Davy Wotton's Fishing Report
December 2009
Yarn Indicators
Continuation of my article related to dead drift/indicator style fishing. (part 1 here)
IIn the world of competitive fly fishing events, indicators are not permitted, but you can use a dry fly dropper rig. This makes no sense to me as the dry fly suits for the same purpose, and you may even get a fish to take it.
Dry fly dropper techniques are a very common means of dead drift fishing out west, and there are many options for use. An example is the hopper nymph rig, where you use a Stonefly adult with a stone nymph below. When fishing very small dries that are not easily seen, the addition of a larger dry above the small dry/emerger indicates a fish has taken the smaller fly. It can also be deployed with the larger dry at tail and the smaller fly as the dropper. Next year we will have the option of fishing more than one fly in our trophy zones, which will be great.
A few of you have asked that I elaborate a little more on choice of indicators. As you would know from my previous article, l favor yarn by a long margin over others for many reasons. It has nothing to do with a cost issue either. It’s simply that yarn is better for indication over and above others. I can assure you beyond any shadow of doubt that indicator choice is as important as fly choice, and how you rig the system. It is, at the end of the day, what a complete rig should consist of. Three primary factors: Fly, Rig, and Indicator. The means of drift control is a different matter, but is of course equally important.
Choices for yarn.
I make my own O-ring indicators. Best yarn out there is sold as Macramé yarn. It is a polypropylene based material. I also make mine with small O-rings as l dislike the commercial yarn indicators that use a large O-ring for the fix point. They are not difficult to make, once you know how to do it. Try two O-rings, one for attachment to the leader and the other above to hold the yarn tight to the lower. The yarn comes with a plied strand make up, which needs to be separated for your needs, 2/4/6/8, smaller indicators l use 2 larger 4/6/8.
You have two options for attachment. The first is a fixed rig. For example, 4 to 6 feet from the fly line, we tie the leader directly to the O-ring. From that we tie above the indicator the added leader and tippet for the length required to the fly. I do not use tapered leaders as such. My butt section from fly line is 5 feet of Amnesia, which may be depending on the fly line wt used 20 to 15, 15 to 12 lb, upper section of 3 feet lower of 2 feet. To that l add my continuation of leader/tippet.
The second option is to fix the indicator by taking the leader forming a loop which is placed through the O-ring then over the indicator, back down to the lower O-ring. This makes it very easy to back off to move the indicator. I might add that this is not the best option when using finer tippet material, 4x or less; here l opt for the crimped yarn system.
Mainly l use the O-ring system for deeper water situations when weight is needed, with a few exceptions.
There is no advantage one way or the other so far as take indication by the above two methods given here
The option is that you can fine tune the indicator once you see how it rides given the water you are fishing, and for that you will need scissors to hand.
The second option for yarn is to use egg yarn. l used lamb’s wool for many years and it is as good. The deal is that egg yarn offers a wide range of colors and it is cheap to buy. One pack will last a lifetime. (see pic ) My choice out of all those out there is Mcflyfoam. This product range includes a very wide range of colors. Personally l prefer those of a more natural shade, although there may be some days when we have weird light conditions that l will use one of a more visible color.
This type of yarn will be used for a fixed rig. First option is to tie it same as for the fixed rig O ring and then add the extended leader material above.
Second is to use the loop crimp method. This will of course allow you to set the yarn at any position on the leader. This type of indicator lends itself to use when line less than 4x to 8x is used. There are a couple of ways this can be done. l have illustrated the one l choose to use.
You will form two loops in exactly the same direction, right over left. The second loop, the loop closest to the fly, is then set under and through the first. You will now need to hold both at the cross over point with your left hand.
2. Start to draw tight the tippet line that is the closer to the fly, with your right hand. You will see the loop start to close. Now insert the yarn. Make sure as you draw the tippet tight that the tippet material tightens below the yarn and not on it. It takes a bit of practice to get this down, after which it will be no problem.
Make sure that you have prepared your yarn before you start the process of forming the loops, as you will need both hands to control the crimp process.
By this means, you can make unreal small yarn indicators, after you have trimmed for sensitivity and sight vision. The size of the indicator is, of course, determined by the amount of yarn you use to start with. To remove the yarn, pull it free. Since you are not in fact tying a knot, the tippet will again be straight.
These indicators will require an additional floating agent. The best is Aquel, given its viscosity, since it is easier to apply it into the yarn. Muscilin is also good for the larger O ring indicators, but not so good for the flyfoam as it clogs the yarn into a lump.
Tight lines all