I thought you were talking about this:
I don’t think you feel the strikes better without an indicator, unless you happen to be swinging nymphs (which I do and it’s a blast!). On a dead drift, the takes are usually pretty subtle, so chances are you won’t feel the take.
I do use indicator’s when steelhead fishing and sometimes trout fishing and they definitely help detecting those subtle strikes.
If you fish with a short, tight line, it is really pretty easy to feel the takes or see the leader twitch. The key is that you don’t quite fish “dead drift.” You have to pull the nymph just enough to keep excess slack out of the line. Of course, a long rod and light line help tremendously.
Well I think this covers both words of the topic…
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c245/bigbowtrout/open_fly_fishing.jpg
I don’t watch many TV fishing shows but I do recall a couple where they were fly fishing for trout in tournaments for money. In both of these shows they were using indicators. That might tell you something.
Tim
Maybe it would be worth it to trade in your clothes for this?: http://www.lyonsoutdoorgames.com/auction/flyRod.jpg
Doug
If all flyfishers looked like that, well, I may change my mind, but with the exception of the fine ladies who frequent FAOL, I still hope the nightmares of thinking of you guys naked don’t keep haunting my sleepless nights.
Jeff
ill say one thing for her presentation,best ive seen in a long time.