Drift, drag, and getting agitated ...

[JohnScott]

The above is from an interview of Johnny Gomez in Paul Arnold's little gem Wisdom of the Guides.
( Sorry about the rather awful pix. They're the best I could do. )

When I used to fish the South Fork of the Snake down in SE Idaho, and it was my home water at the time, a dark brown rubberlegs stonefly nymph was pretty much a staple for winter fishing. It was quite common for mountain whitefish, and there are a lot of them in that crick, to hit the fly just at the end of the drift when it started to lift, or when it was picked up mid-drift. Lifting the rod tip and tugging the line a bit during the drift became something of a habit when fishing primarily for whitefish.

Trout on the South Fork would occasionally hit the big ole stonefly nymph when it was intentionally moved, but not often enough to think about doing that when strictly fishing to trout.

Moving on to Western Montana and Northern Idaho, especially Northern Idaho, I started noticing more trout hitting the big ole rubberlegs when it was being picked up or intentionally moved - "agitated" as Johnny Gomez called it.

Then I started fishing the extended body JARS and the action on an agitated nymph became more pronounced. To the point that the technique is now incorporated in my approach to fishing the big stonefly nymphs. It is more of a soft water technique than something to do under random circumstances, but it definitely has it's place in fishing freestone rivers in this neck of the woods.

I think extended body nymphs, whether furled or articulated, offer some advantage over regular nymph patterns in that the flexing body movement accentuates the tail movement as well as providing action to the body of the nymph, more suggestive of life than when the fly's entire body is tied on a regular hook, and especially when an extended body nymph is agitated.

John

P.S. Johnny Gomez was a guide on the San Juan at the time Paul interviewed him. The last comment he made on this subject was that he fished nymphs on the San Juan "About 316 days a year."

[johnstoeckel]

I agree. While a dead drift is a great starting point and generally necessary to get the fly deep, some agitation is often helpful to induce strikes. Of course, the old "Leisenring Lift" is the classic method of agitation. George Daniel in his book "Dynamic Nymphing" talks extensively about leading flies through the drift and advocates leading them slightly faster than the current. He also talks about using a line loop to create drag and accelerate fly movement. I start with the dead drift, but usually try a lift at the end and / or twtiches when the fly is deep. I have found "agitation" to be particularly helpful when flies are hatching and when fishing larger nymphs like mayfly drakes and stoneflies.

[herefishy]

Never heard the term, but wonder if it doesn't have something to do with those euros dragging their nymphs downstream. Gomez is a classic on the San Juan and inventor of the Johnny Flash, a real staple of the small fly fisher. Gotta try it.

[Jack Hise]

Hmmmmm!! I called it Jinking or twitching!? I was the only one to catch a trout one day on the Elk River and it when Jinking, Twitching or Moving an olive soft hackle. One afternoon Warren and I accounted for over 200 Browns using this method. He did hook up 2 Rainbows!! Arm got tired!!

[sagefisher]

My 2 cents worth, meaning it isn't worth much, but............I prefer a dead drift approach. Let's face it, the river itself will be adding a lot of action to the fly. The choppy surface water, the various currents the line has to travel through, the bouncing along the bottom, the action of the water coming off the rocks along the bottom pushing the flies up or sideways, yes, plenty of action is given to the flies while you try to maintain a dead drift. I always let my fly swing up at the end of the drift and I must say that it is very seldom that I get a hit at that point, but I do it anyway, just in case. The vast majority of my fish are caught on a dead drift of the nymphs. Some of the takes are so soft that you must maintain a perfect dead drift just to be able to see them. Again, just my 2 cents worth. But then I remember when 2 cents would buy a lot of candy. However you fish the flies, as long as you are having fun and catching a few fish, then life is great. Larry ---sagefisher---

[DG]

Everyone's got an opinion, and I figure mine is worth as much as anyone's, so... I will keep fishing the way I have for 36 years and counting, catching fish as I go.

[DG]

And which way is that, Dennis ??

Beats the heck out of me. I don't try to analyze it, I just fish.

[maodiver]

Can someone define or describe "line loop ahead of the indicator" and how that would be accomplished?

[WarrenP]

maodiver,

Hopefully, someone will answer your question who is in the know. Here is what I think they mean and I could be wrong which I usually am. Instead of mending your line upstream, so you get a drag free drift, you would mend your line downstream or ahead of your indicator (if you are using one). In my mind, that would put "a line loop ahead of the indicator".

That is what I think they are referring to.

[Silver Creek]

Can someone define or describe "line loop ahead of the indicator" and how that would be accomplished?

I don't know about the indicator part, but I think Daniel's line loop refers to line sag from the rod tip to the point at which the line enters the water. There is NO floating indicator as you think of it. There may be a bright fluorescent inline monofilament sighter that acts as a visual indicator.

The rod tip is downstream of the flies. The sagging line means that gravity is pulling the line down towards the water surface and since the line is sagging and at a slant, this slant causes the line to pull the flies down stream. The degree of the sag determines the line tension pulling the flies downstream. The tighter the line and the more parallel the line to the water surface, the greater the downstream tension. So the angler, by controlling both the elevation and motion of the rod tip downstream, can control the degree of downstream tension.

Modifying my post to address what Warren has said, Gomez's loop downstream is a downstream mend. The loop is both downstream of the rod tip and the flies. Since the loop is on the surface of the water which is flowing faster than the sunken nymphs, this will drag the nymphs downstream and up. Basically this is analogous to a wet fly swing.