Fly Fishing with a Strike Indicator

For many fly fishermen fishing with a strike indicator is against the "rules." However, using a strike indicator will greatly increase your odds of catching trout beneath the surface. The other, sometimes overlooked, value of a strike indicator is being able to watch how your fly is drifting below the surface.

Fishing with a strike indicator is much like fishing with a bobber on a stream. However, when fly fishing bobbers are much to heavy to cast, so lightweight indicators were invented. A strike indicator is used when fishing dead drift below the surface, the way many of us think of nymphing. The indicator is attached to the line above the weighted fly. The strike indicator can be adjusted to allow your weighted fly to drift at different depths below the surface. The indicator will get pulled under when a fish strikes, so you don't have to try and feel the strike of the fish.

Strike indicators are great to use when fishing below the surface for finicky trout. Many times trout below the surface do not aggressively attack flies. Since the strikes are so subtle anglers have a hard time detecting the strike, but with an indicator an angler just needs to watch for any odd movement of the indicator.

The other great value of an indicator is allowing an angler to get a better dead drift below the surface. It is hard to understand what the water currents are doing below the surface, but by watching the way your indicator floats on top an angler will be able to understand how the fly is drifting below.

I recommend using yarn strike indicators. Yarn indicators can be attached to your line by looping the line though and around your line. This means you can easily adjust or remove your indicator without damaging your line. Also yarn indicators float very well and can have floatant applied to them. Many foam or cork indicators can get damaged and can't be reused. Finally, did I mention how cheap yarn strike indicators are, and if you tie your own flies you can easily tie some yarn indicators.

Using a strike indicator when fly-fishing below the surface is not just for beginners. Understanding how to properly us a strike indicator will greatly increase your odds of landing trout and since the majority of a trout's diet comes from below the surface understanding how to fish below the surface is a must for all fly fishermen.