** NOTE ** Video for Mono Rig Mods Appears Below. I first wrote about the Mono Rig nearly a decade ago. And in the years since, the understanding and acceptance of tight line tactics has gained enormous momentum. Much of the education across articles, books and videos...
** NOTE ** Video for The Dorsey Yarn Indictor appears below For over a decade, my Troutbitten friends and I have fished a small yarn indicator that weighs nothing, is extremely sensitive, versatile, cheap, doesn't affect the cast, and flat out catches more trout than...
** NOTE ** Video for the Golden Ratio appears below There are two parts about the path of a dead-drifted nymph that matter most. The fly should stay in just one lane, and it should travel at the natural speed of the target zone. On a tight line system, both of these...
I field questions from Troutbitten readers, listeners and watchers every day. And there are common themes within the questions. The same things give people trouble on all trout streams, all around the world. This Q&A series is a chance to answer some of those...
The Lift and Lead is a cornerstone concept for advanced tight line nymphing skills.
Lift to allow the fly to fall into place. Lead to stop it from falling and to keep it gliding through the strike zone.
For certain, the lift and lead is an advanced tactic. But if you’re having success on a tight line for a few seasons now, you’re probably already incorporating some of this without knowing it. And by considering both elements, by being deliberate with each part of the lift and lead, control over the course of your flies increases. Efficiency with weight improves.
The path is more predictable. And more trout eat the fly . . .
Can we truly drift nymphs without any influence over them? No. And while I agree that too much contact or too much influence over the nymph can look unnatural, I disagree that being out of contact is the best approach . . .
Some anglers seem resigned to the notion that more flies, split shot or drop shot inevitably bring more tangles. But multiple nymphs on one rig won’t tangle if the cast is right and the rigging is solid.
Slipping contact is the intermixing of influence and autonomy. Take the fly somewhere — help it glide along. Then surrender it to the current, and let the river make the decisions. Slip in and out, and find the balance between influence and independence to the fly . . .
Do we ever animate the fly during the drift? Sure, but at that point it’s no longer a dead drift. Activating the fly out of a dead drift often turns the trick . . .
I don’t guess, because I might ruin my best chance. I also do everything I can to be in contact or just slightly out of contact with the nymph, whether that’s on a tight line to my rod tip or under an indicator. And I trust my skills this way, more than I trust my instinct to set on nothing . . .