That’s how it works. Check out this article on why casting and not lobbing is so important with the Mono Rig. I actually find the crinkled fibers of the macrame yarn to trap more air than the wool of the NZ system. I don’t like mounting and sliding the Dorsey on 5X or smaller because it can cause the problem you’re mentioning if you aren’t really careful. It rides high and floats a lot of weight. Hi Mick, I’m glad you got in touch. It allowed you to adjust the position quickly and easily at anytime for the depth of the pool or run you are fishing. Nothing is more important than the leader. . The river was flowing at over 400 cfs., so I used a drop shot rig to get the flies down quickly (btw, the drop shot really works well, and, as an added benefit, I only lost one nymph to a snag in a long day of fishing). This strike indicator has already been waterproofed so you don’t have to apply any floatant. Wool Yarn Floats High Wool Yarn Lands Gently Wool Yarn Casts Like A Dry Fly ... Make your very best presentation by utilizing the optimal size and color strike indicator to match conditions. Thanks for sharing. The longer I use the Dorsey, the more I prefer the 1/4″ size, because they work better with small Dorseys. The Dorsey excels at signaling these slight takes. Thank you for the article. How long do you cut the strands? That delicacy and refinement of presentation is maximized by using the Dorsey. I like to fish suspenders as an extension of tight line nymphing on a Mono Rig. Rigging Yarn Indicators. Items needed: #1 - Knit-Picker, $2.29 in the sewing department; #2 - roll of 2mm clear Pony Bead Lacing, $1.99 for 15'; #3 - any water repellent yarn of suitable size/color (I used some Lightning Strike Indicator Yarn, $2.35 @ LRO, since that's what I had … Wind, sudden rise, i dont know. We have been selling Lefty Kreh’s strike indicators for many years and some anglers won’t use any other yarn indicator. Making adjustments is the key to consistent fly fishing. We have passed through the entire process of researching. . The logic behind that is a dense Dorsey always floats best and, even with 8 strands, a tiny Dorsey lands light as a feather. And while this is also one of the most common questions I’ve fielded through the years, it has a complex answer that I’ve never tackled in an article. Trim it to any size needed. This is my home, and I love it. My point is that TOSIs will stay in place, if turned a couple of times, and can be easily adjusted to changing conditions by untangling without damaging the leader. Recently I fished with a friend that had a tool for fixing yarn strike indicators to the leader without the need for knots. I have not yet figured out how to get my leader reasonably straight after tying in a Dorsey. Book now to join me in 2020. Let go of the band, and it clings tight to the loop in the line. Poly-yarn indicators come in just about every color, from bright colors to muted tones. There are also pre-made sighters with loops at each end. Thanks for the input. I will give the Dorsey a try. It should ride with the tips up. It should show you what to do. Are you shopping for a fly fishing strike indicator for yourself? Sure it will, Mark! Tight lines! THEN coat the string AND the leader above the stop (toward you) with fly/fly line paste flotant. It looks like they are about 2″. The Dorsey reveals much about the drift that other indys cannot. Buy 1/4' medium gauge orthodontic rubber bands for the Dorsey here. Yarn indicators are also much more sensitive allowing even the subtlest of takes to be detected. One variation of the sighter, “the slinky,” looks like a phone cord. And the marginal improvement you might see is probably a result of confidence and concentration rather than the performance of new gear. Super light and super easy to cast, yarn indicators are a must for skittish trout because they lay down on the water like a whisper. Same result. that’s part of the fun to me. Six wraps on 5x fluorocarbon with a 5/16″ medium band. But i find myself untangling leaders every 20 or so casts with an indicator. Cork. And I don’t know where Pat found the idea. Many people have found the advantage of sighter material is that you can sink it during the drift and still maintain a good drift. I’m beginning to get an idea . They don’t really wear out — they just get more crinkly and float even better. That’s usually enough for me. It cast better, floated better, was more visible, had many subtle behaviors to help me identify strikes and, what is most important when bouncing nymphing, held up a lot of split shot and “bounced” beautifully. Wool strike indicators, like the New Zealand Strike Indicators, are a tuft of wool or yarn that is attached to your leader. The best yarn for indicators is fairly coarse in texture, and macramé yarn—if you can find it in appropriate colors—works very well. Bonnie Braid 6mm? Also the rubber tube of the NZ tends to hold a bit of water as well. On the stream, even long drifts are only ten or fifteen seconds long. Foam If I want to run 5X as my tippet sections, then I make the first two feet of the tippet section 4X and THAT is where I add the Dorsey and adjust it. Quantity discounts available. Are these indicators not intended to ride on top of the water? I’m a father of two young boys, a husband, author, fly fishing guide and a musician. We have listed the top-rated fly fishing strike indicator trending in 2020. A few years later, they added a jam-stop plug to the Thingamabobber, allowing you to place anywhere you desired on your rig. I’m using mostly 5X so I don’t know if I need to use a larger size. So, for me the Dorsey rides higher. The material is colored monofilament, usually opaque. It’s a great way to keep in touch. Throw two half hitches over the yarn and seat them at the wraps. Strong tippet, Mark. But if you have to have them in the guides, clean and clipped flush blood knots are fine. It spurred a few direct knock-offs which is a sign of its relevance. It stays on the fibers for a very long time. To make a strike indicator, double the leader to form a loop and place the loop through the slot at the end of the tool. Strong tippet, Mark. Some people elect to simply cut it off with their nippers. He’s also a former guide and tournament fly fisherman. At some point in the early 2000’s, the “Thingamabobber” came on to the scene. I’ve had an indicator fly off on a back cast before. . The attachment method leaves a kink in your leader. I used the same amount of strands that you did in the video and followed it to a T, so I’m a little confused. Have you ever tried the natural latex rubber orthodontic elastics, or just the latex free ones? It is fully adjustable, reusable, very easy to put on and extremely high in visibility. But trout often hold their position and simply inhale the fly, causing very little motion in the tippet and suspender. The dark truth is that upgrading your fly fishing gear rarely catches you more fish. The first strike indicators were made of cork, and you can still find lots of cork indicators. Would you say that that is the average number for you? The balloons have a ton of wind resistance compared to these. Cut a short section of braided macrame' yarn from the skein (which will provide several lifetime supplies of indicators to you and your friends). It can also help to touch the rubber band with a bit of floatant too, making sliding even easier. You can make your own New Zealand style strike indicators for less than half the cost with a quick trick to your local hobby/craft store. Again, it’s dry before you put the fly or the indy in your vest. I have a lot of people show up with whatever rubber bands they found at the drug store or something, and they tell me the system doesn’t work. The best days start by learning what most trout in the river are doing. So let’s fix that. by Domenick Swentosky | Mar 30, 2017 | 64 comments, Read the Troutbitten Article | Buy the Net. Perfect for yarn strike indicators as well as wings for Chubbies and Morningwood Specials. Love this blog. Cork Be helpful. It doesn’t kink or damage the line and doesn’t move until you want it to, whereby it easily slides on any diameter of line. If I may ask, what diameter of tippet are you using? I think of my Dorseys as 2, 5, and 7 strand versions, and I always use the smallest that’s needed to float the nymphs. I just think about the amount of weight below, in whatever form, and choose and indy. Yes, it’s fine. I like trying new things. That’s your thing, and I’d stick with it. You can even use yarn with hard-to-see tiny dry flies, such as Baetis, trico, and midge imitations. To make the most of the Dorsey, it’s best to carry them in a few different sizes. I recently compared this technique to the NZ strike indicator, while impressed I simply wasnt getting the same “height” during use as I was the NZ. No, they hardly ever come up for the Dorsey on my waters. The first indicators were most likely made of cork, and there are still several options available … The Dorsey takes a sort of upright, alert stance when it’s in contact with the nymphs and takes a resting position when there’s slack, often laying on it’s side. Eventually I moved to only using the Dorsey or a Thingamabobber. And that matters a lot when using the Mono Rig. The wet fly or nymph will sink to desired depth and the slip-bobber stop will float. . I find it easier to carry them pre-bunched and combed out, ready to go. All of these elements are intertwined. I fish light nymphs a lot, and I don’t need much yarn to hold them up. The macrame yarn sheds water very well, but a little extra help doesn’t hurt. They are typically painted in hi-viz colors. Good stuff. If you simply lob the next cast forward, the water will hold in the Dorsey. And I hope I didn’t come across as rude in my first reply. Yarn indicators also don’t do to well in fast and broken water. If you are wondering if it supports much weight, yes, it will support a LOT of weight. It’s a PRE treatment done at the tying table. Pause slightly for the fly to drop. I read through it twice and didn’t see that. It will work great as I can make any combination of white, yellow, green, blue and red. It will easily float a couple #12 tungsten beadhead nymphs, which is much more weight than I usually need. It is fine for the two sides to remain apart like a bow tie. I’ve been chasing the right indicator for a while now and I’ve never found one that does everything I need it to. Because if you change much about this system at all, it doesn’t work well. Airflo Airlock indicators are very similar to Thingamabobbers in that they are … A yarn or wool option cuts through the water with minimal additional pressure. Most often, I fish the Dorsey on the Mono Rig, Trout Like To Do What Their Friends Are Doing, Distance: Know Your Weights and Measures — Part Two, Troutbitten State of the Union — 2020 Wrap Up, VIDEO | Fly Fishing the Mono Rig: Streamers — Episode 1, Tight Line and Euro Nymphing — The Lift and Lead, Streamer Presentations — The Tight Line Dance, Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #43 — Two Ways to Recover Slack, Get Short and Effective Drifts with Your Fly, Fly Casting — Five Tips For Better Mending, Lost Trout Are Your Fault — Streamer Fishing Myth v Truth, The Meat Eater Minority — Streamer Fishing Myth v Truth, Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #21 — Fear No Snag. So I only had to buy one. Closed-cell foam offers similar advantages to yarn in that it is light and easy to cast, as well as offering a delicate presentation where important. IN THE FIRST PART of this article on strike indicators, I discussed the types of indicators available for spring creek and tailwater angling, and I identified yarn and dry fly indicators as two of the best methods. Now just a five-inch strip with the rod tip up. Actually, I’ve never used a really small Dorsey. You attach the sighter to the leader, and then the tippet extends from the other side to the flies. The length of tubing in relation to the length of the Dorsey will affect how vertical the Dorsey goes…you can get a pretty “bushy” Dorsey with a very short length of tubing, the longer the tubing is, the more vertical it forces the Dorsey. Even the largest Dorsey touches down on the water like a feather. And these two qualities determine a leader’s turnover power and the amount of potential drag . At the heart of every good leader design is an intentional balance between turnover and drag. Required fields are marked *. I saw that you use anywhere from 2 to 7 strands, usually using 5. From your description, my guess is that’s what’s happening. I’ve used the NZ rig a lot, and I don’t find that it rides higher at all. I know Rain-X is good for windshields, but is good for for trout streams? And the easiest place to start is to know your distances. I use the green and yellow most often. Over the years I have tried a number of different types of strike indicators. Angler Types in Profile Big Trout Commentary Dry Fly Fishing Fly Fishing StrategiesGear Reviews Night FishingNymphing Stories Streamers Tactics Troutbitten Fly Box, Gear Review Policy Terms and conditonsPrivacy PolicyAffiliate Link DisclosureAmazon Affiliate Disclaimer, Gear Review Policy Terms and conditons Privacy Policy Affiliate Link Disclosure Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer. If you'd like to be spared the trouble and aggravation, I'm happy to send you a 36" piece, delivered to your door for $2. But you must give it a chance to do so, with a crisp, swift backcast. Then strike indicator yarn is place through the … But often the plug doesn’t hold, and it can be a line-catcher and tangle waiting to happen. Second, there are MANY other things that we use and things we do that impact our trout streams which are much more important to think about. The bad news is I had to buy about a mile of it. Copyright 2021, The Orvis Company Inc. So I have two feet of room for adjusting up and down. I watched the video but still ended up having a couple questions about attaching the indicator to the leader as well-. Break off the tag end. Buoyancy is simply a function of trapped air and nothing more. Again, small Dorseys are the best. Well, the damn thing is 1600 words on a simple topic like macrame yarn and rubber bands. They are are quite inexpensive, easy to attach, and float much better than yarn without the use of floatant. I rarely find it necessary to use bright colors to see it. Try to rein in the Macgyver tendencies this time. BTW, it floated all day with just a single application of dry fly foatant. I also constantly refer to the thing as the DORSEY! Also, add up to 7 wraps when mounting on thin lines. There’s virtually no disturbance on the water when the yarn lands (it weighs nothing and holds no water). I do not want the tippet to lay flat, actually. Yarn often cannot support the weight of the nymphs below, and so they sink, thus negating the purpose of having an indicator in the first place. There’s nothing more important than having your own system that you believe in. This device has a small plastic screw nut at the top that you can unscrew, revealing a threaded post with a slit in it. However, I think that the paragraph on foam strike indicators can be misleading, since the picture shows TOSIs (turn on strike indicators), and they can be adjusted to the leader very easily. On the down side, yarn indicators are limited by their buoyancy. $2.99. I’ve been playing around and comparing Dorsey’s attached via the standard rubber band (I use 1/4″ heavy) as well as Dorsey’s attached via a small piece of tubing (a la NZ strike indicator system). . I think that an 8 strand small Dorsey wouldn’t work, so I’ll try it your way. I used the balloons for a while too. This compresses the tippet/leader into place, and away you go. I’ve been building my Dorseys with 8 strands and just trimming them to size. It’s a challenge to cast in some conditions, not having the weight of a TB, but it’s easy to switch to the latter when needed, with the same orthodontic rubber band connection, and to switch back (and by the way, that connection redeemed the TB for me). Did you let the Rain-X dry completely before you applied Mucilin? Do you have the correct material? Fly Casting, Fly Fishing Strategies, Tactics. If the water is really choppy I go to a TB if I want a suspender, however I usually tight line that stuff. Airflo Airlock Indicator. I’m glad people out there are thinking about this stuff, though. The weight of yarn is negligible, which causes your cast to remain as fluid as possible, given the weight of nymphs. Open the rubber band. This allows you to adjust the depth mid-drift without fumbling with a device. Support Troutbitten of green Musclin into the yarn to length prior to final trim ways to Rig each type indicator! S yarn indicator system to be a personal attack and I hope I didn ’ necessary. Tool for fixing yarn strike indicators, yarn was the preferred choice is appreciated! 30, 2017 | 64 comments, READ the Troutbitten article | buy the Net poly yarn, the. 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