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Fishing
Techniques :: Destinations :: General
Fishing with Strike Indicators
by
Cameron Larsen
Used properly Strike Indicators lead to more fish being
caught. Used improperly they can actually hamper the fly
fisher's ability to catch fish. How can one tell if their
strike indicator is helping them or hurting them? Well that
is the question we will try to answer here.
I was introduced to strike indicators about 15 years ago.
A friend of mine had been fishing on guided trips in Montana,
and came back with them, raving about them. Of course not
wanting to be on the outside of the latest edge in fly fishing,
I had to try them. I hated them. They interfered with my
casting, they did kept my nymph off the bottomw, and everytime
I wanted to switch over to dry flies, I had to take off
the strike indicator. Further I had 'set the hook' on several
false indications.
It wasn't until several months later, while fishing a deep
swift riffle, that the indicator really paid off. And I
mean really paid off. Fishing at about a depth of six feet,
in water faster then I would care to wade in today, the
indicator would literally stop in mid-drift. Doubtful I
would set the hook, after a few large trout, my doubts disappeared
and I loved that little orange float on my leader. These
strike were virtually undetecteable without it, the water
so fast, and deep, by the time I felt the tug the fish would
probably be gone.
From then on everytime I nymphed, I used an indicator. Until
one early spring on a drift trip, I was quickly falling
behind my indicatorless fishing partner. All his hook-ups
were on the very bottom, he said. And I reasoned my indicator
was keeping me off the bottom. I dropped the indicator,
and voila, I began catching fish on the bottom. I am sure
I was missing some strikes as well, but missing some strikes
was better than none at all.
Putting it All together
To use or not to use an indicator, that is the question.
Or when to use it, and when not to. There are other times
when I prefer not to use an indicator while using sub-surface
flies. One is in very crystal clear water, when stealth
is of utmost importance. I don't use one when fishing emergers
either, their strikes are almost as easy to detect as dry
fly fishing. And as mentioned above while trying to hook
up on the bottom they can interfere. Although there are
ways around that problem. One is to use Palsa Strike Indicators.
When using weight or flies treated with Xink, the Palsa
will go sub-surface, you can still see it, depending on
water visibility. And it will still work. You can also adjust
the depth of leader below your indicator. If you are fishing
depths around six or seven feet, make sure you have that
much leader below the indicator. I rarely have my indicator
more than two feet below the fly line anyway.
About
the Author
Cameron Larsen is a retired commericial fly tier and fly
fishing guide. He now operates The Big Y Fly Company. http://www.bigyflyco.com/flyfishinghome.html
He can be reached at info@bigyflyco.com. This article will
appear in the Big Y Fly Fishing E-Zine at Http://www.bigyflyco.com/Bigyflyfishingezine.html
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