As the bobber is to spin casting so the strike indicator is to fly fishing. Oh there are many a fly fisher that would like to tell you differently, but at the end of the day there is really minimal difference. Nymphing with an indicator is bobber fishing with a fancier name. Now I’m not knocking the indicator, it can be a powerful nymphing tool given the right circumstances. In fact, if you’re like most fly fisherman you first learned how to nymph fish using a strike indicator, and rightly so, it’s the easiest and most effective technique for the beginner to learn. The problem is many of us have never moved beyond the strike indicator. Even now years later we’re still fastening one on every time we approach the river regardless of the situation. Yes, we might be catching fish, but we’ve become so dependent upon our strike indicators that we are oblivious to what is really going on under the water. Our nymphing skills have become one dimensional.

For many years I was this angler. Regardless of the river conditions, the current or the structure in the water I would always nymph a run the same way — two flies, split shot and a strike indicator. No questions asked. Fortunately a friend of mine unknowingly opened my eyes to the power of fishing indicator free and since then my nymphing skills have grown immensely. Now for me this weaning process took some time, and the process was painful at first. But over time I realized I could actually catch more fish because I had more options. I could choose to use an indicator or not depending on my situation. I learned to let the river and the fish dictate my choices not my limited skill set.

Below are three of the most common nymphing techniques used today. Each of these serve a purpose for getting your flies into the sub surface strike zone if used correctly and in the right situations.

From here out we will discuss the advantages to each of these methods as well as the best time to use them.

Strike Indicator Advantages

Detect strikes in low visibility
The strike indicator’s size and ability to float high in the surface film, even with a significant amount of weight, make it hands down the best option in low light, rain/snow, or even distance situations — any time visibility is your number one concern. An example of this would be fishing after the sun has set when your only visual reference becomes the silhouette of your indicator contrasted against the surface of the water.

Extend your drift or reach
There are times you will want to drift your flies beyond the length of your rod, either upstream, downstream, or across river. When you need this additional reach an indicator is the way to go. Say you want to cast to a pocket of soft water in the middle the river. The current is too fast to wade through, but a quick cast and mend with an indicator gets you right into that water no problem. Another scenario where you would want to extend your drift would be when fishing from a raft or drift boat. Here the indicator is an essential tool that allows for long casts and long drifts out and away from the boat.

Control the depth of your flies
An indicator is essential when you want to lock into a specific depth over the entire course of your drift. This is especially important when fishing long runs and deeper pools where it’s necessary to search the water column for holding trout. By adjusting the depth of your indicator up or down you can methodically work the water column from the bottom up to find where the fish are holding. This can be key in the colder months when trout aren’t in their normal feeding lanes, but hunkered down in the deeper holes waiting for food to come to them.

Buffer your drift in windy conditions
If you have ever tried to tight line in the wind you will understand that it is next to impossible to get a steady drift when the wind is whacking at your rod and line. When the wind blows, your rod and line move and in turn your flies move. This is not a good recipe for creating a realistic drift. That is where an indicator saves the day. Dissimilar to tight lining where your line is perpendicular to the water’s surface and exposed to the wind, a strike indicator keeps your line and leader at the water’s surface, giving you a very low profile in relation to the wind. As long as you mend correctly and leave enough slack line above your indicator to allow for any movement from your rod and hanging line, your flies should float relatively undisturbed by the wind above.

Tight Line Advantages

Control the placement of your flies
Unlike fishing with a suspension rig where your strike indicator acts as a hinge in your leader, when you tight line you have a continuous line of contact from your flies all the way up to your rod tip. This makes it easier for you to direct your flies where you want them to go, whether that be drifting them alongside a submerged tree, leading them down a narrow current seam, or presenting them to a single targeted trout in the middle of a deep run. You guide them through the current, not your indicator. I used this technique quite extensively while fishing a remote canyon on a recent trip to the North Platte River in Wyoming. In one particular situation there was a section of pocket water that ran between two large boulders where several large trout were actively feeding. By using the tight lining technique I was able to place my flies directly into the feeding lanes of these fish and as a result hooked and landed a handful of nice trout.

Manage the speed of your flies.
Though managing the speed of your drift is critical in any nymphing situation it is most crucial when fishing fast, deep pocket water where we see the largest speed differential between the surface water and the underlying current. In general, the upper portion of the water column moves faster than that closer to the bottom. As your leader runs through these differing velocities tension is created and drift is compromised. Jason Randall, in his book, Moving Water, refers to this tension as vertical drag. Tight lining can mitigate the impact of vertical drag by helping you get your flies down into the deeper current quicker and more efficiently. This in turn allows the slower water toward the bottom of the river to drive your drift speed not the faster water toward the surface. As a result you will get a longer drift and your flies will spend more time in the “sweet spot”. A perfect example of when you would want to manage the speed of your flies would be if you have a very short runway between the beginning of your drift to where the trout are feeding. In this case you would want to get you flies down into that slower water as quickly as possible to avoid drifting over the heads of your prey.

Quickly change the depth of your flies.
When fishing rivers with differing structure and fluctuating water depths, having the flexibility to adjust the depth of your flies quickly can be important. Though a strike indicator does help give you a more consistent overall drift its drawback is that it requires you to constantly move your indicator up and down to accommodate these differences. Tight lining gives you the ability to quickly change your depth by just raising or lowering your rod tip. Though it takes some practice to develop a steady hand, once mastered you can easily go from deep to shallow all in the same drift.

Present your flies with minimal distraction to the fish
Pursuing selective trout in low clear water can be one of the most challenging things we face as fly fisherman. The window of error is small and often times we only get one cast. Anything we can do to create a more realistic drift is a point in our favor. When we tight line we remove our biggest enemy of distraction from the equation, for even the slightest splash or shadow from an indicator can send our targeted fish off to another section of the river. 

Greased Line and Leader Advantages

Low profile way to extend drift and reach
There will also be times where you will want the best of both worlds, the minimalist approach of tight lining (less distraction to the fish) but with the extended drift and reach an indicator provides. It’s here the greased line and leader tactic comes into play. With a little fly floatant applied you basically use your line and leader as your indicator. As far as presentation goes, you will want to make your cast perpendicular to the flow of the river and at a distance far enough upstream from the trout that allows your flies to present at the correct depth (not above or below the fish). Then as your flies drift towards the holding fish, keep one eye on your line as it sits atop the water’s surface and (if you can) watch your flies and trout with the other. If your line suddenly goes under, set the hook. If you see the trout abruptly move toward your flies, set the hook. This is by far the most difficult technique to master, but it can also be the most rewarding.

In closing, all three of the above tactics have their place if used correctly and in the right conditions. Experiment, have fun and don’t be afraid to try new things. Remember, taking off the “training wheels” can be difficult at first but in the long run it will open you to a new freedom and greater skill set — one that will put you well on your way to developing that much needed “sixth sense” as a fly fisherman!