On the Bottom the Right Way

 

A drag free drift is for more than just Dry Fly Fishing

By: Aaron Jasper

All of the successful nymph fisherman that I speak with all agree that a drag free drift is critical to success. All fly fishermen would agree that in dry fly fishing a drag free float is a necessity.  If your fly moves on the surface in even the slightest way the trout will refuse the fly. People forget that trout feed in the same manner when they are under the surface as well.  

 In nymph fishing a drag free drift is as important if not more important than a drag free drift while dry fly fishing. Remember dry fly fishing is visual and therefore much easier than nymph fishing. In nymph fishing you have to take the necessary steps to ensure that you are getting a drag free drift underneath the surface. 

 There are many days that I am out there fishing with friends and hooking more trout. All of my inner circles of friends are expert nymph fisherman as well. I attribute my success to always having the longest drag free drift possible. There are two main reasons that I attribute my nymph fishing success to. I have a longer distance between my weights and indicator that most people. I also use more weight than the average person would. 

My friend Torrey constantly comments that I always use more weight than what is needed to get my flies down to the bottom. One explanation for this is that we need to remember that the current under the surface is much slower than what is shown on top. If I were to judge the current speed by what is shown on the surface my flies would be water skiing behind the strike indicator. I add weight to slow down the flies and counter the pull of the fly line and the indicator. To make this simple; I add weight to get my flies down to the bottom, while maintaining a dead drift. If one were to watch my strike indicator they would comment that my drift is not perfect and that my flies are drifting too slow. What most people fail to realize is that I am presenting my flies to fish on the bottom and not the surface. Addling the extra weight compensates for the faster current speed on the surface and allows the flies to go slower on the bottom. This puts the flies in the trout’s view. Fly fisherman need to pay attention to the current on the bottom of the river and not only the surface. The dynamics of a trout stream make the water below the surface much slower than what is on the surface.  

I was fishing with a friend of mine not too long ago. We were fishing in an area, which is heavily fished. The water temps were in the high thirties. When most people approach a trout stream where the temps are low they figure on fishing the really slow water.  This can be true on many occasions. What was forgotten this day is that there are many rocks breaking up the current right in the middle of the river. When you have current breaks like this, always remember that there are pockets of water near the bottom that have no current at all. This day I did the unthinkable…. I fished in the fast water. When people fish this spot they never think that trout can sit there. I know from experience that in broken water there might be no current on the bottom. This particular spot has very fast water on the surface. The first thing I did to fish this area was to put on 5 BB split shots on my leader about the flies. The second thing I did was to move my indicator seven feet from my weights. I didn’t add all this weight to make my flies get to the bottom. I could have done that with one bb. I did this to slow my flies down and put it in the trout’s view. I put the indicator up the line far to counter its pull on the weights and my nymphs. 

I tend to do things in extremes. When I approach a run I usually put more weight on than what the average person will. On larger rivers I will often start with three to four BB split shot.  I was guiding a client one spring on the Housatonic. We were fishing a run and catching a trout every ten minutes. I said to the client lets put on more weight. He said we don’t have enough already? Both of us were staring at the string of three BB split shot already on the line. I just said no. I added 2 more. Immediately we hooked fish. With the 3 BB split shot we were getting to the bottom. However our flies were most likely passing up the fish like a racecar passing the checkered flag… too fast. Remember presenting the fly means getting it to go the same speed as the other foods that the trout are feeding on. We need to do more than just put the flies at the same depth.

When moving the indicator most people say that the rule of thumb is 1.5 times the depth of the water that you are going to fish in. I say heck, double it. If your flies are set at 1.5 times the water depth your flies wont even be near the bottom. Sometimes if the currents really fast on the surface I might even triple the length between my indicator and weight.  

When I am talking about moving the indicator when fishing I don’t mean once an hour. I am talking about moving the indicator several times in each location. If I don’t like the speed that my indicator is moving I might move it up the line or add split shot or even both. 

One very important factor in nymph fishing is do not be afraid to lose flies. Most fly fisherman are afraid to lose flies. There have been so many times that I have taken out clients and they see the amount of flies that I pick out for them and they feel that I am taking them to the cleaners. I simply explain that the bottom will and does eat more flies than any trout that swims. I might lose up to six or more flies in a run. Because of my willingness to lose flies I might also be rewarded with the trophy size trout. These are trout that might not have even presented to.  This happens because I make the right adjustments to my tackle and get the flies to the trout at the right speed.

I first noticed the importance of speed of flies and how trout take about five years ago. Amazingly this discovery was not even made while I was fly-fishing. The discovery was made while centerpin fishing on the Great Lakes tributaries. It was there that the revelation was made. I realized that most people don’t catch steelhead because their flies go by the fish at incorrect speeds. I learned that if you slow the presentation down you would be successful. I have applied this to fly-fishing and the success has been over whelming.

To paint a picture of the difference between the current from the top to the bottom of a trout stream imagine a time when you waded out and fell in or a time when you were in heavy current. What made you fall in?? Were your feet swept from underneath you?

You most likely answered no to each of these question. What swept you over or cautioned you were the surface currents. Your feet were most likely firmly planted on the ground.  The next time you visit the stream wade out and really pay attention to the differences in the speed of the current on your thighs or waist and closely pay attention to what you feel on your feet. You will most likely feel nothing. After you do this you will find out the endless possibilities of where you can find fish in streams. You will also notice that there is a major difference between current velocities in trout streams.

Also remember friction slows things down. This includes water. This cannot be truer as far as a river is concerned. In streams with a heavily cobbled bottom such as the Housatonic or the Madison you will have extremely slow water speeds on the bottom. In rivers with a smoother bottom such as the Big Horn and the Delaware you will not have as big a difference in current velocities. In these two rivers you need to look for different structures that break up current. This structure can be things such as ledges, bottom depressions and stream vegetation. Other example of structure in a river can be things such at logs, islands or other debris in the water.

One very often-overlooked piece of structure in a trout stream is ice. Ice and ice shelves can also be considered structure in a trout stream. One winter I was fishing the Housatonic River in Connecticut. I was fishing in a very popular pool. One of the rocks out in the middle had a large sheet of ice lodged in front of it. This rock was out in fast water where people would not even think about fishing. The water temperature this day was 36 degrees. I fished in the water behind the ice sheet. I caught numerous trout in a spot that many people passed up. This is acted like a rock would and deflected to current and slowed to flow enough to hold the trout.  

For weights I like to use tin weight. I usually carry then in sizes 4, 1, BB and AB. For most of my nymph fishing I usually use BB’s. If I were going to get one size split shot BB would be the size. They are ideal for most rivers that are the size of the Big Horn, Farmington, Madison and the West Branch of the Delaware. These are all rivers that are over 100 feet wide with a good current velocity. For smaller streams and rivers I would chose size 1. These are rivers such as the Beaverhead, Ruby, Provo and my home river the South Branch of the Raritan; don’t knock it even if it is in New Jersey. By no means am I saying that there is one specific weight that you need. What I am saying is that these are general sizes that you will need for fishing. Don’t hesitate to use as many weights as necessary to achieve the correct presentation.

Don’t overlook the smaller sizes. Sometimes in periods of low flows or for small streams and small brooks a size four might be the ideal weight, which is necessary to achieve a good presentation.

Larger size split shot also has its place. These are split shot in the sizes AB and AAA. I use these weights at times of high water or when I want to fish out in extremely fast water. I think that these weights serve their purpose when you can replace five or six BB split shot with two AAA split shot. This allows the flies to get down to the depth that the fish are at because the weights are smaller and create less friction while getting to the bottom.  

When I am fishing in periods of high water most people think that trout move to the edges of the steam and are right at your feet. This holds true in many situations. However, don’t be afraid to try new things. I get to fish a lot.  One day I was fishing in high water. I was fishing on the South Branch of the Raritan River. This is a heavily cobbled stream in New Jersey. This stream also receives heavy fishing pressure.  

I fished all of the usual high water spots. I was not very happy with my success; I started fishing out in the faster water. This was water that I knew had boulders scattered through out. I thought to myself that these boulders were definitely breaking up large amounts of current and providing trout with place to seek refuge from the faster currents. At first I was not getting the proper drift. I added weight to my line. I also put on larger brighter flies than what I would normally use. Today the menu was spaghetti and meatballs or the San Juan worm and egg fly combo. When fly fishing in high dirty water in almost any stream this combination of flies is hard to beat. I made these two changes and caught a fish on the next cast.  This was a huge revelation. That day I fished the faster water and caught fish after fish.  At the end of the day I spoke to another angler and he said he caught four. When I told him I fished the faster water, he looked at me in total disbelief. I explained why I fished in the fast water he understood. After he was shown the proper rigging. He needed to get the flies down and slow them up for the trout to see. Right in front of me he caught trout on consecutive casts. 

Previous to this experience I assumed that the trout moved to the edges of the stream. I am finding though fishing in more high water situations that trout just move closer to the bottom. This is because of the cushion that is provided by the rocks underneath. Knowing the dynamics of the stream bottom has help me add fish to my catch even during the worst of conditions. Now I also know that trout cannot only be found on the edges but even right in the heat, or fast current. Also knowing this has allowed me to catch more fish in areas that are heavily fished. In high water the difference between the current speeds at the top and the bottom are the greatest. During high water there is more friction created by the rocks.  

When on your next fishing trip try a few of these pointers and don’t be afraid to lose flies. You might have to lose about ten bucks in flies to catch that leviathan of a lifetime. All you need to remember is to slow the drift down and get the flies to the trout as the speed the trout wants to see them and you will have success on any stream.