Indicators?

[WWKimba 0]

 

10 hours ago, Bill_729 said:

How do you attach the newly created deerbug to the leader?  

I leave the ends of the tying thread long and either tie it close to/on the leader (running/cold/stream water fishing) or tie the ends of the thread together and use a Prusik Knot to attach the indicator to the leader (for warm water/pond/lake fishing) so it's about 3-4" from the line - so it's a strike indicator (or that nasty "b" word used in other fishing methods).

Kim

[Mark Knapp 0]

On 11/1/2020 at 11:05 AM, TIER said:

I honestly don't have any clue what kind of foam i have. I'll try to post pictures of a couple of the ones I made.

Put your' foam in water, and squeeze it, let it go. Now take it out of the water and squeeze it again. If water comes out, it's open cell and not good for indicators. If no water comes out, it's closed cell, good for indicators.

[Sandan 0]

If it's not windy a Dorsey style yarn indicator works great.  Some poly yarn, rubber band from braces and a bit of tying thread.   You can whip up a bunch in a half an hour

[DUBBN 0]

On 11/6/2020 at 4:34 PM, Sandan said:

If it's not windy a Dorsey style yarn indicator works great.  Some poly yarn, rubber band from braces and a bit of tying thread.   You can whip up a bunch in a half an hour

I do not recall thread being used in the Dorsey indicator.

 

Just polypropylene yarn and a rubber band.

[DFoster 0]

On 11/1/2020 at 3:50 PM, TIER said:

I am not allowed to use a multi hook setup in the river I fish. and i normally do long casts to get to the fish so i can't see the leader move.

Tier indicators have their place but you should at least try upstream or across current fishing without them.  This technique does have certain advantages especially on smaller water and really isn't too difficult to learn.  There are vids on youtube which is how I learned.  I fish wet flies without indicators most of the time and It's my preferred way to fly fish.   5' of leader from the butt down, covered with floatant is all you need on all but the fastest water.  You can also tie in a short piece of bright red Amnesia line to your leader as a sighter.  Any strange movement at all of the leader or sighter requires a hook set. Don't wait until your mind tells you it's a fish.  Most of time it's nothing but that's OK because when you strike your only pulling flies through the water column and without a "bobber" creating a disturbance and spooking fish.  Also set the hook at the end of every drift as you lift for the next cast.   I simply think of fishing without an indicator as another technique a well rounded fly angler should know.

Disadvantages

1) You will need to cast closer, no more than 1 or 2 rod lengths of fly line depending on the current and lighting conditions. This pretty much means you'll need to be wading or floating.

2) You will miss some subtle strikes.

3) The more turbulent the water, the more difficult it is to fish without the indicator. 

4) You're flies will not remain a constant depth.  Without the indicator the flies are constantly sinking.  Part of this is determining when to lift for the next cast before the catch bottom.

Advantages

1) Without the weight of an indicator  the casting is effortless and therefore accurate. 

2) Your flies will drift in the current in a more natural way making drag less noticeable to fish.

3) You will notice more of what's going on around you, things like hatches, fish lies, current seams, angry Alaskan bears.  Indicators have a way of creating tunnel vision, people can hyper focused on them.

4) Generally speaking hook sets are more secure because the fish are closer.  You won't have as many fish "spit the fly".

5) There is no big indicator splash when the flies land.  When fish are spooky or on calmer waters it's a huge advantage to be as stealthy as possible.

[Sandan 0]

53 minutes ago, DUBBN said:

I do not recall thread being used in the Dorsey indicator.

 

Just polypropylene yarn and a rubber band.

@DUBBN You're correct. I modified it. I use some tying thread around the middle of the clump of yarn. It holds the yarn together, without detracting from when you tease the strands apart, and makes it a bit easier to get the whole clump through the loop in the leader after I wind the rubber band around the loop.

[SilverCreek 0]

A simple and cheap strike indicator is the Lindy Rig Float that walleye fishers use to suspend bait just off the bottom.

They are called "rig floats" or "Lindy Rig Floats" and are cylinders with a hole down the center. Thread the float onto you leader and hold it in place with a toothpick jammed in the hole. It is easily repositioned by loosening the toothpick and sliding it up and down the leader.

You use several for added buoyancy and they are light and aerodynamic for casting.

[Mark Knapp 0]

37 minutes ago, DFoster said:

Tier indicators have their place but you should at least try upstream or across current fishing without them.  This technique does have certain advantages especially on smaller water and really isn't too difficult to learn.  There are vids on youtube which is how I learned.  I fish wet flies without indicators most of the time and It's my preferred way to fly fish.   5' of leader from the butt down, covered with floatant is all you need on all but the fastest water.  You can also tie in a short piece of bright red Amnesia line to your leader as a sighter.  Any strange movement at all of the leader or sighter requires a hook set. Don't wait until your mind tells you it's a fish.  Most of time it's nothing but that's OK because when you strike your only pulling flies through the water column and without a "bobber" creating a disturbance and spooking fish.  Also set the hook at the end of every drift as you lift for the next cast.   I simply think of fishing without an indicator as another technique a well rounded fly angler should know.

Disadvantages

1) You will need to cast closer, no more than 1 or 2 rod lengths of fly line depending on the current and lighting conditions. This pretty much means you'll need to be wading or floating.

2) You will miss some subtle strikes.

3) The more turbulent the water, the more difficult it is to fish without the indicator. 

4) You're flies will not remain a constant depth.  Without the indicator the flies are constantly sinking.  Part of this is determining when to lift for the next cast before the catch bottom.

Advantages

1) Without the weight of an indicator  the casting is effortless and therefore accurate. 

2) Your flies will drift in the current in a more natural way making drag less noticeable to fish.

3) You will notice more of what's going on around you, things like hatches, fish lies, current seams, angry Alaskan bears.  Indicators have a way of creating tunnel vision, people can hyper focused on them.

4) Generally speaking hook sets are more secure because the fish are closer.  You won't have as many fish "spit the fly".

5) There is no big indicator splash when the flies land.  When fish are spooky or on calmer waters it's a huge advantage to be as stealthy as possible.

I agree with and second all of this.

The thing is, the less you have between you and the fly, the more sensitive YOU can be to a fish strike. IE, if there are no split shots or indicators/bobbers in the way, your line has a more direct connection to the fly.

Sometimes I don't see a strike or even feel a strike, I just sense something different in the way a fly IS in the water. I call it "the force" as in "Use the force Luke". There's a different rhythm in the movement of the fly/line/and rod. I set the hook at anything that looks different, feels different or seems different.

In my way of thinking, with those wooden indicators you are carving, you're bobber fishing. You could just as easily do it with a spinning rod. There's nothing wrong with it if that's what you want to do. I'm more successful and have more fun when it's just a rod, a line, and a fly, just like when I'm fishing dry flies.