Bi-color sighter material in Aaron's video

[Stimey]

I guess I don't understand the point of stomach Pump, as someone wiser than I said.... if you catch the fish and want to know what it is eating look at the end of your fly line...... If it looks like food they will eat it

[trout gripped]

OK, back to the original topic. If I were to order the bicolor sighter material, what size do I get?

[cdeight8]

I've used the .30 & .35. Prefer the .35, seems to hold the coil longer and I like how it reacts to the strike better.

[Silver Creek]

Very nice guy. The only issue I have is he sells stomach pumps. I once attended a Tom Rosenbaur seminar and Tom spoke about the effect of stomach pumps on fish mortality. He said it causes 50% mortality on trout. I called John and told him that these pumps were unethical and he ought to think about not selling them. All he did was put a note on the site about mortality but continued to sell them. Heaven forbid if we let ethics get in the way of making money.

Stomach pumps are an issue with which I am well versed and which I have researched over a number of years. In all honesty, I believe it is an issue to which fishers react to emotionally and without any scientific data.

I generally agree with both Magnet and Tom Rosenbauer, but not in this case. Studies of noninvasive means of sampling fish has shown little mortality with stomach pumps used properly. Click on the research paper below:

Nonlethal Methods of Examining Fish Stomach Contents from Reviews in Fisheries Science

"Strange and Kennedy (1981) assessed the survival of salmonids subjected to stomach flushing and found no difference between stomach-flushed fish and control fish that were held for 3 to 5 nights."

In the article above, the goal was to remove stomach contents. The goal of a fly fisher is to remove the throat contents which are the last few items eaten. Throat sampling is less invasive than stomach sampling. Having said that, you do need to do it properly. Most important is to not use the pump on a fish that is too small.

Fill the pump completely water and then push out the water by compressing the bulb. This lubricates the tube. Insert the tube gently into the throat and release the bulb so the bulb re-expands sucking up the food from the throat into the plastic stem as you pull out the tube. Now release the trout. See how rapidly this is done.

The New Fly Fisher - Tip #28: Throat Pumps - YouTube

Like many techniques in fly fishing, I believe using a stomach pump is what could be termed a fairness issue. Some fly fishers feel that nymphing is somehow unfair, and some nymphers think nymphing with strike indicators is less fair than fishing without. The Dry Fly vs Nymphing ethical argument originated with Halford and Skues and in some circles that argument continues to this day.

Halford and Skues: “This Chalkstream Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us” | MidCurrent

So if you don't want to use a stomach pump, don't. But research has shown that stomach pumps are not a resource issue.

The experienced fly fisher has little need to throat pump a fish. But for a beginner, I think it is a valuable learning tool that does not harm the resource.

Truth be told, the greatest threat to a trout is the most effective fly fisher because they catch the most fish. Studies have shown that hooking mortality even with barbless hooks is 3.5 - 4%. We inadvertently kill 1 of every 25 fish we catch. Catch and release 1000 fish in a season and you have killed 40 fish. I have had 50 fish days on the San Juan and two trout probably died.

This site is dedicated to educating fly fishers on how to catch more and more fish, but we do not consider this an ethical issue. Fly fishers, and I include myself, tend to forget that even C&R fishing with a fly is a blood sport.

[Silver Creek]

I thought that I had heard Tom Rosenbauer recently talk about stomach pumps on a podcast. I was able to track it down.

Go to the URL below for Tom's Ten Tips for Identifying and Matching the Hatch:

http://hw.libsyn.com/p/b/8/9/b89c2a2...&l_mid=2597234

Tom starts discussing Stomach Pumps at about 20:58 into the podcast. He says, "I'm not so sure how safe that is for trout. …… I don't think there have been any studies done on mortality of fish that have had their stomach pumped. Probably most of them survive but you never know….."

I have corresponded with Tom Rosenbauer in the past and I have sent the research on Stomach Pumps to him.

[Magnet]

I attended a CVTU seminar with Tom as the clinition and I spcifically recall him talking about pumping and mortality. Maybe Gary Wipple from CVTU who is on this site can recall what I mentioned and chime in here. Thank you Silver as always for your expert insight.

[Flydaddy]

What is the optimum length for the coiled indicator for best strike detection, I'm just trying to speed up my learning process and make the best of my time on the water!

[Magnet]

Try only 8 to 12 inches

[Flydaddy]

Magnet that's usually what I've been doing, is that measured with the indicator in a mid position?

[AaronJasper]

John is a great guy and he gives the best customer service he can. I also love how they package everything so meticulously. There is another Bi Color line coming out very shortly, which he will have. I have been collaborating with a company on making it and we have a material that is superior. It is real monofilament, therefore it will hold the coils if you like using coiled indicators better. It will also save us some dough.... which is always good.