Keep your indicator floating drag free on the surface. If you're fishing in 12 inches of water, yes this is true. In water knee deep and beyond, you're blowing the presentation by having the indicator drift with the film. Because of friction exerted by the substrate, water just above the streambed is moving pretty slowly. In fact, for the first couple of millimeters (called the boundary layer), the water isn't moving much at all. Even in tumultuous water, nymphs drifting along the streambed are traveling at a modest speed.
If your indicator is drifting drag free on the surface, rest assured your nymph is being ripped along the bottom at a most unnatural rate. While it's true many trout are some how fooled by this presentation, many others aren't. Keep your rod upstream of the indicator and every second or so, pull back just enough to create a "V" wake on the upstream side of the indicator. This will slow down the nymph. After a second of holding the indicator back, give it a bit of slack. This will allow the nymph to fall back to the bottom. (If you don't hang up your split shot, you're not using enough). This method will keep the nymph in the feeding zone, will keep it drifting at a natural rate, will give it enticing action as you mini-mooch it and will instantly increase your success.
What are your thoughts? Do you folks do this? I've always been taught (and seen others) dead drift the indicator in deep water.
That little pull back works especially at the end of your drift when you're about to start swinging-gives you a couple more seconds. The more you listen to Cutter the more you'll be frustrated with your fishing techniques.There's also not nearly enough said about fishing the middle of the water column. Dead drifting near the bottom can get you good results but you would be amazed how many fish you can take be ditching your split shot completely.
-- Edited by CJ on Tuesday 23rd of June 2009 08:35:55 AM
Theres an excellent video called the underwater world of trout that has a great section on stream hydrology, It breaks it down and shows how currents change radically as you go down the water column. I highly recomend the video set. Netflix has it I think.
There's also not nearly enough said about fishing the middle of the water column. Dead drifting near the bottom can get you good results but you would be amazed how many fish you can take be ditching your split shot completely.
