rusty

Yeah - saw them out the other day staking it. Good show!

690 RPL+ (9' #6). Perfect rod for anything the Bow throws at you. 5 weights are OK but the extra stick comes in handy too.

I would say without a doubt that right now, on the Bow, you will catch more fish without indies than you will with them. The fish are still sitting in shallow water - a friend of mine landed over a dozen trout today fishing hopper-droppers, all less than 3' deep. You could certainly argue that the hopper is nothing more than an indicator in that sense. I've watched numerous boats go by in my last couple of times out, and aside from the odd boat you see bombing the banks, most guys are nymphing in the choppy deeper water. I have watched a fish eat and spit a fly quickly enough to not move an indicator. Indicators are an invaluable tool, but careful wading and good casting will usually get you close enough to trout to nail them without one. I stood on the McKenzie footbridge a few years ago in the fall and watched a big brown move out of the way every time an indicator came over top of him. Tight-line (ie: not drag free) nymphing can be extremely effective this time of year. Indicators are the easiest way to start catching fish, but most folks use them way too much in situations where they're more hindrance than help. Brent is bang on about those indicators though - I love them because they can be added and removed without taking the flies off. They're the only indicators I'd ever fish on rivers anymore.

How about a pickerel rig with live minnows? Worked like charm at about 2am last night at Hullswood.

To be honest, the best way to nymph small streams is with no indicator at all. It's a lot easier than it sounds or seems. Having said that, I like the Palsa closed cell foam indys for suspending small nymphs. You can stack them on top of each other to carry more weight. I got the idea from Rich Osthoff's "Active Nymphing" - a great book if you're tired of throwing fist size indicators all the time.

Man alive! Those are some awesome mods...I love the hinged seat and the front anchor.

I agree with the .002" max diameter difference between fluoro and mono. I use Rio Sightfree - it comes on 50m spools, which I like, and it holds up great. I use a really well lubricated triple surgeons for tying it to mono. Pull all four lines (the two main lines and the two tags) at the same time and you'll be good to go. The key for fluoro is to thoroughly wet the knots, regardless of what you're tying.

I'm with Dave - those are awesome. I love how they put browns on one side and RBs on the other.

I have found that the best bet is experimentation. Some days they want it quick, some days slow. In any case, here's how to learn to fish streamers: 1. Tie up a dozen clousers or whatever other streamers you like. 2. Leave all nymphs and dries in car. Take rod, heavy-ish tippet, lots of split shot, and clousers. 3. Pray to fish gods. 4. Fish streamers all day in different types of water and with different techniques. Really pay attention. If the fly isn't getting down, add weight. Most of the time you want to feel the bottom. If you're hanging up all the time, take some off. There is a lot to be said for fishing streamers in shallow water, but most of the time you want to have that fly swimming in and around the rocks just like a normal minnow would. Try fishing up and across, down and across, and straight up and down. Fish the streamers in the pockets, along the shelves and seams, and especially tight to the banks where there's lots of fishy cover. You can fish a tight line, you can dead drift, or you can cast upstream a bit and throw a big downstream mend and let the fly swing on on the loop. If you're fishing a floating line, consider running straight tippet from line to fly. The heavy butt of a tapered leader won't knife through the water like straight 8 or 10 pound Trilene will. This time of year you can easily fish streamers with a floating line and 9' leader. I prefer fast sinktips for higher water situations, but they aren't necessary right now. Jim McLennan has some excellent articles out there on streamer fishing - but nothing beats time spent on the water figuring it out for yourself. And, by far most importantly, do not forget step 3.

The reviews I've heard about that Sharkskin from folks who've cast it is that it's not all it's hyped up to be. I would wait for a review from someone who's actually fished or at least cast it before dropping a hundred bucks.