Slow strip VS bobber or fishing naked?
- Thread starter Flymph
- Start date
You need to get a copy of Denny Rickards stillwater fishing book. Great resource on different techniques for fishing lakes (BTW he doesn't like indicator fishing). The KEY is to know what zone the fish are feeding in, when, and why. Then you can fish the technique best suited for that situation.
I typically have 3 rods rigged when fishing a lake.
1. Floater for indicator fishing. Usually with a small leech and a chironomid.
2. Camo intermediate sink tip with a minnow pattern or nymph (especially callibaetis).
3. Fast sink tip or full sink line for stripping buggers.
You just have to use the setup in the correct scenario. For example fishing setup #2 out in the middle of the lake is usually a waste of time. Thats a rig that is best fished near the shore and against weed beds.
Now there are lakes I fish that have really good midge hatches out in the middle of the lake IF the wind dies down in the evening. Using a floating line and SLOW stripping a midge is a hoot.
I typically have 3 rods rigged when fishing a lake.
1. Floater for indicator fishing. Usually with a small leech and a chironomid.
2. Camo intermediate sink tip with a minnow pattern or nymph (especially callibaetis).
3. Fast sink tip or full sink line for stripping buggers.
You just have to use the setup in the correct scenario. For example fishing setup #2 out in the middle of the lake is usually a waste of time. Thats a rig that is best fished near the shore and against weed beds.
Now there are lakes I fish that have really good midge hatches out in the middle of the lake IF the wind dies down in the evening. Using a floating line and SLOW stripping a midge is a hoot.
All of the above, when the situation calls for it.
All your questions could be answered in Tim Lockhart two books (Stillwaters Simplified & Stillwater Strategies )
dep
Steelhead
raising my hand
Divad
Whitefish
I’ll say this, I hate staring at my bobber while motionless on a lake. So I tend to run full sink with various weighted flies, trolling with my feet or stripping.
Plus to me the takes are that much more worth it. I like to feel the nibble. Granted it’s not as productive as hanging a midge at times but I’m moving and covering water.
Plus to me the takes are that much more worth it. I like to feel the nibble. Granted it’s not as productive as hanging a midge at times but I’m moving and covering water.
Peach
Stillwater Fanatic
x2
Wayne Kohan
Life of the Party
If you ain't moving your bobber, you ain't doing it right.
Not me! There are times that I really like sitting motionless and staring at a bobber. Lunchtime for instance, the perfect time to chironomid fish. Another time is during a hot 'mid bite and form a hog line parallel to the shore and cast to the fish. A great time to tell jokes and BS. Another time that works for me is after several hours of kicking and landing fish it is nice to just be still for awhile. I seldom start out a day chironomid fishing but at some point it is always nice to rest and give it a try. Coffeepot is a damned big lake and always requires a lot of kicking/rowing to get around. I have 3 spots I really like to 'mid fish but they take a long time to reach. Once there it is nice to stop moving and just fight fish.
+1 for that. It seems like I do that every time I go out. I have quite a few memories of turning around and seeing a fish jumping and the rod in the holder bent down into the water. Makes for some frantic activity! Seems like my landing them is about 50%.
I've fished without the bobber many times in shallower spots and really like the grab when it happens. I always like the grab! It seems that I catch more with the bobber though than without.
Try getting a two rod endorsement and do a little of both. If you move real slow in a tube the indicator rig will still work and you can cast and strip. If the bobber keeps going down you just start using it full time.
When I lived in Washington, about the only time I fished lakes were when the skinny water was closed down. I prefer running water to sitting in a float tube or a pontoon boat. Here in Montana, most skinny water is open year round. Some you can't fish in the dead of winter. But the water with a dam on it usually has open water on them.
Chris Johnson
Steelhead
When fish are dispersed through the water column I'll fish floater no indie, when they are concentrated at one depth I'll use an indie. If the fish are over 25' I use a full sink. I've had too many good days to discount chroni fishing, big fish too. I like to set an indicator rod and then cast and strip a full sinker with a dragon, leach or boobie, or an intermediate with a mayfly or scud.
