http://www.jasonborger.com/

http://www.chotaoutdoorgear.com/

http://www.fishage.com/

Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - may2008 - Index

braided section twitches,
jumps, or otherwise acts different,
lift the rod tip (you may also have the
bottom, but that’s part of fishing). Since the
line will be short with little slack, the take
may also be felt. At the end of the drift, the
fly or flies can be deliberately swung up off the
bottom to potentially entice a take.
So, in both scenarios above, despite a heavy
fly (or flies) that is on/near the bottom, visual
dry-fly skills can still be used. It’s just that the
“dry fly” may be a few feet of fluorescent green
braided leader.
Okay, now it’s time for the truly ugly stuff,
and where you’re dry-fly skills may be pushed
a bit: We’ll rig up spilt-shot (or putty) and
at least one indicator, as well as a weighted
nymph, or nymphs. Forget the near-surface
and mid-waters, this is rock-scratching territory,
period.
Here’s one way to do this: Use a compound
tippet (say 3.5 feet of 2X, with 6 to 8 inches of
5X on the end); split shot goes on just above
the 2X/5X junction knot. The Indicator is set
at about 1.5-times water depth (maybe less
in some cases). The indicator is not used to
suspend the fly in this case, rather it’s fished
as if it’s a dry fly, with its purpose being to
clue us in on what’s happening down in the
deep. If multiple, small indicators are used
along the leader (such as small pieces of corestripped
fly-line) then each indicator can be
watched in turn.
Use a short (20-foot, perhaps) up-andacross
Tuck Cast to deliver the hardware (duck
as necessary), and then be ready to mend on
the water as the fly moves downstream. Watch
the indicator or indicators (that’s your dry fly).
If the indicator stops suddenly, you have too
much weight, or the bottom, or a fish. Act
accordingly. If the indicator moves along at
a fairly steady pace, interrupted by the occasional
tick and slide of the bottom, you’re
probably about right. If the indicator is just
swing along in the current, then it’s likely time
to mend (this is all just dry fly stuff, really). If
the indicator hesitates, pulls under, twitches,
or otherwise acts a bit “odd,” lift the rod tip
(that might be “fish on”). As in the previous
scenario, the fly or flies can be deliberately
swung up off the bottom at the end of the
drift to potentially entice a take.
You can also grease the leader butt and/or
use a colored leader to further help detect
subtle strikes as well as nymph position in the
water column. If those additional drift/position/strike
indicators tell you to mend, adjust,
or strike, do it.
This “nymph-like-dry” concept really can
help with the transition between fishing dries
and going sub-surface. If fishing nymphs has
been a bit of a mystery, or perhaps intimidating
on some level, just view it as dry-fly
fishing, and put your re-purposed skills to
new-found use as you fly fish America.
Jason Borger was FFA’s Techniques Editor
for the last 10 years. Visit Jason’s Fish, Flies &
Water blog at www.jasonborger.com
41