Releasing Strike Indicators

Starting a new thread on this rather than "contaminate" Buddy's thread...

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/s...ad.php?t=26374

I've punched out a few crude floats...nothing as neat as Buddy's.... and used the Q-tips ...which incidentally slide just fine on a #6WF line...just what I have available right now.

For the life of me, Joni...or anyone, I don't see why they can't be used on the fly line???????

The Q-tip ones won't slide over some knots so might require some rigging but the commercial ones... which as I recall have a fair sized inside diameter... should be OK....I mean to slip up over the tippet/leader onto the flyline...incidently I use a sink tip line.....

Seems to me it's an advantage to be able to use an average sized leader and/or tippet....

Where am I going wrong here?
What am I missing?

AS they say ..."inquiring minds want to know".

Are you running the leader through the center of the Q-tip? That what I understand you to be saying. If so run the line through the center of the strike indicator and peg it with the Q-tip. Personnally I use matchsticks I have whittle and sanded where it is round and tapered.

Those little foam floats are pretty easy if you have a rotary tool, I use a cordless Black and Decker the most. I bought a adjustable chuck and use a small wood screw with the head removed as an arbor. I cut plugs out of my daughter's too small or out of style flip flops with a 3/8" dia. section of umbrella shaft and drill. I use a pieces of brass ball point pen refill to cut center holes in the strike indicator. Shape with an embry board, makes good popping bug bodies too.

Thanks, Uncle

The slip/releasing indicators I'm talking about do go through the center of the peg/Q-tip...

Here's FlyGoddess doing a demonstration...

http://s44.photobucket.com/remix/pla...fs=1&os=1&ap=1

These indicators are used when fishing 10 to 30 feet deep and will release with a fish on allowing you to reel them in close enough.

Duckster,

Never even considered putting these on the fly line...They are difficult to cast with the long tippets....

Thinking out loud here...

Problem is that a 'floating' line won't sink beyond the peg/float, so that's not going to help much...sink tip would work, but only if you peg at the 'transition' from the floating to sinking line, which limits your 'depth' choices to the length of the sinking section plus leader/tippet...may be workable by adjusting tippet length....as long as it's not 'too deep' that would still cast easier.

Having the float/peg on the fly line itself would certainly make casting MUCH easier....have to redesign the peg...needs to have a larger opening, but that's not too much of a problem....With a 10' sink tip and a 12 foot leader, that gets you to 22'... should work, I'd think...even if the peg doesn't slide past the fly line to leader junction, you could still land the fish okay with a 12' leader on a 9' rod. Before I figured out the whole sliding thing I used to fish with 15' tippets and land fish okay....seldom fish deeper than 25' anyway...

This could work. Would certainly make the 'normal' depths used with this technique, from say 15 to 20 feet, easier to cast.

Thanks Duckster!

Now it's back to the design stage again...maybe the barrell of a cheap ball point pen for the peg...

Buddy

Darn, I had a whole reply typed and lost it....anyway...

Buddy, I use a 15ft sink tip with a 5ft furled leader plus tippet for the depths I want to fish. ..actually it's a versi-tip...so I may make up some shorter tips when I need to fish shorter.

I'm a rookie at this style of chironomid fishing ...still trying to get out the kinks ...but I get real impatient and don't stick with it.

Now my thanks to you, Buddy, for the cheap ball point idea...I think the taper on the peg is important.

I've just pulled the tips on a couple of used cheap pens I have and they are going to be perfect:cool::cool::cool:. The very tip is narrow but drilling out with a 1/8th inch drill takes care of that.

I've got a whole jug of used ball points but I tended to throw the cheap ones...and it's the cheap ones that have the tips with the nice taper of a good diameter....there's always the dollar store.

I've tested on a fly line I have rigged and it slipped easily from tippet to fly line...over a loop to loop and a nail knot..... and using a punched out foam it "looped" on the fly line and released just fine. Being able to slip on from the tippet seems to me to be easier than taking down the line to leader knot ...whatever it is.

I'm a happy camper...thanks again!

Buddy...not the barrel ...the tip

A follow-up after further checking....all ball points [cheap] are not created equal re: the size/length..and inside diameter.

There is a good how-to article about making release indicators at this site:
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/dm...ndicators.html

Scroll to the bottom for the "deep water indicator fishing".
The whole page is about making 5 different types of indicators.

I am going to have to go the the Lab this spring and see what works for me.

Fishin' Jimmy