Not a big one but it works for me. You won't see me put a split shot any further up the line than 4 inches from the point fly. It tangles less and the fish are not bothered by it at all. I don't false cast very much but when you need to it makes it less likely to knot up.
This is a pretty useful tip (not to say the others were not). If I get knotted up it's typically when I'm picking everything up out of the water and doing a bigger cast. I'll have to give this a try. You really don't think having a shot that close distracts the fish though?
Yah I would think that would throw the fish off. No doubt it would prevent tangles though. Actually tangles can be prevented sometimes easily by counting the splashes that hit the water when you make a cast while nymphing. Example: if you have two nymphs and a string of splitshot you should see two little splashes and one bigger one. If you have a snag, these will just cause one big splash. Also by splash I dont mean a rock hitting the water, the splash is barely noticable. This is a trick I use when I am out guiding and dont want to be re-rigging a line every two casts. The quicker you spot a tangle the easier it is to get it untangled and then back to fishing. **Tip: just because you untangled a line doesnt mean you can still fish with it. If you see a crease in the line cut it and re- tie it. Line abrasions or folds have been known to reduce line strength by more than half. Just throwing a tip out there from my guiding experience. Hope it helps.
I have a tip that kind of relates to yours. I've found that if I shorten the line between my point fly and my dropper (to about 8'), I get less tangles also.
Packrat, you've got me curious about this one. I have always assumed that since fish feed side to side and vertical that if i had my shot to close to my lead fly i would be taking the fly out of the fish's feeding zone, (at least when i'm dead drifting) but obviously this is not the case for you. Kind of curious what your catch rate differential is between your lead fly and dropper fly, if there is one at all......ive always wondered what effect moving the shot would have, just never plaid with it enough to find out.
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all of a man's addictions end and begin when he learns to fly fish
If you like to fish with bobbers like me then try tying a long belly in your leader so that your indicator has 18-30 inches of limp 3 or 4x between it and the butt section of leader. Makes it much easier to mend and dead drift.
Tie the fly. Drift the fly. Catch the trout. Repeat.
This is a pretty useful tip (not to say the others were not). If I get knotted up it's typically when I'm picking everything up out of the water and doing a bigger cast. I'll have to give this a try. You really don't think having a shot that close distracts the fish though?
I can stop the tips at any time but I've had lots of positive comments. Doesn't hurt to be helpful to those who might like the info.
According to Ralph Cutter, having the spilt closer to the fly makes no difference to the fish.
Yes, let the "hits" keep coming. That is part of what makes this site so good.
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"There is no place I fit in so well as a stream...Fishing ties me into the world of water and animals it contains, into mystery and something so primitive and valuable inside me."---Seth Norman
Hey Packrat! Just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate the different ideas you've thrown out there for us! Everyone has a different style and we can choose to try out these ideas that work for you or we can just ignore them. Personally, I'm always on the lookout to improve my skills so all these little things go into my memory bank for my next outing. My son constantly outfishes me and he puts his split shot on the terminal end after the dropper nymph. So...go figure! At any rate, I think Ralph Cutter is a pretty sharp guy and I'm certainly going to give it a try. Thanks to all of you who share your experiences on this web site!
