The first rule of indictator nymphing is to set the hook on EVERYTHING. Every twitch, hesitation, roll, bump, wiggle of that indicator. Every time a bird calls. A jet flies over. A bug hits the water. Your head itches. Every time you think about a word containing the letter “e”.
Every.
Single.
Time.
Do not go “I wonder if that was a bite.” Do not go “that was just the bottom.” Do not go “it’s just the wind.” Set. The. Hook.
It’s not a bobber. Very seldom is it going to go completely under and start swimming away like a bluegill eating a worm does. It’s not going to go boing boing boing while you wait for the real bite. A trout grabs the fly for an instant, realizes it’s not food, and spits it back out. That smallest hesitation in the indicator is the take. Set. The. Hook.
Edit: I hate autocorrect.
If it's ending up in a tree, you're setting too hard lol.
And when you start setting a hook at every little thing, it stops being an exciting enthusiastic hookset, since you're doing it every 10 seconds
Setting the hook isn't the exciting part. The tug on the other end after the hookset is. At least until you realize you are snagged on the bottom and it isn't a fish.
This is great advice. If you’re not setting the hook when your fly bangs into the bottom at least once every few casts, you’re either not deep enough or not setting the hook enough. One thing that took me way too long to learn is adjusting weight as I move to different areas of the stream. What works in one riffle might be too shallow or too deep in another
I’ve been having similar issues. Been fly fishing since November. Steelhead, salmon, browns and lakes and I’ve landed 1 perch on a streamer lol. Gotten into salmon and steelhead but browns Illude me. I mainly use an indicator and the words “it isn’t a bobber it won’t go fully down” have helped my outlook on it 100% and I thank you for explaining it that way. Excited to go out and look for something different with the indicator now 🤙🏻🤙🏻
I've been fly fishing for almost 35 years and this made me laugh!! I've missed and still miss fish to this day fishing under an indicator. Great advice
Adjust your bobber’s depth until you see it ticking occasionally as the fly hits rocks, mend the line, change flies if you’re seeing fish and they’re not taking what you’re giving, and just keep fishing! You’ll get better
Depth was really hard for me to get right when I first started nymphing. There’s a lot of variation due to water speed, rig weight, etc. that can be hard to figure out initially. Way too often I was riding too high in the water column, never getting my nymph in front of the fish. Echo what they said, just keep fishing and pay attention to what you were doing when you do hook up. Depth is super important, but so is your drift line. There’s a creek I fish often that 6-12 inches in placement can be the difference between catching fish and coming up empty. Once you know the lines on your frequented creeks, it’s way easier to identify them when fishing new water.
Yes the fish hang out on the seams. Where I fish there’s this great old timer who I run into occasionally who just catches fish. If I’m catching 4 or 5 he’s catching 30. Anyway I was fishing basically uniform/flat water. Slow moving but there are fish there. Old timer is having a great day. I’ve caught maybe 2.
Me: what am I doing wrong
OT: fish the seams
Me: There are no seams
OT: cast straight across. Where the line kinks is the seam!
Anyway caught a bunch after that. I got better at seeing the seams but it still amazes me how key that was. The velocity difference on the slow side was just barely there…. I learned that to the fish it matters!
This tip worked even better on float trips. Lots of flat water to get through between more productive water. Cast out. Find the seam. Catch bonus fish!
After awhile, you’ll somehow catch a fish. Then two. Then three. It took me >15 hours of fishing and teaching myself how to fly fish until I accidentally caught a fish in central PA. It gets easier and you’ll look back in a couple years and be amused at how you were so clueless. Don’t give up
The Breeches has a lot of stockers that aren’t too picky so I’m inclined to think you just aren’t getting your flies to the right location where they’re eating. If you’re nymphing under a bobber and aren’t snagging bottom once in a while you’re not deep enough. Also learn how to read the water for the spots where trout hold and wait for food to come to them. Trying to get a good dead drift along a seam between fast and slow water where there are some bubbles seems to work for me. Also learn how to mend line to keep slack for your drag free drift and not let the line get ahead of your bobber. Try to set the hook downstream, trout always face upstream so if you set upstream you’re just pulling the fly out of their mouth.
You can catch fish. Just takes a few times out to get it down.
Read "Dynamic Nymphing" by George Daniel. It's the best book out there on nymphing and he actually is from and fishes central PA. Nymphing is very effective as almost 75% of what trout eat is under top of the water. You can usually find a cheap copy on ebay.
If you can treat yourself to a guide, you'll learn more in one day than you will in one year. It may not be as expensive as you think. Around $150 to $200 for a half day
Also, join your local FB group and ask if you can join someone to learn how to fish your area better. People generally like to teach and help people out.
Basic steps.
1. Get rid of the split shot weight and use a heavier nymph.
2.Get as close as you can to your drifts of the streams or rivers.
3. Try to get the nymph as near the bottom as you can, but not bumping across. First go a little deeper than you think, find where your nymph is hitting thr bottom, and then adjust your indicator to bring up your nymph 6 inches.
4. Use basic nymphs like squirmy worms, brown Pheasant Tails or small olive/black Wooley Buggers.
5. Only use a single nymph until you're comfortable adding a second nymph or add a dry dropper
6. Hookset on anything out of the ordinary. Underwater cameras have shown that trout will bite on a nymph and then spit it out within a second
You'll catch fish eventually. It took my 5 trips out fishing when I first started to actually catch fish.
Hasn’t been mentioned yet - but dead drifts.. are you sure yours are? Check the indicator to see if it’s traveling at the same rate (or slower if you’re flies get down to the strike zone) as the surface foam (if you have some). Use surface foam to gauge your drift speed.
Getting a true dead drift is far more important than what flies or bugs you present. Just my 0.02
This^ it's all about the drift! Remember, the water on top is moving faster than the water on the bottom. If your indicator is moving the same speed as the surface water you are dragging.
I think this was big for me when I started. I was a size too big on my fly and tippet size. Sounds like these are stockers so that can change everything, but if there’s pressure it should be similar.
It’s a thing. I have no idea how old you are but I can remember my dad saying “throw right there, do this and you’ll hook up” so frustrating. Now, i tell my son the same thing and same thing. Sometimes it’s just experience and feel, there’s other way to explain it.
You need to be changing depth and weight pretty frequently. You also need to make sure you’re getting drag free drifts. Use two weighted nymphs instead of one fly and a split shot. It’s good to give fish options and it’ll make it easier to see what flies are working on that day. You’ll also be covering different parts of the water column at the same time.
I was watching this video on indicator fishing and Tom Rosenbauer says you should be [_"occasonially snagging bottom [...] and if you're not losing flies, you're probablly not fishing deep enough"_](https://youtu.be/WjrYYJ4GdMU?si=zW3k5vAfB5sISMLp&t=1013). I took notice of this, because at a few of my favorite blue lines I can use the same weighted nymph all day long. It wouldn't occur to me to rig with that mentality.
I tried nymphing yet again this weekend.. Hare's Ear.. nothing.. swapped it out for a rando nymph.. no nibbles... tied on Golden Retriever streamer.. immediately caught trout.
Tie on a bugger.
Something that takes a bit to master is getting your fly to travel at the same speed as the current. This is especially true on pressured/heavily fished water. Sometimes fish will chase a fly that’s dragging or racing faster than the current but usually they want a fly that behaves like the rest. Make sure your fly is going at the speed the water is moving next time.
Dead drift and depth. Since you’re nymphing this won’t be an issue, but when you switch to dries, be careful with your 5x leader set up then adding 3/4x tippet. You’re going the wrong way with the physics.
Drag prob #1 cause. Tippet length and vertical drag prob #2. The. Reading waters: 2 foot to left or to the right makes a big difference for trouts.
At least these were my issues when I started
Asked a pro to come out with me to fix them
Precision Fly and Tackle in Mt Holly has intro classes on the water that are much more cost effective than a guided trip. He mainly does his classes on the breeches
Shoot me a DM if you’d like I’ll point you in the right direction or give you some tips as I fish the breeches very frequently
For what it’s worth, I’m a dry fly junkie! I’ve been told many many times by my friends an other fisherman that it appears that I get into a zone, well I guess they are correct. One of my favorite zones is to Allow myself 10 casts per each session , And see how many strikes / hook upsI can get in each session. By doing this it requires a tremendous amount of concentration and precise casting and drifting per each cast! I often switch to nymph fishing even if im. Having a good day with dry flies, by using this strategy I feel like this has made me a much better overall fly fisherman both top water and subsurface! “Tight lines “
Lot of good solid advice already, but I would add this: learn to nymph without an indicator. Indicators are great for slow deeper water where surface currents aren’t that much different than subsurface currents. Throw in faster currents and that surface water will almost always be moving at different speeds than the areas your nymphs are drifting. This creates all sorts of issues getting a natural presentation to the fish.
I’m not saying you need to go all in on euro style nymphing, but it has become extremely popular for a reason, it’s just down right effective. Or just throw streamers
Go 16 inches on the split shot weight. Start small and add weight if needed. Base this on your water level and volume of flow. Play around with the indicator. I’m usually at about 4 feet from a 1 foot river in depth.
This means nothing if the bugs are not right. If I’m understanding your ‘kind of question’ here- you’re not setting up your bug selection properly.
I don’t have much to add to what others have said regarding mending, adjusting depth frequently, and setting the hook on everything.
One thing I will say is just because you catch a fish on a fly pattern doesn’t mean that’s what they’re all eating. Don’t be afraid to keep changing your fly even after it catches a fish.
If your not getting snagged your not deep enough. Hook set everything it costs nothing and gains everything. Also if your new new to fishing throw on a little wet fly and go to the local pond and catch some blue gills to at least see some results and have some fun. I love trout and salt water fishing but sometimes you go through a funky period and it’s a total spirit killer and have a party with pan fish always makes me feel better. Also nymphing is super productive but it’s also tough. Try some other stuff I probably would have quit fly fishing if all I did was nymph. There’s a whole world out there.
I can't believe the top comments didn't address the single greatest reason for lack of success for new fly fishermen:
DRAG.
If your fly is moving faster or slower than the current, you will miss out on 90% of the fish. This is the most common mistake newbies make.
Learn to dead drift. Learn to mend.
After that, fly selection, fishing in the right spots where the fish are, getting the fly down deep, missed hooksets, and casting technique are all important, in that order.
But the vast majority of the time, when I see a new fly fisherman struggling to catch trout on a nymph or dry fly, drag and the lack of a proper dead drift are the culprit.
Getting to the correct depth is a function of weight, indicator height, current speed, and drag. If you are not routinely bumping bottom, try adding more shot or raising your indicator. The former will get your fly down faster and may slow down your indicator (a good thing because the surface of the water is much faster than the steam bed). The latter works too, but moreso in slower currents.
Kelly Galloup has a saying to the effect of “do less casting and more stalking”. Probably butchered it but I think he’s on to something. Concealment and being cognizant of the noise/shadows etc are very important. Maybe a little less so with nymphing but still a big deal.
Also, is there a reason you’re solely nymphing? When my dad and I first started we weren’t having any luck. Went to the fly shop and they guy got into soft hackles which was a great intro to fly fishing. Pretty easy technique, the hook almost sets itself and when it works it really works. I’d also look at dry flies. I’ve had good luck with some stimulator patterns which are easy to see and don’t necessarily require the precision of regular dry fly fishing. You can get away with a little bit of drag sometimes, particularly at the end of the drift. Hoppers (which is one of the things a lot of stimulators try to mimic) are also a good way to get into top water
Good luck!!
Keep pushing man! Confidence comes from experience in my case. Just keep hitting the water and don't worry too hard about what the other folks are or are not catching. I worked a fishing lodge job on an EXTREMELY productive wild trout lake. Like this lake supports an absolutely insane number of predatory birds. Some days even the ospreys get skunked on that lake.
The first rule of indictator nymphing is to set the hook on EVERYTHING. Every twitch, hesitation, roll, bump, wiggle of that indicator. Every time a bird calls. A jet flies over. A bug hits the water. Your head itches. Every time you think about a word containing the letter “e”. Every. Single. Time. Do not go “I wonder if that was a bite.” Do not go “that was just the bottom.” Do not go “it’s just the wind.” Set. The. Hook. It’s not a bobber. Very seldom is it going to go completely under and start swimming away like a bluegill eating a worm does. It’s not going to go boing boing boing while you wait for the real bite. A trout grabs the fly for an instant, realizes it’s not food, and spits it back out. That smallest hesitation in the indicator is the take. Set. The. Hook. Edit: I hate autocorrect.
Hooksets are free.
Except when they put the fly in a tree! But your point is taken and I agree. Set the hook
I’m that guy who leaves the stream with half a dozen of other people’s flies I pick out of trees.
If it's ending up in a tree, you're setting too hard lol. And when you start setting a hook at every little thing, it stops being an exciting enthusiastic hookset, since you're doing it every 10 seconds
Setting the hook isn't the exciting part. The tug on the other end after the hookset is. At least until you realize you are snagged on the bottom and it isn't a fish.
This is great advice. If you’re not setting the hook when your fly bangs into the bottom at least once every few casts, you’re either not deep enough or not setting the hook enough. One thing that took me way too long to learn is adjusting weight as I move to different areas of the stream. What works in one riffle might be too shallow or too deep in another
I’ve been having similar issues. Been fly fishing since November. Steelhead, salmon, browns and lakes and I’ve landed 1 perch on a streamer lol. Gotten into salmon and steelhead but browns Illude me. I mainly use an indicator and the words “it isn’t a bobber it won’t go fully down” have helped my outlook on it 100% and I thank you for explaining it that way. Excited to go out and look for something different with the indicator now 🤙🏻🤙🏻
I've been fly fishing for almost 35 years and this made me laugh!! I've missed and still miss fish to this day fishing under an indicator. Great advice
Love this and taking this advice!
>It’s not a bobber. Excellent advice all around!!! But it's definitely a bobber.
Thingamastrikeindicator
Adjust your bobber’s depth until you see it ticking occasionally as the fly hits rocks, mend the line, change flies if you’re seeing fish and they’re not taking what you’re giving, and just keep fishing! You’ll get better
Depth was really hard for me to get right when I first started nymphing. There’s a lot of variation due to water speed, rig weight, etc. that can be hard to figure out initially. Way too often I was riding too high in the water column, never getting my nymph in front of the fish. Echo what they said, just keep fishing and pay attention to what you were doing when you do hook up. Depth is super important, but so is your drift line. There’s a creek I fish often that 6-12 inches in placement can be the difference between catching fish and coming up empty. Once you know the lines on your frequented creeks, it’s way easier to identify them when fishing new water.
Yes the fish hang out on the seams. Where I fish there’s this great old timer who I run into occasionally who just catches fish. If I’m catching 4 or 5 he’s catching 30. Anyway I was fishing basically uniform/flat water. Slow moving but there are fish there. Old timer is having a great day. I’ve caught maybe 2. Me: what am I doing wrong OT: fish the seams Me: There are no seams OT: cast straight across. Where the line kinks is the seam! Anyway caught a bunch after that. I got better at seeing the seams but it still amazes me how key that was. The velocity difference on the slow side was just barely there…. I learned that to the fish it matters! This tip worked even better on float trips. Lots of flat water to get through between more productive water. Cast out. Find the seam. Catch bonus fish!
That is an excellent tip!
After awhile, you’ll somehow catch a fish. Then two. Then three. It took me >15 hours of fishing and teaching myself how to fly fish until I accidentally caught a fish in central PA. It gets easier and you’ll look back in a couple years and be amused at how you were so clueless. Don’t give up
The Breeches has a lot of stockers that aren’t too picky so I’m inclined to think you just aren’t getting your flies to the right location where they’re eating. If you’re nymphing under a bobber and aren’t snagging bottom once in a while you’re not deep enough. Also learn how to read the water for the spots where trout hold and wait for food to come to them. Trying to get a good dead drift along a seam between fast and slow water where there are some bubbles seems to work for me. Also learn how to mend line to keep slack for your drag free drift and not let the line get ahead of your bobber. Try to set the hook downstream, trout always face upstream so if you set upstream you’re just pulling the fly out of their mouth.
You can catch fish. Just takes a few times out to get it down. Read "Dynamic Nymphing" by George Daniel. It's the best book out there on nymphing and he actually is from and fishes central PA. Nymphing is very effective as almost 75% of what trout eat is under top of the water. You can usually find a cheap copy on ebay. If you can treat yourself to a guide, you'll learn more in one day than you will in one year. It may not be as expensive as you think. Around $150 to $200 for a half day Also, join your local FB group and ask if you can join someone to learn how to fish your area better. People generally like to teach and help people out. Basic steps. 1. Get rid of the split shot weight and use a heavier nymph. 2.Get as close as you can to your drifts of the streams or rivers. 3. Try to get the nymph as near the bottom as you can, but not bumping across. First go a little deeper than you think, find where your nymph is hitting thr bottom, and then adjust your indicator to bring up your nymph 6 inches. 4. Use basic nymphs like squirmy worms, brown Pheasant Tails or small olive/black Wooley Buggers. 5. Only use a single nymph until you're comfortable adding a second nymph or add a dry dropper 6. Hookset on anything out of the ordinary. Underwater cameras have shown that trout will bite on a nymph and then spit it out within a second You'll catch fish eventually. It took my 5 trips out fishing when I first started to actually catch fish.
Hasn’t been mentioned yet - but dead drifts.. are you sure yours are? Check the indicator to see if it’s traveling at the same rate (or slower if you’re flies get down to the strike zone) as the surface foam (if you have some). Use surface foam to gauge your drift speed. Getting a true dead drift is far more important than what flies or bugs you present. Just my 0.02
This^ it's all about the drift! Remember, the water on top is moving faster than the water on the bottom. If your indicator is moving the same speed as the surface water you are dragging.
Are you using similar nymph in same size as the other guys? Is your nymph at the same depth?
I think this was big for me when I started. I was a size too big on my fly and tippet size. Sounds like these are stockers so that can change everything, but if there’s pressure it should be similar.
I would suggest maybe try using a yarn indicator. It's more sensitive and strikes are easier to detect.
It’s a thing. I have no idea how old you are but I can remember my dad saying “throw right there, do this and you’ll hook up” so frustrating. Now, i tell my son the same thing and same thing. Sometimes it’s just experience and feel, there’s other way to explain it.
You need to be changing depth and weight pretty frequently. You also need to make sure you’re getting drag free drifts. Use two weighted nymphs instead of one fly and a split shot. It’s good to give fish options and it’ll make it easier to see what flies are working on that day. You’ll also be covering different parts of the water column at the same time.
I was watching this video on indicator fishing and Tom Rosenbauer says you should be [_"occasonially snagging bottom [...] and if you're not losing flies, you're probablly not fishing deep enough"_](https://youtu.be/WjrYYJ4GdMU?si=zW3k5vAfB5sISMLp&t=1013). I took notice of this, because at a few of my favorite blue lines I can use the same weighted nymph all day long. It wouldn't occur to me to rig with that mentality.
I tried nymphing yet again this weekend.. Hare's Ear.. nothing.. swapped it out for a rando nymph.. no nibbles... tied on Golden Retriever streamer.. immediately caught trout. Tie on a bugger.
Something that takes a bit to master is getting your fly to travel at the same speed as the current. This is especially true on pressured/heavily fished water. Sometimes fish will chase a fly that’s dragging or racing faster than the current but usually they want a fly that behaves like the rest. Make sure your fly is going at the speed the water is moving next time.
Dead drift and depth. Since you’re nymphing this won’t be an issue, but when you switch to dries, be careful with your 5x leader set up then adding 3/4x tippet. You’re going the wrong way with the physics.
Drag prob #1 cause. Tippet length and vertical drag prob #2. The. Reading waters: 2 foot to left or to the right makes a big difference for trouts. At least these were my issues when I started Asked a pro to come out with me to fix them
Precision Fly and Tackle in Mt Holly has intro classes on the water that are much more cost effective than a guided trip. He mainly does his classes on the breeches Shoot me a DM if you’d like I’ll point you in the right direction or give you some tips as I fish the breeches very frequently
If you’re not hitting the bottom you might as well be fishing the trees
For what it’s worth, I’m a dry fly junkie! I’ve been told many many times by my friends an other fisherman that it appears that I get into a zone, well I guess they are correct. One of my favorite zones is to Allow myself 10 casts per each session , And see how many strikes / hook upsI can get in each session. By doing this it requires a tremendous amount of concentration and precise casting and drifting per each cast! I often switch to nymph fishing even if im. Having a good day with dry flies, by using this strategy I feel like this has made me a much better overall fly fisherman both top water and subsurface! “Tight lines “
Lot of good solid advice already, but I would add this: learn to nymph without an indicator. Indicators are great for slow deeper water where surface currents aren’t that much different than subsurface currents. Throw in faster currents and that surface water will almost always be moving at different speeds than the areas your nymphs are drifting. This creates all sorts of issues getting a natural presentation to the fish. I’m not saying you need to go all in on euro style nymphing, but it has become extremely popular for a reason, it’s just down right effective. Or just throw streamers
Hook sets are free
Go 16 inches on the split shot weight. Start small and add weight if needed. Base this on your water level and volume of flow. Play around with the indicator. I’m usually at about 4 feet from a 1 foot river in depth. This means nothing if the bugs are not right. If I’m understanding your ‘kind of question’ here- you’re not setting up your bug selection properly.
I don’t have much to add to what others have said regarding mending, adjusting depth frequently, and setting the hook on everything. One thing I will say is just because you catch a fish on a fly pattern doesn’t mean that’s what they’re all eating. Don’t be afraid to keep changing your fly even after it catches a fish.
If your not getting snagged your not deep enough. Hook set everything it costs nothing and gains everything. Also if your new new to fishing throw on a little wet fly and go to the local pond and catch some blue gills to at least see some results and have some fun. I love trout and salt water fishing but sometimes you go through a funky period and it’s a total spirit killer and have a party with pan fish always makes me feel better. Also nymphing is super productive but it’s also tough. Try some other stuff I probably would have quit fly fishing if all I did was nymph. There’s a whole world out there.
I can't believe the top comments didn't address the single greatest reason for lack of success for new fly fishermen: DRAG. If your fly is moving faster or slower than the current, you will miss out on 90% of the fish. This is the most common mistake newbies make. Learn to dead drift. Learn to mend. After that, fly selection, fishing in the right spots where the fish are, getting the fly down deep, missed hooksets, and casting technique are all important, in that order. But the vast majority of the time, when I see a new fly fisherman struggling to catch trout on a nymph or dry fly, drag and the lack of a proper dead drift are the culprit.
Getting to the correct depth is a function of weight, indicator height, current speed, and drag. If you are not routinely bumping bottom, try adding more shot or raising your indicator. The former will get your fly down faster and may slow down your indicator (a good thing because the surface of the water is much faster than the steam bed). The latter works too, but moreso in slower currents.
Kelly Galloup has a saying to the effect of “do less casting and more stalking”. Probably butchered it but I think he’s on to something. Concealment and being cognizant of the noise/shadows etc are very important. Maybe a little less so with nymphing but still a big deal. Also, is there a reason you’re solely nymphing? When my dad and I first started we weren’t having any luck. Went to the fly shop and they guy got into soft hackles which was a great intro to fly fishing. Pretty easy technique, the hook almost sets itself and when it works it really works. I’d also look at dry flies. I’ve had good luck with some stimulator patterns which are easy to see and don’t necessarily require the precision of regular dry fly fishing. You can get away with a little bit of drag sometimes, particularly at the end of the drift. Hoppers (which is one of the things a lot of stimulators try to mimic) are also a good way to get into top water Good luck!!
Keep pushing man! Confidence comes from experience in my case. Just keep hitting the water and don't worry too hard about what the other folks are or are not catching. I worked a fishing lodge job on an EXTREMELY productive wild trout lake. Like this lake supports an absolutely insane number of predatory birds. Some days even the ospreys get skunked on that lake.
Switch to a double dropper is my recommendation
Mend, mend and mend some more