Leader setup for czech and upstream nymphing

[FCLoretz]

Someone actually asked me that a while back while watching me catch a few in a row and I couldn't really answer him, I look at the fly line and "sense" the take.

Rather ask the other guys, this is a hard question.

And then the fish took your fly with it!!

[smallstreams.co.za]

Please some one teach me something cuz I’m clearly in the dark here.

You might have given yourself the answer Abri ... fish when it's lighter

[Korrie]

You cannot fish without a strike indicator and hope to see all the takes. Especially the soft, gentle bumps.


A good strike indicator will show you all the takes and in most instances AMPLIFY/MAGNIFY the takes.

If you fish with 8 pounds, you are probably missing (not seeing) a lot of takes.
Over the last couple of years, I have seen how fly fishers regularly catch and land SM and muddies between 2 and 4 pounds on setups of 5x to 7x, without to much hassles or "torturing the fish" by playing it too long.
By fishing thinner and lighter rods and smaller flies (#16 and #18), with the right indicators, the average catch of 5 to 20cm fish will increase exponentially.

[smallstreams.co.za]

Over the last couple of years, I have seen how fly fishers regularly catch and land SM and muddies between 2 and 4 pounds on setups of 5x to 7x, without to much hassles or "torturing the fish" by playing it too long.
By fishing thinner and lighter rods and smaller flies (#16 and #18), with the right indicators, the average catch of 5 to 20cm fish will increase exponentially.

Korrie, THIS I LIKE!!!!

[Korrie]

Mario
This last Sunday, I spent on the Vaal, with some fly fishers.
The average drift had probably a minimum of 5 takes, per drift from small fish.
The only reason why not a lot was caught, was the size of the nymphs.
As soon as I changed the size of the nymph to a #18, almost every drift produced a fish.
It is amazing to see the difference, when fly fishers realize how many takes there are on a drift, that they previously did not see/detect, due to too large and heavy flies and too thick leaders.

[Korrie]

If you are going to fish light, you must bear in mind that you will not have the stopping power for the big fish.
BIG FISH, BIGGER RODS AND THICKER TIPPETS.
But you will not always pick up the very light takes from big fish or small pecks of the small fish.
There is a trade off.

[wernerm]

I was going to fish my 6/7 this weekend but after reading Korrie's posts I'll be fishing my 4/5 this weekend with 5lbs tippet, let's see how it goes.

[Herman Jooste]

If you are going to fish light, you must bear in mind that you will not have the stopping power for the big fish.
BIG FISH, BIGGER RODS AND THICKER TIPPETS.
But you will not always pick up the very light takes from big fish or small pecks of the small fish.
There is a trade off.

Thanks for the above post Korrie. It is very pertinent to ALL Vaal and any other waters.

To me it it's all about numbers. Are you after LOTS of fish, ( competition style ) or are you after the BIG fish.

For me personally (over time) numbers mean ZILCH.

I lost a "bus" at a certain venue recently because the 5# Scott I was using could not stop the fish. There again I KNOW had I used the 6# Stealth Bomber, I would have pulled the hook or popped the dropper.

That same Scott landed me my PB barbel of 5.8kg last weekend. It is now my favourite SM Vaal rod.

P.S. Sorry Korrie, it's a 9 ft rod. If I could get one in 11 ft with the same balance I would be a very happy man indeed.

PSS. I will be using this same rod on my next trip to the Cape streams.

[geoffrey]

using strike indicators is fine to begin with but one will become dependent on them, without indicators the angler concentrates more and uses feel and sight more intensely, the more one does this the more you will "sense" the takes. Remove the seeing improve the feeling.

Light tackle will improve feel and therefore detect more. However a 2 kg SM has too much power for a 4 wt, if you like taking them to net quickly.

Next time on the Vaal try your 7 wt, you will be plesently suprised.

[Korrie]

For me it is not about numbers or sizes.
It is about fishing enjoyment. About the challenge.
About reading the water, understanding the habitat, the flow, pulling 15cm fish on a #3 or 6 pounders on a #5 and 10 pound tippet.
Whether I am fishing the Vaal for large or small SM yellows.
Or a mountain stream for trout.

The joy of catching fish from areas where I cant see them and just have a feeling that there must be a fish, is increasing for me.

This coming Nymphing Masterclass, I will have the 300th person attending a Masterclass. The enjoyment, first of all to teach them new techniques is very satisfying, but the most fulfilling is to see the joy that the fly fishers experience when they catch fish, that they previously never knew where there or realise, that they have been missing 80% of the takes. And that has nothing to do about numbers or sizes, it is about the enjoyment of catching fish.