Very nice video - was suprised your able to get so close to large fish without spooking them - but then saw they were cutthroats. My experience with cuts is they often are less likely to spook than comparatively sized browns or rainbows. Regarding the question asked about what kind of indicator, it looks a like a "Thingabobber". Fly shops sell it them in sizes 1/2", 3/4", 1", and 1 1/4". I like the 1/2" for smaller nymphs and I use the 3/4" fishing with #12 - #16 nymphs & BB's & #3/0 shot.
Hey Kurt, Thanks for the compliments. The chest pack is from Filson, but oddly enough they don't have it under the fishing vests link. You can find it under the "fly fishing - jackets, packs and waders" section. We've been fishing in those vests for about 15 years now! Great storage, no yoke to make the back of your neck hurt.
Brilliant! I love your idea and will have to give it a shot soon. You should look into Doctor's Brush Toothpicks. We mention them in another video about how to make micro-indicators and they could be perfect for securing hollowed out fly-line so it stays even on tippets as small as 8x.It's a small plastic toothpick that when you cut off the bristles you have a very tiny toothpick. Tight lines!
Nice deal. My mom has a temple fork and loves it and my dad has a #3 and #5, both sages. I would recommend a #5 because you can fish just about anything with it. Streamers, drys, nymphs. #3 makes it easier for dry flies. Never tried a #4 though
@Nunzerator It's a good question, with the tubed variety you have to slide it on your line before you tie on your fly, but once it's on, it's easily adjustable to any depth (unless in the case where the tube diameter is small and you want to slide it way up your leader to the thick butt section)
@musphuss My opinion on the "bolt for cover" question is pretty simple. It depends on how pre-occupied the fish is with it's food source. These 6 or 7 fish were feeding hard on nymphs. In the video you can see them turning on a lot of them. 50 feet upstream was a pool with fish that weren't feeding much at all and they would bolt from the sound-waves of your footsteps on the bank. (pt. 1)
@MegaHammer97 It is a Scott G-Series 4 weight. One of the older models. Jay (in the video) and I (Jeff) love Scott rods. Slow action rods are great for using light tippets because they protect the tippet so well. I think Jay was using 7x tippet in this video.
@allenbrothers heck yes! LOL. I can't say I haven't had takes like that but usually when the indicator goes underwater for me it means I caught the bottom.
@flyman451 Yes, it sounds like your spring creeks fish a lot like this one. You can get within 20 feet of the fish, but the drifts are brutal and the fly has to be right. I think that fish took about 30 good drifts before he took the fly, and that is fishing 7x flourocarbon.
You wrote me "Plus, it gets fished pretty hard so the fish are used to seeing people." There are two very well known spring creeks in Montana that get lots of angling pressure. The trout see lots of guys and lots of flies so one can get quite close to them but it doesn't mean they are easy to catch.
@flyman451 It depends on where you're at on this spring creek. If the fish are in the long flat pools they will spook if you're 50 feet away and lay your tippet down too hard. It may not look like a lot of current from the video, but it is a lot of current for this spring creek, so the fish in this run are feeding pretty hard and concentrating less on what's going on around them. Plus, it gets fished pretty hard so the fish are used to seeing people.
@crazybeats396 Yes, they feed all year round. About the only thing that stops me from catching trout on the fly is the river freezing over solid (which stopped us from steelhead fishing yesterday)! If you live in a place where warm water is an issue it's probably best to not fish, because the fight will stress out the fish and increase the chance of mortality.
@spicikavupije It is the light line, small indicator, micro split shot, micro fly that makes it work so well for spooky fish. With that light of a set up, you can lay down your presentation almost as delicate of a dry fly, whereas heavier rigs "plop" down. If the fish is really spooky we will forego the indicator and just watch for the take - but that takes a lot more practice and a good eye.
For this kind of nymphing I like to use short sections of 10-12 weight yellow or orange florescent floating fly line, with the core stripped out, as a strike indicator. In the case of bigger streams and rivers, I put a small florescent red plastic bead between two of this type of indicator and then slide them around on the butt section of my nymphing leader to adjust for water depth. Except for perhaps in the roughest of water, this is a very good technique to employ. Tight Lines!
@dunrobins True, slack is no good. In this case it isn't too big of a deal because Jay is really only 20 feet from the fish. With 9' 9" of that distance being covered by his rod the pick up is pretty easy. So, mostly the fisherman has to make the decision when to mend, when to strip, or when to leave it be in order to get that extra 8" of drift to get to the fish. In this case, Jay was pushing the limit, but it worked.
@hawaiiankillahulua We like brookie fishing when we get the chance! Actually, there are some high mountain lakes in the Jackson, WY area that have some pretty large brookies, Jay caught one that was about 17" once. You'd think they would spook, and they do get a little finicky if you approach without caution, but that spring creek gets a fair amount of pressure, so I think the fish are used to it a bit.
@musphuss (pt 2) The beauty of a spring creek is these fish were feeding hard, allowing us to get close, but were keyed in on a very specific nymph stage (emerging baetis) and wouldn't take any other fly presented. I think it's amazing how they have this type of memory that can be very specific!
@pelletify No, in fact if it's clear enough and the fish are spooky we'll skip the indicator, though going that route requires more finesse and knowing the current speed so you know when your fly is in range. The good thing about the indicators we use is they can be made really small, so they generally don't spook the fish.
Thanks for the clear video! I've been fly fishing our local lake for good sized trout. But this upcoming summer in the Sierras of CA, Can you flyfish the rivers all summerlong (Do trout always feed on flies year around?). Thanks, Mike
super fish very amazing catching model i'am french and i'm not sure to understand you but pict. suffice . i just want to know what the little white ball we see is ? Thkx
I've never seen trout so unconcerned with human approach. Lovely fish. I remember fishing Flat Creek in Wyoming with little stuff 47 years ago. I spent a good part of a summer, camping and wandering the creek. No people and lots of fish. It was very different than my Coastal Cutthroat and Steelhead fishing here in Washington. Now I'm too old to see so fine as these flies and line are.
Each to his own about indicator design and construction - I actually hold my "Thingamabobber" in place with those little rubber bobber stops. I slide one on my leader, then apply the indicator, then another bobber stopper. Then by just sliding the stoppers up, or down, the leader I can re-position the Thingamabobber.
I agree, in this situation it's not needed. However, this gin-clear creek makes for a great opportunity to film an instructional video :-) There are, however, many great applications for using a micro-indicator such as controlling your nymph depth (for emerging nymphs higher in the water-column), and rivers with a rockier substrate (to keep from hanging up as much).
@jonnyforeman You can certainly forgo the indicator, but it's one we make ourselves and it's small enough that it typically doesn't cause the fish to spook. So normally, we use it unless the fish are very spooky. As for weight, incorporating it into the fly, we feel, takes away from the design (proper shape of the insect we're imitating) of the fly. It's not often you find a natural insect with a big round head (bead), and lead is not much of an option on a size #20 and up.
Cabelas does make good rods from what ive heard. Under 200 you can get some good rods. My Scierra Ferox is retailed at $300 but ive seen them under 200. Doubt you can get one though, they are a foreign company and the one we got at cabelas was a one time thing. Temple Fork Outfitters makes excellent rods, and Sage is superb. Hunt around on Google and local fly shops. They can give further advice.
Ok, at the risk of sounding really dumb, I read the articles on making the indicators. The first one (tape only) is self-explanatory. But I'm unsure about the second one. How does one attach the tubed variety to the line? Thanks.
They are wild. It is a spring creek that flows into the Snake River in Wyoming. The entire creek is only a mile or so long and it get's fished heavily, so the fish are not very spooky, but quite picky in their food selection. It's called "Frustration Ponds" because most guys can see lots of fish but can't catch them, so they get frustrated.
allenbrothers OK Ive seen a similar scenario when fish are regularly fished on. But not as extreme as theese ones. But when you see the fish they see you and become more picky. We can have frustration ponds(slow moving deep pools) were the fish rise steadily all day long and you wont catch em but they are easily spooked. Some Swedes call en "Circus fish" tha "shows off" their skills...
Max Jarno Ha! Circus Fish! I like that :-) One other thing about this particular situation. There were a lot of emerging baetis in that riffle and the fish were very keyed in on them. I've seen that a fair amount where they stop becoming spooked because they are so focused on feeding. That same day there were fish a few pools up that we were making 60' casts to with 7x tippet and they would spook when the fly hit the water because they were more aware of their surroundings.
I fished a small stream in South of Sweden when the Baetis were hatching. We sppoked them over and over again with 6X tippet and a leader that was appr. 18 feet in shallow water. We swapped to 5X flourocarbon and now the fly and leader didint spook the fish.Everything was OK until the fly itself appeared close to the fish. Ha I tried a size 22 chironomid larvae and had a strike but failed to nail the brownies. Thoose are moments you never forget and you will let go over and over in youre head. That is what flyfishing is all about for me..... I only nailed one fish that day and had a lot of opportunities but lost the most of them to the fish.
Max Jarno So true Max, so true ... We live in Michigan now, which is a different style of fishing. But, we grew up fishing gin-clear spring creeks in Pennsylvania. It's a sight-fishing, light tippet, small midges fishing style!
@flyman451 We also used our "blacktail baetis" pattern which Jay (the fisherman in the video) designed just for this area, but it is an amazing baetis pattern!
We have an article on our website (theallenbrothers) that shows the rig. Go to - Articles - "Tis the Season to be Midging". The fly is a #20 baetis pattern, but we use midges a lot this way down to size #24. It's a clear creek with a lot of traffic. It's easy to get very close to fish (and great for a video camera!), but they are very picky fish. As you can tell by the aggressive take - the fly pattern choice was right and the presentation was great (i.e. drag free). Tight lines!
@flyfisher4life1 As for the take, when we fish this style we usually try to keep one eye on the indicator and one eye on the fish. If the take is fast enough then it won't register on the indicator, but subtle fish movement is what we look for. The other thing we are big on is setting your indicator depth very close to the actual water depth (not deeper). This allows you to register the strike quickly.
@SROD12321 Nice try! However, by simply clicking on your user profile and discovering most of your comments are about bass fishing, I'm not too offended by you saying "not what WE call fly fishing in PA" That and the fact that we've spent many summers fishing the Central PA spring creeks. This is actually a technique we use almost exclusively for big, tough fish!
@Zoth77 Zoth, good observation :-) That was a VERY aggressive take compared to what we see most of the time when micro-nymphing. In fact it's usually walking that fine line of keeping one eye on the fish and one eye on the indicator and whichever moves first - set the hook. We were a little sad to have to use the footage of the late hook-set, but if we wanted to justify it we could say something clever like "it was such a good drift that the fish just crushed it!" ;-) Tight lines!
@SROD12321 SROD: I see ... your comment was to mean that our method isn't "pure" enough for you. That is fair, this video was never meant to be a "dry fly purist" statement. Simply, a good "enjoyable" way to catch more fish. However, I would hardly call a strike indicator that is smaller than most people's dry fly, and a split shot less than 1/16" wide "bobber fishing".
With water that shallow and current that slow you should just go with a bead head and color it with a sharpie if you don't like the flash. You are also fishing with a lot of slack in your line.
I would have liked to have seen how you actually tie up the rig, and how small the flies already are. For being such a clear creek, the fish are not very easily spooked. They didn't seem to mind you being there.
@MousemanProphecies Yes, we make them ourselves and it's the only indicators we use because you can make them super quick and in any size. Check out our video on them here on youtube. It's titled "Allen Brothers foam indicator for fly fishing". We also have an article on our website theallenbrothers. It's currently the featured article under the "fly fishing topics" section on the homepage.
@musphuss It's a good question. I'm afraid I'll I can offer up is an opinion, though I'm sure some folks in the scientific community have attempted to study it. My thought is that they have memory, but short term. They don't need long term memory to see a food source and know it's good, then recognize the pattern of that food source coming at them en masse. Short term memory would also explain why they reject a fly once they've seen it and know it's not the natural, or been hooked by it.
It is a Blacktail Baetis. Jay (in the video) lived and guided in Jackson, WY for 6 years and developed the pattern at the location this video was shot. You can get them on our website by clicking on the link in the video description.
Thanks! Actually, this river is very spooky too. Most fish will bug out just from hearing your footfall on the banks of the river. These fish serve as a good testament to the fact that when a fish is keyed in on a food source (emerging baetis in this case), then can get tunnel vision.
@spicikavupije It works really well for all types of trout. In fact, we really learned and developed our skills of the technique fishing for brown trout on the spring creeks of Pennsylvania. Fish don't get much spookier than those creeks. I think the best thing about it is all the places we've found it does work. It even adapts well to off color water when you can't see the fish, but they are feeding on emergers heavily!
hi Allenabrothers! you use split-shot and indicator and call it micronymphing? Isn't the weight of the nymph, and slack in the long leader sufficient to allow the nymph to sink without the use of split shot. Do you really need an indicator to detect the take?
The indicator isn't necessary, especially in this situation. However, as you can tell, these fish weren't that spooky either. It depends a lot on how much they are concentrating on feeding. As for the weight, typically the weight of the hook is not enough to get your fly to sink down to the proper depth. If you were to simply drop a hook in the water it would sink fine, but attaching it to tippet (no matter how light the tippet or good the drift) will create resistance, so the weight helps compensate.
normal i would say. There is no actual way to reel in a fish on a fly rod i feel. I alternate between what you do and straight reeling it in. Any advice i would give would be if its a big fish, strip the line, that way it can run free a little bit without that kinda annoying reeeeeeeel of the fly reel. I do have to agree with you though, there is a big difference between a spin reel and fly reel. I was out fishing for bass with a spinreel and today when i used my fly rod i was going what is dat?
Yeah, whatever works best to not lose the fish :-) For small guys it's great to practice because they aren't too easy to lose. The concept is the same as spin, you don't want slack and you don't want to break the fish off if he runs hard. Stripping line in is the fastest way to manage line if a big fish runs at you fast, then you can use your index finger (on the grip) as your "drag" until you get the slack reeled up. Tight lines - welcome to the sport!
The white ball is a micro indicator that we make out of foam tape (used for hanging pictures on walls). We have an instructional video you can check out to see how to make them. It is on our Allen Brothers video page and it's called "Allen Brothers foam indicator for fly fishing"
That first cast the fish turned around for your bait and you pulled it out. You're still a beginner. You have a strike indicator when the waters crystal clear? Also When you make a drift dont pull it out prematurely, ive had countless times a fish would turn around and follow a bait, its not all about the floss the fish in the face technique like some people tend to think.
you obviously dont nymph fish... lmao. saying that the floating line will keep your nymph off the bottom....??? what? are you telling me that you change the length of your leader every time you change water depth in a river? think...
kpriebe007 umm changing your "tippet" length is as easy as using a tippet ring, and is for that very reason you just stated. If your not checking your depth constantly, your not catching as many fish as you should, regardless if its your leader (tippet), or indicator that you are adjusting to the water conditions., Also you can use indicator putty, or bobber style indicator on small streams-and not spook fish-if your using a muted color such as white, or clear.
Clifford Bennett Imxaxmac Yes, Jay did miss the first take - tough criticism though - have you ever missed a take? Does missing a take immediately make you a beginner? I agree with kpriebe007. Floating line with a 9 foot leader won't keep your nymph off the bottom in 2' of water. Yes, the strike indicator isn't necessary, but helpful - especially when making a video :-) and we custom make those indicators so they are white and very small. No reason not to use it if the fish isn't spooking.
okay admittedly the criticism was a little harsh, I can tell you fellows kind of know what you are doing and it appears that your technique managed to catch a fish. (even if it is the dumb one in the hole)
@michaelsw0rd Yes, you may ask what we are using as a strike indicator! I posted this video a while back. We've been using these indicators for the last 15 years of my life and don't ever really use anything else. They are super versatile because they can be sized as big as you need, or as small as a pea. Check it out
Perfect casting, perfect water, perfect trout, thanks for sharing!!!
Nice video. I love it when you get that super aggressive take in clear water.
That is awesome. I have never seen a complete reaction like that caught on camera. Very nice
Toujours un grand plaisir à regarder tes vidéos. Superbe.
I like the way you approach from the rear , cast upstream and mend to the oposite side of the fish to avoid line spooking . Good technique
Very nice video - was suprised your able to get so close to large fish without spooking them - but then saw they were cutthroats. My experience with cuts is they often are less likely to spook than comparatively sized browns or rainbows. Regarding the question asked about what kind of indicator, it looks a like a "Thingabobber". Fly shops sell it them in sizes 1/2", 3/4", 1", and 1 1/4". I like the 1/2" for smaller nymphs and I use the 3/4" fishing with #12 - #16 nymphs & BB's & #3/0 shot.
Hey Kurt,
Thanks for the compliments.
The chest pack is from Filson, but oddly enough they don't have it under the fishing vests link. You can find it under the "fly fishing - jackets, packs and waders" section.
We've been fishing in those vests for about 15 years now! Great storage, no yoke to make the back of your neck hurt.
Brilliant! I love your idea and will have to give it a shot soon. You should look into Doctor's Brush Toothpicks. We mention them in another video about how to make micro-indicators and they could be perfect for securing hollowed out fly-line so it stays even on tippets as small as 8x.It's a small plastic toothpick that when you cut off the bristles you have a very tiny toothpick. Tight lines!
Nice deal. My mom has a temple fork and loves it and my dad has a #3 and #5, both sages. I would recommend a #5 because you can fish just about anything with it. Streamers, drys, nymphs. #3 makes it easier for dry flies. Never tried a #4 though
@Nunzerator It's a good question, with the tubed variety you have to slide it on your line before you tie on your fly, but once it's on, it's easily adjustable to any depth (unless in the case where the tube diameter is small and you want to slide it way up your leader to the thick butt section)
@musphuss My opinion on the "bolt for cover" question is pretty simple. It depends on how pre-occupied the fish is with it's food source. These 6 or 7 fish were feeding hard on nymphs. In the video you can see them turning on a lot of them. 50 feet upstream was a pool with fish that weren't feeding much at all and they would bolt from the sound-waves of your footsteps on the bank. (pt. 1)
@MegaHammer97 It is a Scott G-Series 4 weight. One of the older models. Jay (in the video) and I (Jeff) love Scott rods. Slow action rods are great for using light tippets because they protect the tippet so well. I think Jay was using 7x tippet in this video.
I wish there was water like this where I live that is a dream. I can only watch it on YT and wish . Great Job! and great video!
@allenbrothers heck yes! LOL. I can't say I haven't had takes like that but usually when the indicator goes underwater for me it means I caught the bottom.
@flyman451 Yes, it sounds like your spring creeks fish a lot like this one. You can get within 20 feet of the fish, but the drifts are brutal and the fly has to be right. I think that fish took about 30 good drifts before he took the fly, and that is fishing 7x flourocarbon.
You wrote me "Plus, it gets fished pretty hard so the fish are used to seeing people."
There are two very well known spring creeks in Montana that get lots of angling pressure. The trout see lots of guys and lots of flies so one can get quite close to them but it doesn't mean they are easy to catch.
Thats the most beautiful fish ive ever seen, good job!
Nymph fishing to fish in the indicator
I have been imitated in Japan.
Trout, very beautiful.
Awesome takes!
@flyman451 It depends on where you're at on this spring creek. If the fish are in the long flat pools they will spook if you're 50 feet away and lay your tippet down too hard. It may not look like a lot of current from the video, but it is a lot of current for this spring creek, so the fish in this run are feeding pretty hard and concentrating less on what's going on around them. Plus, it gets fished pretty hard so the fish are used to seeing people.
@crazybeats396 Yes, they feed all year round. About the only thing that stops me from catching trout on the fly is the river freezing over solid (which stopped us from steelhead fishing yesterday)! If you live in a place where warm water is an issue it's probably best to not fish, because the fight will stress out the fish and increase the chance of mortality.
Is it fly fishing or coarse fishing? :-)
@spicikavupije It is the light line, small indicator, micro split shot, micro fly that makes it work so well for spooky fish. With that light of a set up, you can lay down your presentation almost as delicate of a dry fly, whereas heavier rigs "plop" down. If the fish is really spooky we will forego the indicator and just watch for the take - but that takes a lot more practice and a good eye.
For this kind of nymphing I like to use short sections of 10-12 weight yellow or orange florescent floating fly line, with the core stripped out, as a strike indicator. In the case of bigger streams and rivers, I put a small florescent red plastic bead between two of this type of indicator and then slide them around on the butt section of my nymphing leader to adjust for water depth. Except for perhaps in the roughest of water, this is a very good technique to employ. Tight Lines!
the drop cast was introduced several decades ago by Joe Humphreys; he called it the up-and-downer; or sometimes the tuck cast.
@dunrobins True, slack is no good. In this case it isn't too big of a deal because Jay is really only 20 feet from the fish. With 9' 9" of that distance being covered by his rod the pick up is pretty easy. So, mostly the fisherman has to make the decision when to mend, when to strip, or when to leave it be in order to get that extra 8" of drift to get to the fish. In this case, Jay was pushing the limit, but it worked.
@hawaiiankillahulua We like brookie fishing when we get the chance! Actually, there are some high mountain lakes in the Jackson, WY area that have some pretty large brookies, Jay caught one that was about 17" once.
You'd think they would spook, and they do get a little finicky if you approach without caution, but that spring creek gets a fair amount of pressure, so I think the fish are used to it a bit.
Jackson, Wyoming area. It was a particularly cold fall day. Earlier in the week we got a freak storm of 1' of snow!
@musphuss (pt 2) The beauty of a spring creek is these fish were feeding hard, allowing us to get close, but were keyed in on a very specific nymph stage (emerging baetis) and wouldn't take any other fly presented. I think it's amazing how they have this type of memory that can be very specific!
wow beautiful fish, beautiful stream. what state is this shot in.
@pelletify No, in fact if it's clear enough and the fish are spooky we'll skip the indicator, though going that route requires more finesse and knowing the current speed so you know when your fly is in range.
The good thing about the indicators we use is they can be made really small, so they generally don't spook the fish.
Thanks for the clear video! I've been fly fishing our local lake for good sized trout. But this upcoming summer in the Sierras of CA, Can you flyfish the rivers all summerlong (Do trout always feed on flies year around?). Thanks, Mike
super fish very amazing catching model i'am french and i'm not sure to understand you but pict. suffice . i just want to know what the little white ball we see is ?
Thkx
I've never seen trout so unconcerned with human approach. Lovely fish. I remember fishing Flat Creek in Wyoming with little stuff 47 years ago. I spent a good part of a summer, camping and wandering the creek. No people and lots of fish. It was very different than my Coastal Cutthroat and Steelhead fishing here in Washington. Now I'm too old to see so fine as these flies and line are.
@fiftythings I couldn't agree more. It's surprising what a difference 4" will do!
such clear and pristine water
Do mind me asking what indicator you were using, seemed very sensitive, i wouldnt mind grabbing a few
What reel are you using in the video? It looks great
What number of rod do you use ? Nice video, nice fish...
Each to his own about indicator design and construction - I actually hold my "Thingamabobber" in place with those little rubber bobber stops. I slide one on my leader, then apply the indicator, then another bobber stopper. Then by just sliding the stoppers up, or down, the leader I can re-position the Thingamabobber.
I agree, in this situation it's not needed. However, this gin-clear creek makes for a great opportunity to film an instructional video :-)
There are, however, many great applications for using a micro-indicator such as controlling your nymph depth (for emerging nymphs higher in the water-column), and rivers with a rockier substrate (to keep from hanging up as much).
nice video, beautiful fish!
Why are you using an indicator in such clear water? And why do you not incorporate weight into your fly patterns rather than using a split shot?
@jonnyforeman You can certainly forgo the indicator, but it's one we make ourselves and it's small enough that it typically doesn't cause the fish to spook. So normally, we use it unless the fish are very spooky.
As for weight, incorporating it into the fly, we feel, takes away from the design (proper shape of the insect we're imitating) of the fly. It's not often you find a natural insect with a big round head (bead), and lead is not much of an option on a size #20 and up.
ok thanks, ill take a look nice drift too, i cant wait to be out tomorrow man, tight lines
hey nice video!!!!! may i ask what u are using as a strike indactor?
Cabelas does make good rods from what ive heard. Under 200 you can get some good rods. My Scierra Ferox is retailed at $300 but ive seen them under 200. Doubt you can get one though, they are a foreign company and the one we got at cabelas was a one time thing. Temple Fork Outfitters makes excellent rods, and Sage is superb. Hunt around on Google and local fly shops. They can give further advice.
wow that was a beautifullll take, i love this sport:)
Nice video and fish! What kind of camera was used to film this?
Thanks for the reply and further explanation. I like your website as well!
Ok, at the risk of sounding really dumb, I read the articles on making the indicators. The first one (tape only) is self-explanatory. But I'm unsure about the second one. How does one attach the tubed variety to the line? Thanks.
Very nice vid...beautiful fish
@dunrobins Sounds like a pretty stealthy indicator setup. Good idea! We've fished braided leader before though, and don't like them too much.
how can you tell when a fish takes your nymph does the indicater always go down completly and what kind of indicator are you using
Awesome video
Are thoose fish stocked or wild I m getting confused, since here in Scandinavia I will never come as close to a wild fish in clear water as you did.
They are wild. It is a spring creek that flows into the Snake River in Wyoming. The entire creek is only a mile or so long and it get's fished heavily, so the fish are not very spooky, but quite picky in their food selection. It's called "Frustration Ponds" because most guys can see lots of fish but can't catch them, so they get frustrated.
allenbrothers OK Ive seen a similar scenario when fish are regularly fished on.
But not as extreme as theese ones. But when you see the fish they see you and become more picky. We can have frustration ponds(slow moving deep pools) were the fish rise steadily all day long and you wont catch em but they are easily spooked. Some Swedes call en "Circus fish" tha "shows off" their skills...
Max Jarno Ha! Circus Fish! I like that :-) One other thing about this particular situation. There were a lot of emerging baetis in that riffle and the fish were very keyed in on them. I've seen that a fair amount where they stop becoming spooked because they are so focused on feeding. That same day there were fish a few pools up that we were making 60' casts to with 7x tippet and they would spook when the fly hit the water because they were more aware of their surroundings.
I fished a small stream in South of Sweden when the Baetis were hatching. We sppoked them over and over again with 6X tippet and a leader that was appr. 18 feet in shallow water. We swapped to 5X flourocarbon and now the fly and leader didint spook the fish.Everything was OK until the fly itself appeared close to the fish. Ha
I tried a size 22 chironomid larvae and had a strike but failed to nail the brownies. Thoose are moments you never forget and you will let go over and over in youre head. That is what flyfishing is all about for me.....
I only nailed one fish that day and had a lot of opportunities but lost the most of them to the fish.
Max Jarno So true Max, so true ... We live in Michigan now, which is a different style of fishing. But, we grew up fishing gin-clear spring creeks in Pennsylvania. It's a sight-fishing, light tippet, small midges fishing style!
@flyman451 We also used our "blacktail baetis" pattern which Jay (the fisherman in the video) designed just for this area, but it is an amazing baetis pattern!
We have an article on our website (theallenbrothers) that shows the rig. Go to - Articles - "Tis the Season to be Midging".
The fly is a #20 baetis pattern, but we use midges a lot this way down to size #24.
It's a clear creek with a lot of traffic. It's easy to get very close to fish (and great for a video camera!), but they are very picky fish. As you can tell by the aggressive take - the fly pattern choice was right and the presentation was great (i.e. drag free).
Tight lines!
@flyfisher4life1 As for the take, when we fish this style we usually try to keep one eye on the indicator and one eye on the fish. If the take is fast enough then it won't register on the indicator, but subtle fish movement is what we look for.
The other thing we are big on is setting your indicator depth very close to the actual water depth (not deeper). This allows you to register the strike quickly.
@SROD12321
Nice try!
However, by simply clicking on your user profile and discovering most of your comments are about bass fishing, I'm not too offended by you saying "not what WE call fly fishing in PA"
That and the fact that we've spent many summers fishing the Central PA spring creeks. This is actually a technique we use almost exclusively for big, tough fish!
@Zoth77 Zoth, good observation :-) That was a VERY aggressive take compared to what we see most of the time when micro-nymphing. In fact it's usually walking that fine line of keeping one eye on the fish and one eye on the indicator and whichever moves first - set the hook.
We were a little sad to have to use the footage of the late hook-set, but if we wanted to justify it we could say something clever like "it was such a good drift that the fish just crushed it!" ;-) Tight lines!
@SROD12321
SROD: I see ... your comment was to mean that our method isn't "pure" enough for you. That is fair, this video was never meant to be a "dry fly purist" statement. Simply, a good "enjoyable" way to catch more fish.
However, I would hardly call a strike indicator that is smaller than most people's dry fly, and a split shot less than 1/16" wide "bobber fishing".
Sportman-un Yes, same concept. Functionally, it's the same as a parachute cast too, but the parachute cast being for dry-flies.
allenbrothers yyytgydfgh
Great Video!
Hello! are you using a cortland precision XC reel?
It was a Canon Mark 5D (If I remember correctly ...) One of those nice DSLR's.
With water that shallow and current that slow you should just go with a bead head and color it with a sharpie if you don't like the flash. You are also fishing with a lot of slack in your line.
Thanks, May I ask you what job you exercise besides fishing?
Thanks for the compliment Eddie!
I would have liked to have seen how you actually tie up the rig, and how small the flies already are.
For being such a clear creek, the fish are not very easily spooked. They didn't seem to mind you being there.
Nice Video, thanks for showing
That was awesome. Thanks for the vid
@MousemanProphecies Yes, we make them ourselves and it's the only indicators we use because you can make them super quick and in any size. Check out our video on them here on youtube. It's titled "Allen Brothers foam indicator for fly fishing".
We also have an article on our website theallenbrothers. It's currently the featured article under the "fly fishing topics" section on the homepage.
@musphuss It's a good question. I'm afraid I'll I can offer up is an opinion, though I'm sure some folks in the scientific community have attempted to study it.
My thought is that they have memory, but short term. They don't need long term memory to see a food source and know it's good, then recognize the pattern of that food source coming at them en masse. Short term memory would also explain why they reject a fly once they've seen it and know it's not the natural, or been hooked by it.
Is this 'dropcast' the same as 'tuck-cast'? (I dont know if I spelled that right).
beautiful fish! way cool video
It is a Blacktail Baetis. Jay (in the video) lived and guided in Jackson, WY for 6 years and developed the pattern at the location this video was shot. You can get them on our website by clicking on the link in the video description.
Nice fish! Check out Tenkara fishing, it would be perfect for this!
@mrbassinthecover It's a #20 Blacktail Baetis you can find it on the Allen Brothers website
@MiCx023 Thanks for the compliment. We are hoping to shoot some more footage, this time in the Black Canyon, Montrose Colorado later this year!
Thanks! Actually, this river is very spooky too. Most fish will bug out just from hearing your footfall on the banks of the river.
These fish serve as a good testament to the fact that when a fish is keyed in on a food source (emerging baetis in this case), then can get tunnel vision.
@spicikavupije It works really well for all types of trout. In fact, we really learned and developed our skills of the technique fishing for brown trout on the spring creeks of Pennsylvania. Fish don't get much spookier than those creeks. I think the best thing about it is all the places we've found it does work. It even adapts well to off color water when you can't see the fish, but they are feeding on emergers heavily!
Great video . . . thanks!
@pegsPboy same, it does help when it comes to reading water.
hi Allenabrothers! you use split-shot and indicator and call it micronymphing?
Isn't the weight of the nymph, and slack in the long leader sufficient to allow the nymph to sink without the use of split shot. Do you really need an indicator to detect the take?
The indicator isn't necessary, especially in this situation. However, as you can tell, these fish weren't that spooky either. It depends a lot on how much they are concentrating on feeding. As for the weight, typically the weight of the hook is not enough to get your fly to sink down to the proper depth. If you were to simply drop a hook in the water it would sink fine, but attaching it to tippet (no matter how light the tippet or good the drift) will create resistance, so the weight helps compensate.
allenbrothers
There are horses, then there are stallions. This guy's a stallion! Way to go!
Nice video work
Beautiful cutthroat dude. Far more colorful than Pa stockies.
normal i would say. There is no actual way to reel in a fish on a fly rod i feel. I alternate between what you do and straight reeling it in. Any advice i would give would be if its a big fish, strip the line, that way it can run free a little bit without that kinda annoying reeeeeeeel of the fly reel. I do have to agree with you though, there is a big difference between a spin reel and fly reel. I was out fishing for bass with a spinreel and today when i used my fly rod i was going what is dat?
Yeah, whatever works best to not lose the fish :-) For small guys it's great to practice because they aren't too easy to lose. The concept is the same as spin, you don't want slack and you don't want to break the fish off if he runs hard. Stripping line in is the fastest way to manage line if a big fish runs at you fast, then you can use your index finger (on the grip) as your "drag" until you get the slack reeled up.
Tight lines - welcome to the sport!
In this video the water is very clear and the fisherman is extremely close, so I would think that the fish would bolt for cover or stop feeding.
Hey, could you fish for some big Brown Trouts? Or what are youre tips to catch trouts with out a flyfishing rod?
Yes, same methods apply for Browns.
Not much for fly fishing, but thats great quality video!
The white ball is a micro indicator that we make out of foam tape (used for hanging pictures on walls). We have an instructional video you can check out to see how to make them. It is on our Allen Brothers video page and it's called "Allen Brothers foam indicator for fly fishing"
What chest pack are yall running?
I like this guy.
That first cast the fish turned around for your bait and you pulled it out. You're still a beginner. You have a strike indicator when the waters crystal clear? Also When you make a drift dont pull it out prematurely, ive had countless times a fish would turn around and follow a bait, its not all about the floss the fish in the face technique like some people tend to think.
you obviously dont nymph fish... lmao. saying that the floating line will keep your nymph off the bottom....??? what? are you telling me that you change the length of your leader every time you change water depth in a river? think...
kpriebe007
what?
kpriebe007 umm changing your "tippet" length is as easy as using a tippet ring, and is for that very reason you just stated. If your not checking your depth constantly, your not catching as many fish as you should, regardless if its your leader (tippet), or indicator that you are adjusting to the water conditions., Also you can use indicator putty, or bobber style indicator on small streams-and not spook fish-if your using a muted color such as white, or clear.
Clifford Bennett Imxaxmac Yes, Jay did miss the first take - tough criticism though - have you ever missed a take? Does missing a take immediately make you a beginner? I agree with kpriebe007. Floating line with a 9 foot leader won't keep your nymph off the bottom in 2' of water. Yes, the strike indicator isn't necessary, but helpful - especially when making a video :-) and we custom make those indicators so they are white and very small. No reason not to use it if the fish isn't spooking.
okay admittedly the criticism was a little harsh, I can tell you fellows kind of know what you are doing and it appears that your technique managed to catch a fish. (even if it is the dumb one in the hole)
@allenbrothers try fishing on battenkill river in NY. you'll pull your hair out .
What size nyph was that?
@michaelsw0rd Yes, you may ask what we are using as a strike indicator! I posted this video a while back. We've been using these indicators for the last 15 years of my life and don't ever really use anything else. They are super versatile because they can be sized as big as you need, or as small as a pea.
Check it out