Strike Indicator... Which Do You Use

[live2play]

Just curious which strike inticators others are using.

I am fairly new to the sport and have tried a few but have not found one that I am satisfied with.

The problem seems to be that they either sink with the weight of the fly or are too bouyant (and am probably missing strikes).

[ÜberFly]

Thingamabobber medium most often for double or triple rig weighted with a bh wire worm (haven't tried the smallest but that might work also). For BC waters where 1 fly only or small streams, small corky type. Only thing I dislike about the Thingamabobber is how it kinks the leader (and that they need a specific diameter so they don't slip, i.e., cant use when fishing shallower water). Other then that, they have worked great for me!!

[FlyFishingEMT]

I like the sierra drifters strike indicator they sell at wholesale which are pretty much a thingamabobber with the screw on top. Super easy to adjust on the go the only con is they still kink your line about as much as a regular thingamabobber.

[pokerfish]

Thingamabobber.

Tried the ones that pop and slide when you get a strike cus I use a long leader with the spey line and it is troublesome landing fish with a lot out, BUT they kept popping on the cast, sooo back to Things

[Willshire59]

i Use the big foam one from fishin hole and shove a tooth pick in the line where i want it. Dosnt kink the leader easy adjust if needed.

[Hawgstoppah]

Corkies 100% except on a drift where I need the flexibility of changing depths quickly. I find the corkies tangle at least 50% less for me... I think the thingamabobbers are so light they drag in the air and the flies loop around them a lot. I'm ok until a breeze comes in and then all hell breaks loose using them.

[DRock]

Thingamabobbers. Love them

[RedBeard]

I use clear (glow in the dark) Thingamabobbers, 3/4"

 

 

Tried fish pimps when I was first learning to cast and they were a nightmare... The surgical tubes just kept slipping down my fly line.

[RedBeard]

Corkies 100% except on a drift where I need the flexibility of changing depths quickly. I find the corkies tangle at least 50% less for me... I think the thingamabobbers are so light they drag in the air and the flies loop around them a lot. I'm ok until a breeze comes in and then all hell breaks loose using them.

 

True, I get at least one very intricate tangle each time out with the thingamabobbers

[DonAndersen]

Live2play,

 

Been using bobbers since 1970 and finally found a product that works. Yarn - make that macreme yarn. 50 yards is $4.79 at the macreme store. http://www.macramesuperstore.com/craft-cord/Bonnie-Braid-6mm-Macrame-Cord-50-yard-White__BB6-50-WHITE-spc--spc--spc-001.aspx

Each yarn indicator ( bobber) lasts a year or so. Casts readily, doesn't tangle, costs little & detects strikes where cookies and balloons do not.

And did I mention, macreme works as a winging material in stones, caddis, mayflies and Diptera, I have all the buggy colours.

If you wonder how it can be used. See the article on my web site http://bamboorods.ca/indicators.html

And yes, I 've tried thingaboobers. They slip down the leader. Great idea poorly executed. I do use dis-connect cookies for chironomids fishing in depths greater than 30'.

 

 

Catch ya '

 

 

Don

[SilverDoctor]

I have to mention here that in fact indicator setups are usually diferent for lakes and moving waters.

[Guest Grinr]

I normallly use Thingamabobbers for what little bit of nymphing I do.I tie my own tapered leaders,so slipping and kinking isn't an issue,I just set the indi above one of the bloodknots(no slip) and I don't tighten the line on it very hard.(no kink).If I need to set the indi deeper,meaning set on the heavier butt sections of leader(25-30lb maxima),I tie the indi in place with about 6" of 3x tippet.I tie the 3x thru the hole on the Thingy with a clinch knot,then form a simple overhand loop knot with the 3x as close to the bobber as I can make it.Wrap the tippet loop around the leader 3-4 times,pass bobber thru the loop and tighten it hard.....again,no slip,no kinks.

[fishinglibin]

Live2play, Been using bobbers since 1970 and finally found a product that works. Yarn - make that macreme yarn. 50 yards is $4.79 at the macreme store. http://www.macramesuperstore.com/craft-cord/Bonnie-Braid-6mm-Macrame-Cord-50-yard-White__BB6-50-WHITE-spc--spc--spc-001.aspx Each yarn indicator ( bobber) lasts a year or so. Casts readily, doesn't tangle, costs little & detects strikes where cookies and balloons do not. And did I mention, macreme works as a winging material in stones, caddis, mayflies and Diptera, I have all the buggy colours. If you wonder how it can be used. See the article on my web site http://bamboorods.ca/indicators.html And yes, I 've tried thingaboobers. They slip down the leader. Great idea poorly executed. I do use dis-connect cookies for chironomids fishing in depths greater than 30'. Catch ya ' Don

Hi Don, Great article, and I will try it out. In one of the later indicators you use 20 lb maxima, why is that? Thanks Paul

[WyomingGeorge]

Thingamabobber, usually white on the theory that it looks more like a piece of natural water foam than the bright ones. Of course, looking up from below they might all appear as menacing silhouettes, floating landmines of doom, but who knows?

 

Some of the Montana and Wyoming guides tie on the true balloon indicators that inspired the plastic Thinga. They are demonstrably more sensitive in detecting subtle strikes on tailwaters where you are presenting tiny nymphs to picky trout. Being a somewhat impatient sort when it comes to the time-consuming gear details such as hand-knotted leaders, etc., I personally use the Thinga on regular commercial leader, although I order away for the Rio indicator leader (mostly tippet, short butt). I find even the medium sized Thinga can float three small to medium sized nymphs plus two small shots, or a large nymph plus two smaller ones and no shot.

 

The larger Thinga's are very hard to cast and are downtright embarrassing to look at, like those over-sized telephone keypads for 90-year-olds. Of course, on that other thread about nymphing, a few people would say all indicator fishing is embarrassing, or should be. But even having written about last year's swkala hatch and the dry fly action, the dry fly component of the day was anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, streamer fishing one hour and nymphing about seven hours.

[reevesr1]

Thingamabobber. I also like white the most, but do use the other colors. I've tried different types, including yarn, including making my own. I just find that overall, the thinga... works the best. I use the small size when using small nymphs and the medium otherwise. Never tried the big one. I have also tried the ones that have the screw down. I hated them (they fly off on me eventually every time I try), but that could be a function of bad eyesight when trying to put them on and not getting the line secured properly. I like the idea of them since they would not kink as bad, but they haven't worked for me.

 

I've never had any more issue with tangles using the thingas than any other indicator- except maybe yarn, which does cast very well. But that could be because I have big sloppy loops anyway.

[millartech]

I use Thingamabobbers. I do get nasty knots once in a while, but that is because my casting is a work in progress.

[FraserN]

I use corkies. Most I use have been found lying on the shore. I pick them up and put them on the line where it attaches to the leader. Saves buying them.

[DRock]

i saw two green corkies floating down the bow yesterday right infront of me. i tried to grab one but almost took a dip

[Castuserraticus]

I like the rubber core football shaped ones. Easy to put on, easy to move, and cause no issues with casts but sometimes pop off if I don't have enough line wraps around the rubber core. I use small-medium sized and add or subtract to get proper drift.

Tried Thingambobber but found it had too much air resistance for longer casts causing the loop to open up creating more resistance. Also seemed to cause line twist.

Don't like the corkie and toothpick setups because they have to be dismantled if I want to switch to dryfly. Sometimes I nymph with a tapered leader to make an easy switch.

I found the yarn-like foam strip indicators with rubber O-ring caused a lot of line spin in the air which then leads to tangles.

I like Don's yarn indicators for light duty work but they are higher maintenance than the football floats since they do sink over time.

[WyomingGeorge]

Oh right, then there are the foam stick-ons. They are nice for short-leash nymphing, running two small nymphs high in the water column when the fish are in transition before surface-feeding. They can't be moved, leave an annoying residue and require attention to avoid littering, but for that one narrow application they are ideal, far less obtrusive than the bobber. Sometimes they even get eaten.

[hybridfive]

Have been using Thingamobbers but find they tangle up quite often and kink the leader. I came accross this recently and was thinking about giving it a shot. http://midcurrent.com/2012/06/15/a-really-really-good-strike-indicator/

[Pipestoneflyguy]

For moving water, I used to swear by the football styrofoam indicators with the surgical tube inside - pros, I find they don't knot the leader as easy, are easy to move (a big "pro" on moving water) , install and remove, and they don't kink the leader. cons - a moment of losing concentration resulting in hitting a rock on your back cast and they tend to split in half - meaning a search for the pieces and possibly fishing without an indicator for the rest of the day.

 

 

I tried (and still have) a few of the yarn indicators - pros, most sensitive,easy to make yourself with a pack of small o-rings and yarn, con - gets mangled beyond recognition on my lanyard.

 

 

Nowadays I prefer the small foam indicator (looks like a badminton bird or a hula skirt LOL) Pro - would survive the armageddon hanging on my lanyard, very durable - installs and moves easy - survives a random bad back cast, clips easily on my lanyard - looks like a big caddis and produces the occaisonal rising nose bump, which allows me to stop nymphing, cause it's stupid anyway, and go back to working the surface, like a proper flyfisherman should ! Bwah ha ha ha - Just kidding, don't freak out or ban me please, it's just a joke !

 

 

Being an "In the Park" angler I can't multi-fly, for the majority of you, you can ! I would think using a big floaty fly is probably logical as you would be working two different zones at the same time

[Muffin]

Ha-ha great post Pipestone.

[Guest Grinr]

"In the park"??

As in national park?One can't multi-fly in NPs??

[Pipestoneflyguy]

Yep - National Parks (I have been living in Lake Louise for 19 years)

 

 

Regs say "When Angling, it is unlawful to: Fish with or possess within 100 metres of park waters - a line capable of catching more than one fish at a time"

 

 

A hopper / dropper rig is interpreted as in violation of the above !