On the calm water sections with trout actively feeding, we used the
New Zealand Strike Indicator system. Using flies that ranged from small dry flies to beadhead nymphs, etc. There was not specific hatch at the time of morning, but picking fish up on nymphs was very productive.
I find that I can get many more drifts to feeding fish without putting the fish down using this system. That is because it lands much more quietly than a bobber style indicator. We netted a good amount of fish utilizing multiple different patterns.
When we moved to fast current and deeper pools where spooking the fish was less of an issue, but keeping the indicator floating high and visible was important, we used a Thing-a-ma-bobber type indicator. This is when a leader like our Adjustable Indicator Leader comes into play. You need a leader with a heavier and stiffer butt section to turn a big bulky indicator along with heavy split shot and weighted flies. As stated, this system is good for fast, turbulent conditions. Where you are not concerned with the indicator causing much noise and splatting on the surface.
We were tossing Caddis nymphs of different styles. Typically I like to have a weighted fly as my first fly and then a wet fly (not weighted) about 18" behind the first as a dropper. Tying the dropper's tippet onto the hook eye rather than the hook bend gives the first fly more action.
Moving down river, we encountered some great pocket water. I changed out my leader for a
Czech Leader "high sticking / tight-line fishing". This section of river has many big exposed boulders that you could use as cover to get close to fish without spooking them. This close quarters fishing is a blast when it works. You are actually hooking fish that are often less than 10 feet from your position. This technique can be deadly when done correctly. No indicator here, but a different leader setup for sure. Fish heavy flies with small profiles so they sink fast.
Picture shows some of the water that High Sticking was extremely effective.
Once the sun made an appearance and the dry flies started showing up, we switched out to a dry fly leader and fished that way the rest of the day. Hitting top water fish as well as some with a dropper bead-head about 18" off the hook bend of the dry.
I am a huge believer of adjusting your setup for the conditions. I often hear guys complain about changing indicators, leaders or even flies. If you approach a new piece of water that looks fishy, spend the 2-3 minutes it takes to change your system. Then, make the first cast count. You will be impressed with the results. I promise that if you only use a Thing-a-ma-bobber style indicator in all your fishing, even skinny waters, you are missing many fish...
The fishing mentioned above was on a tail-water. We only covered about 4 river miles. But in those four miles, we
encountered just about every type of water. Rough turbulent whitewater, boulder fields, long calm lake-like conditions, long riffles, etc. Our final fish count was very high, but would have been much less if we used the exact same leader / indicator / fly setup for the entire trip. Conditions vary, your fly setup should also.
One of the Many fish landed today. This one by my buddy Troy Copper.
