Excellent find!  I'm surprised they were able to get divers that close to feeding trout.

That was a pretty cool article. Lots of little tid bits that seem very helpful. Thanks for the post.

Speaking of interesting people and articels... Is anybody going to the fly fishing expo in pleasanton on feb. 23,24,25? I really want to meet Joe Humphrys. I watch that guy all the time on Fly Fishing America. It looks like fun. A lot of demos, seminars and vendors. I think its only 14 bucks and all of the seminars are free except for special clinics. Ill post more info. if anybody is interested. I dont have it with me right now.

I'm with you on the tippet size, dtp916.  I think the fly drifts better with lighter tippet.  When it comes to indicators, I still use both yarn and foam.  I always use yarn in faster water.  I usually use white, though.  It seems to match the color of the water.  I use the foam when I need a sensitive indicator.  Sometimes the fish bite super soft and the foam seems to pick it up better.   

One of the things that was said in the article was to change your weight three times before you change your fly.  I can attest to the fact that weight does make a huge difference.  I don't how many times I've added extra weight and caught fish on the very next cast.  Weight is the main reason that it took me so long to catch my first fish on a fly.  I simply wasn't using enough weight.  Of course there were other variables, but I think that is the main reason. 
As far as tippet goes, I usually use 5X to my first fly.  The only time I use bigger tippet is when using a streamer or when the water is really off color.  I rarely use big flies, so this is pretty much all of the time.  I generally use 6X to my dropper, which is usually #20-#22.  I've talked to others about this before, but I just can't use tippet material that I can barely fit through the hook eye. 

You can use removable shot.  There are tools that make it easier to remove shot from your line.  One downfall is that when you remove the shot, your tippet is weakened.  I usually just start small and add more as I need it.

Captain, I also hate using any weight! It does mess with the ability to cast well. I will usually use a beadhead or somthing with a little weight, and then a smaller dropper off of that. If the water is moving fast I will increase my leader length because the moving water will catch the excess leader and bring the flies deeper (to an extent). Sometimes you need weight and I will use the smallest microshot ive got to start and go a size up each time from there if necessary.

  I read the article and the one thing that really jumped out at me was the part about missed strikes and that a fish will take the nymph and spit it out before the indicator will even move at all.  I was fishing in Montana and asked the guide about missing strikes while nymphing and he showed me a trick that has helped me immensely.  He said that when you cast your indicator and fly upstream you need to half your fly hanging straight down under your indicator so that when a fish takes it there is no lag time at all.  The trick is when you put the indicator on "which is a big corkie"  you make a loop with your leader where you want to put the  indicator, put the loop through the bottom of the corkie and feed it through the top hole.  Then lay a rubber band through the loop,  pull down on the leader, this pulls the rubber band through the hole but makes it stick straight up in the air.  When the Corkie is drifting down stream and the rubber band is sticking staight up it means your fly is directly under the indicator,and if you get a hit there is absolutely no lag time at all, if the rubber band is not up your fly is either to the side or trailing.  This has helped me a lot.  I guess they have indicators with little flags on them also, same idea.    Hope this helps, it was kind of hard to explain but hopefully you got the idea.

            edog

If you want to see how easily a fish can inhale and spit out your fly, go bluegill fishing with a dry/dropper rig.  When the fish are in the shallows, you can get a pretty good look at them.  The fish will sometimes spit the dropper out two or three times.  It's a trip how fast they can do it.

JT:

I'm psyched you reposted this thread.  I enjoyed reading it.  I too, use a lot of shot when I fish nymphs.  I try to use as little as possible, but in order to establish a 'connection' between the fly and the indicator (to see that grab right away) you have to get those flies deep and get them deep fast.  In fast water, the best way to do that is with shot.

Here are my thoughts on various person's posts:

Casting with shot:

Captain - it's not that hard.  First, roll cast whenever possible, esp on Putah.  once you master that, most of your casting issues with shot will be resolved. Second, after your first drift, let the line drag downstream from you and use that 'pull' on the rod to load it up.  While the current is dragging on your line, raise your casting arm, pointing your wrist where you want to cast and fling the whole getup.  You'll be surprised how easy it is to cast your line 50 feet when using the current to load the rod.  Third, if you have to back cast with weight - you have to be super conscious of waiting long enough for your backcast to completely unfurl.  If you have a lot of line out, this can be kind of unnerving - but you have to be patient with it.  Also, if you have a lot of weight, you'll have to be strong with your backcast to lay it out behind you.  Once your line is unfurled, you can cast it forward without a lot of effort.  The timing is a delicate balance though.  If you cast too soon (before your back cast is unfurled), your going to either get your line tangled, snap off your flies, or worse yet - hook yourself in the head.  If you wait too long, you'll drag your flies on the ground, tearing them off, hook vegetation, or hit yourself in the head or back.

Tippet-size:  To me, 5x is usually plenty small.  If i'm using a tiny fly I'll go with 6x, just to make sure the thing wiggles in a life like fashion.  With big flies, why not use big tippet? Most guides I've fished with answer the question: "what size tippet should i use with" - "as big as you can get away with".  Lefty Kreh said that he NEVER used any tippet smaller than 5x and that those that did use tippet smaller than that were wasting their time and needed to improve their fishing technique.  Now - I don't feel that way - but he did.

Weight - one great way to nymph in fast water with a lot of weight is to tightline.  You use a LOT of weight to do this in fast water b/c you have to be able to feel the weight to follow your line downstream.  If you can hold it tight to the weight, but not so tight that you drag your flies, you'll feel almost every take.  This technique doesn't really work in slow water.

I'm going to read those articles that were posted.  Tight Lines everyone. 

Personally, I like to use 6X with anything #20 or smaller.  I'm not too fond of the idea of using tippet that is bigger than the wire on my fly.