious hyperbole around here require a "get real"
response? lighten up a bit rw... at times, in your bob-and-weave with
wayno, you seem pulled tighter than my sphincter whenever i board an
airplane. of one thing i'm sure...wayno knows the relative value and
importance of an ounce...and of fishing with and without lead weight.

jeff

On Sat, 04 Jun 2005 11:15:32 -0400, Jeff Miller
wrote:

rw wrote:

Wayne Harrison wrote:


i can't believe that the same guy who tied those amazing, tiny
flies that you sent to me can withstand the grotesque feeling of
launching an ounce or so of lead with a fly at the end of the chain...


An ounce or so? Get real.

A couple of #4s is just about all you'll need, except for runoff
conditions.


of one thing i'm sure...wayno knows the relative value and
importance of an ounce...

Oh, lordy, the possibilities, the possibilities...

"yeah, 1/4 of a well-made see-through..."
"anything more is felony in these states:..."
etc., etc....

At least he didn't say "an eight-ball of lead..."

TC,
R

"Jeff Miller" wrote


...and, um, when did obvious hyperbole around here require a "get real"
response? lighten up a bit rw... at times, in your bob-and-weave with
wayno, you seem pulled tighter than my sphincter whenever i board an
airplane.

the thing about it that is beginning to scare the hell out of me is that
his pattern is clearly taking on a dead replica for the phrase "having a
hard on" for someone...

yfitons
wayno (glad you had a good trip; i had fun in pitt county this weekend).

Wayne Harrison wrote:

yfitons
wayno (glad you had a good trip; i had fun in pitt county this weekend).



penns was a lot of fun this year. sorry you and jim weren't able to make
it. the hatch was worth seeing. one night, the hatch changed the air
around me...didn't just fill the air, but "changed" it.


jeff

wrote:
Still struggling with nymphing --


There's LOTS of ways of nymphing but USUALLY when you're fishing with an
indicator and weight you want to get your nymph dead drifting along the
bottom. That means that the distance between your indicator has to be
greater than the water depth (unless you're using an indicator that
gets submerged which can be a good tactic). There's a balance that you
try and strike among a variety of things - water depth, current speed,
amount of weight, distance between your fly and the indicator, thickness
of your leader, etc. So that means that there are a variety of ways to
get your nymph drifting along the bottom. For example if you want your
nymph drifting deeper, you can add more weight or lengthen the
distance between the indicator and fly or go with a lighter tippet or
make a longer cast or..... You got a good range of responses from a
range of people. All the advice you've gotten is good, even though it
may seem contradictory. There is more than one way to gut a rat.

The way I do it is a bit different from what the other people have
brought up. I don't like to fling a bunch of weight, so I try and set up
my rig so that I can get my flies to the bottom with as little weight as
possible. When indicator nymphing I use LONG tippets often up to 6 feet,
sometimes more. This thinner material sinks MUCH easier than the thick
sections at the butt of a leader, allows a more natural drift, makes for
better contact with the drifting nymph and also makes it easier to
detect strikes. I also believe that only on part(s) of any drift will
your fly be dead drifting along the bottom. I try and gauge the length
of my cast so the fly is most likely to be dead drifting when it reaches
the area that I think is most likely to hold a fish.

Willi

Willi,
I concur.
One thing... "read the water" when casting upstream. Calculate how fast the
nymph will sink in the given flow condition.
Guy

There's LOTS of ways of nymphing but USUALLY when you're fishing with an
indicator and weight you want to get your nymph dead drifting along the
bottom. That means that the distance between your indicator has to be
greater than the water depth (unless you're using an indicator that
gets submerged which can be a good tactic). There's a balance that you
try and strike among a variety of things - water depth, current speed,
amount of weight, distance between your fly and the indicator, thickness
of your leader, etc. So that means that there are a variety of ways to
get your nymph drifting along the bottom. For example if you want your
nymph drifting deeper, you can add more weight or lengthen the
distance between the indicator and fly or go with a lighter tippet or
make a longer cast or..... You got a good range of responses from a
range of people. All the advice you've gotten is good, even though it
may seem contradictory. There is more than one way to gut a rat.

The way I do it is a bit different from what the other people have
brought up. I don't like to fling a bunch of weight, so I try and set up
my rig so that I can get my flies to the bottom with as little weight as
possible. When indicator nymphing I use LONG tippets often up to 6 feet,
sometimes more. This thinner material sinks MUCH easier than the thick
sections at the butt of a leader, allows a more natural drift, makes for
better contact with the drifting nymph and also makes it easier to
detect strikes. I also believe that only on part(s) of any drift will
your fly be dead drifting along the bottom. I try and gauge the length
of my cast so the fly is most likely to be dead drifting when it reaches
the area that I think is most likely to hold a fish.

Willi

Willi's taught me to use less lead and more tippet and mending to make
the fly sink. If I can see fish I like to sight fish with nymphs and
try to drift em right into the fishes mouth a la Andy Kim.

It is a bummer to chuck a bunch of lead all day. My friend said
recently it's like tying your keys to the end of your leader. Even in
a swift river 4 or 5 BBs will usually git er done (G).

bh

There have been many mentions of mending to make the fly sink. I'm
pretty sure I get this. But if anyone had anything more specific to
say on the topic...? Tim