Depth Control w/o a Bobber

[Wetswinger]

I know that indicators are without a doubt the best way to control the depth of your presentation. Using the countdown method with a sinking line works well too. What I need help with, is to know how deep your bloodworm or other fly is when using a tight line, naked technique. Supposedly you add the depth your fishing plus 25%, and that’s the length your leader system should be. But how do you know if you’re really down there? How can you tell how fast your flies sink and where it’s at before starting your retrieve.?

 

[Brian in OR.]

Well if your fly is tied to the leader you could lay it out beside you on the water and drop it overboard and see how many seconds it takes to reach 1 foot. Then a simple math calculation should get you close to knowing how deep you are based on how many seconds you wait before the retrieve ...

 

[Buzzy]

I know that indicators are without a doubt the best way to control the depth of your presentation. Using the countdown method with a sinking line works well too. What I need help with, is to know how deep your bloodworm or other fly is when using a tight line, naked technique. Supposedly you add the depth your fishing plus 25%, and that’s the length your leader system should be. But how do you know if you’re really down there? How can you tell how fast your flies sink and where it’s at before starting your retrieve.?

Dan -
Drifting here: It seems that you might be up to cutting or adding leader a lot as you move around and your depth varies from spot to spot. I'm not familiar with the 25% rule and I'm no expert at "naked" (long leader, no indicator) techniques but do use it from time to time and when I do, I just remove my Seegercator™ from the long leader and knot a fly back on. I have no clue how long it takes for the fly to get to depth. One lake I've used this technique on has a steep drop off - last fall I kicked ashore for a break and decided to change flies. I forgot to put my indicator back on so I fished the leader naked. It was fun as I'm pretty sure my fly never came close to the bottom, trout were taking the fly on the sink.

There's a lake in the CNWR that has a nifty shoal, the bottom comes up quickly to a pretty uniform shoal that's six or seven feet deep. I often remove my indicator and use that long leader on the skinny water rather than use an intermediate line. It works pretty well (sometimes).

Good luck!/Pat

 

[Tom Butler]

The pre-bobber, floating line, method I was taught was TDC on fine leader 1.5 times depth and you’re basically gonna let it sit a few minutes. If you get takes while sinking, fine, otherwise soak until you can't take it then slow retrieve. If you don’t feel bottom or collect weeds you can soak longer. I used to memorize bathymetric maps to get an idea of lake depths.

 

[Wetswinger]

The pre-bobber, floating line, method I was taught was TDC on fine leader 1.5 times depth and your basically gonna let it sit a few minutes. If you get takes fine otherwise soak until you can't take it then slow retrieve. If you don’t feel bottom or collect weeds you can soak longer. I used to memorize bathymetric maps to get an idea of lake depths.

A Phil Rowley video I watched says, to allow at the minimum 30sec. and preferably, 1min. before you start, as he put it, a painfully slow retrieve. I’ll try a longer sit time, as you advise, before retrieval. Bloodworms are working now and
I got to get on the bottom..

 

[RCF]

I live on lake and prefer to have a tight line. I fish dragon fly nymphs a lot. I find the fish bite on the downward drop and the rising nymph. I let out about 90 feet of line and pause to let it drop. Boring.. Then troll a little bit to bring the fly up in the water column with an occasional strip or pole twitch. Fish the entire water column to find them. Once you find them ---> repeat. That is IF the fish are biting.

 

[troutpocket]

Bloodworms are working now and
I got to get on the bottom..

As you wrote, an indicator would do this for you. I’m all for experimenting but sometimes simple is best.

 

[Fourbtgait]

Out of curiosity, what if one put a small split shot above the fly on a tag line. Light enough to get the line down, allowing the bloodworm to float above the weight.
Haven’t tried it, but

 

[_WW_]

Out of curiosity, what if one put a small split shot above the fly on a tag line. Light enough to get the line down, allowing the bloodworm to float above the weight.
Haven’t tried it, but

Not legal on fly only water.

 

[Wetswinger]

Out of curiosity, what if one put a small split shot above the fly on a tag line. Light enough to get the line down, allowing the bloodworm to float above the weight.
Haven’t tried it, but

I think l just need to be more patient and let it get down there.

 

[Wetswinger]

As you wrote, an indicator would do this for you. I’m all for experimenting but sometimes simple is best.

I agree. Right now I’m trying to learn and become efficient in a, new to me, technique. Got to take a few lumps on my journey..

 

[Fourbtgait]

Not legal on fly only water.

Then a small bead head fly

 

[Tom Butler]

Out of curiosity, what if one put a small split shot above the fly on a tag line. Light enough to get the line down, allowing the bloodworm to float above the weight.
Haven’t tried it, but

You would be surprised at how often a fish will take the shot, or a swivel.

 

[Matt B]

I think l just need to be more patient and let it get down there.

I started a thread about this a while back as I, too, am impatient and my mind gets to wonderin’ what’s going on down there under the inky black surface of a PNW lake, albeit that was for bobbercating. I was assured, and I now believe, that as long as you have some weight in your system (like a bead head chironomid above or somesuch) and your leader and tippet aren’t 40 lb mono all the way down, and you don’t keep pulling the flies up to the surface, that the flies are getting down there.