Going Bobberless

[robertsitalia]

I'm curious, is anyone like myself that enjoys the challenge of fishing with nymphs without an indicator? It's certainly a more difficult task, and I admit at times I just give up and throw it on.
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[cje04]

I maybe fish with an indicator once a year for certain conditions. All others times I fish without an indicator which is my preferred method.
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[Troutbum_kelly]

I fish without an indicator quite a bit. Certain situations wont allow one. That's when I go by feel or just watch the end of my fly line. I also love swinging soft hackle on a tight line so no indicators are required.

T.B.
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[BigCountryUT]

I almost never use an indicator anymore. A couple years ago I started getting into Czech style nymphing and it is now my go to method.
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[aspiringflymstr]

I too have wanted to try and go indicatorless. I am definitely attracted to Czech ways of nymphing. The trouble I am running into is every tutorial I've looked at so far on youtube has all been on fairly shallow runs. How effective can this method be in the deep pools? Also for those of you who have been successful at this method do I have to invest in a 10' rod or can I get away with my 9' for now?
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[cje04]

The longer rods are definitely and advantage due to the reach but you can start with a 9' rod. In short, if you can wade the water you can Czech nymph it effectively. Riffles are typically better due to the broken water concealing you better but I've had a lot of succes in slower runs and pools as well.
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[ru22dizzle]

This works great in a deep pool, because you have total control on how deep you are getting. With an indicator you have to adjust that to ensure you are getting deep, but chances are you aren't getting as deep as you think. I had this proven to me on Monday by my buddy on the Weber. I took my indicator off and never put it back on. Can't wait to head out tomorrow to get it done again. Just takes practice and patience.
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[BigCountryUT]

Aspiringflymstr, it is great on deep runs. if you have a properly weighted fly it will drop like a rock to the bottom. I think an important aspect of fishing this way is learning to tie the flies. It hard to find the heavy flies but you can tie them very easily and cheaply. With tungsten beads and lead wire you can really build in good weight to your flies. My fly box is filled with differently weighted flies depending on the water depth that I am fishing.

By the way there are some great tutorials out there and several DVDs. Most of them are worth looking into. I have purchased most of them. The one that I learned the most from is Lance Egan's DVD called Advanced Nymphing Techniques. You can get it on line for about $25. It is well worth it if you want to learn this technique.

As for your question about the rod. Start with your normal rod but keep in mind the 10 foot rod will fish much better than the 9 foot so it is worth the upgrade when you can. I use a 10 foot 4 weight and it is about perfect for around here. Hope that helps.
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[FishSlayerMP]

Depends on the application. Slower moving low water, no indicator needed.

Really fast, high water, and indicator really helps.

I've had success both ways. Always fun to learn new techniques and apply them to your own style.
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[Troutbum_kelly]

Works great in deeper pools. Get your nymph down deep where it needs to be a lot faster. Check out the Provo river bounce rig.

T.B.
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[gstott]

Czech nymphing definitely has a learning curve to it. I was just down in South Africa fishing for yellowfish, and it is the method of choice there. We were fishing the Vaal River which is quite large and strong. I was rigged up with four tungsten head nymphs and at times we still put on split shot. It took some time to get used to it, but I think I started getting the hang of it by the end. I may have to try it back here in Utah/Idaho, I think it could be really good on a bigger river like the Snake River.
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[aspiringflymstr]

Love me some snake river fishing....next question then, with out a strike indicator does it just become watching your line or feeling your line or both? Kind of like jigging for bass?

Sorry robertsitalia I didn't intend to take over your post, hopefully we are all benefiting from this
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[gstott]

Mostly feel, but it doesn't hurt to watch your line. If you're doing it right you are in contact with your fly the whole time. You can feel it ticking across the tops of the rocks as it drifts downstream.
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[riverdog]

Unless you fish small areas of relatively consistent water depth for prolonged periods bobberless is the way to go. Better to start newbies out without an indicator as its a hard crutch to get rid of when only a few minutes to hours of extra experience from the beginning would alleviate the need for it 95 % of the time. But like all crutches it will only slow you down in most situations after the impairment is corrected. To me it's all feel. There maybe rare times fishing I miss a very subtle strike but if my technique allows me to keep the line in the water and quickly present my fly to 5 times as many fish at different depths I'm still going to catch far more fish than fishing the same stream with an indictor. Like everything else in life some will struggle with the finesse needed to do this but ( like I readily admit I do with golfing) but most won't find overly daunting to get the basics down. I've only taught 2 people to fly fish but both were catching 10 plus fish an hour with both dries and as well as forgoing an indicator with nymphing with less tha an hour instruction. Now a lot of that was knowing where to get them on eager fish but if my child at 6 years of age can do it most adults can too. It's also very easily adaptable to silver and king salmon fishing small rivers.
How has your technique and success been since switching?
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[FishSlayerMP]

That is my challenge, getting the nymphs down deep in the drift.

I don't tie my own flies so if i do have an anchor fly its a GIANT size like 6 tungsten nymph, then the tags running off that like a foot up or so. Challenging for sure to start out. The only time I hooked up without an indicator was on the Green River, and the fish got off []
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[Joe_Dizzy]

Completely agree with you Riverdog... everyone should learn first to fish (nymphs) first without an indicator. Lots of one-trick ponies out there on the rivers get lost when fish aren't yanking their bobber under.
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[flygoddess]

I learned to fly fish at a young age with the Snake River for a back yard.
Started of with no designated indy as we could not afford them. BUT, I did fish dry dropper, which could be considered an indy with a hook.
I didn't use Indys for many years. I tried the yarn ones and absolutely hated them. Tried the stick ons and what a joke. The putty didn't totally suck but it definitely had its faults like coloring the line and hard to mold if cold, SO I dry droppered.
Then in the later 90's, I fell in love with deep nymphing using indicator and long leaders on stillwater. That got me hooked, however that was mainly Mids and Pupa. All other nymphs are a strip and sinking lines (again stillwater)
Rivers I found I still liked the sinking line stripping style.
And always Dry/Dropper.
I don't think of it as a crutch or even bad habit, but that's just me.
I fish daily and 6 out of 10 times it is under a Thingamabobber. The other 4 is under a Dry.
I catch fish, so don't see a need to change. It is still a challenge.
If I am teaching someone to fly fish, you bet I will be sharing what I do. Just my style.
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[Browntrout]

You might check out Kelly Galloup's drop shot rig. He has a new youtube video on the drop shot. Also, read what Devin Olsen (tacticalflyfisher) has to say about the applications of different rigs and Euro Nymphing 101 in 3 parts. I use a mini tipper so I can see the line rather than a sighter.
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