Hey,
After a trip to Cabela’s today i was dissapointed that they didnt have the strike indicator i was looking for. I figure they were easy enough to make so i picked up some white EP-fibers and got some O-rings when i got home. I know poly yarn is the norm, but a pack was onsale for $2 so i figured i couldnt go wrong.
This is my first attempt.
Does anyone else make their own? Tips or suggestions?
Tom
Not that it adds a ton of weight, but you could try replacing the o-ring that holds the bunch together with tying thread instead to make it a lil lighter.
Other than that they look good to me.
I’ve made them in a similar manner to yours. One nice thing about making your own is you have more choice in color. I like white like yours better than the usual orange or yellow as it looks more natural (like foam) and spooks less fish. You can also do two-tone with a neutral color like tan and a brighter color like yellow in the center.
Look for poly macrame yarn in your local craft store, you can make a lifetime supply!
Looks like store bought indicators to me i make my own using macrame yarn i think thats how you spell it but it works well and can usually find at craft stores in a few colors if that helps.
Tom -
Mine are similar, but a bit simpler. For the loop, I just make one out of 15-20# leader material - a perfection loop about the size of the o-rings you used. I like poly yarn for the indicator itself. Very inexpensive, lots of colors, and floats forever with a minimum of floatant.
Put a couple strands of poly through the perfection loop, secure it with 3/0 fly tying thread, apply head cement liberally to the thread, and trim the poly to desired length. These are very easy to make, very inexpensive, work very well - a medium size indicator will handle a couple size 6 weighted stonefly nymphs all day, and they last a looooooonnnnnnggggg time.
Chartreuse or chartreuse and orange are my favorites. Don’t know if those colors scare a lot fish or not, but I know they’ve been part of catching a lot of fish.
John
I find the O-rings get pricey. Yep I’m cheap!! I purchased two huge skaines (sp) of polypro yarn…one glo-in the Dark and one Florescent Yellow . I was dumb. I should have added orange or Pink to the order but adding some scrap egg yarn or what ever helps in those situations when I need it.
I usually just have a hunk of the cord in my bag…for those just in case moments. I comb out the end when I need it and just tie the stuff to the end of a 3-4 foot piece of level 15-20lb mono using a clinch knot, then cut the fuzzed out yarn to the size I want…then tie in the next hunk of leader/ tippet behind the indicator, using a clinch knot.
The red is the fly line…then mono to the yarn… then mono or floro… if you add weight…it’s best to put it above the tippet knot if you can…but you do what you have to.
If you’re familiar with Kelly Galloup…it’s how he does it.
Advantages: CHEAP…quick and floats like a cork.
Disadvantages… changing the length from the indicator to the fly isn’t as easy and a sliding indicator. I just manipulate where the weight is to deal with most of that…but sometimes it means adding or removing a bit of line.
I don’t use this set up very often. If I can fish two flies (hopper dropper style) I’d much rather do that. I usually use this set up for steelhead but I have used it for carp and trout. It just depends on what I need to do to get the job done. I usually nymph without an indicator, but there is the odd time where it does help get the fly to the fish.
John, I do like your idea with the perfection loop. I also add a thumbs up to Joe Cool’s idea too. Dump the O-ring that is holding the fibers together. Use it as a holder while your tying the thread off, then roll it off. Putting thread around the yarn isn’t the easiest thing to do. The o ring will help until you don’t need it anymore.
---------------- Now playing in my head set…or maybe just my head:
Montana Skies By John Denver
Just as an addition to this thread, as an idea to Mato saying it’s easier with a sliding indicator, I whip yarn to a length of cotton bud (I think they are Q-tips stateside) then use a length of cocktail stick as a locking mechanism, works great for me
carry inch-and-a-half lengths of antron yarn in your choice of color. i use olive and yellow because they make bunches that really look like river shtuff. when the need arises, select an appropriate number and color of yarns, hold them in a bunch by the middles, and pop them into a larks head knot wherever you need them along the length of leader/tippet. apply a little floatant and you’re good to go.
to make changes, use the large safety pin you have on your vest to help undo the knot, add or subtract yarns, and reposition the bunch into another lark’s head knot.
sometimes before i cut the lengths off the skein of yarn, i remember to put an overhand knot in the middle of the yarn length to give the lark’s head something more to grip on.
The past year or so, I’ve found myself using some kind of dry fly / hopper as a strike indicator.
Jeff
I’m with Jeff on this one. I used store bought indicators like you pictured when I first started in fly fishing. The white ones were terrible for me to use in the foam and much preferred blaze orange. I then started to get fish to hit the indicator then the light buld went on and said that I needed an indicator with a hook. Now a brightly colored foam beattle is the ticket or anything else with a hook.
Rick
There’s some good info on FAOL about strike indicators. Here’s another article that’s pretty neat:
http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/indicators/
When short line nymphing, I never use strike indicators that are added on - I simply build them into my leaders. A piece of bright 20 lb backing with a perfection loop on either end, and colored with a black marker every half inch works nicely. These can be treated with floatant for a super sensitive shallow water indicator.
For long line nymphing, these things are really convenient:
http://www.westwaterproducts.com/thingamabobber.html
They’re not as sensitive as yarn indicators, but they float all day without any added floatant or fuss - plus they are easier to move around on the leader. Now if they’d just make them in red/white, it’d add a touch of “tradition” to using an indicator.
I am too. Instead of O rings, I cut very short sections from rubber tubing (a.k.a “surgical tubing”) that I buy at the hardware store. About a buck for a lifetime supply.