Trout feed on the bottom of the stream approximately ninety percent of the time. The main foods there are the nymphal form of aquatic insects, crustaceans (sowbugs and scuds), worms and fish eggs. These various food forms are generically known and fished as nymphs. There are also bait fish, which we imitate with streamers. The trick to fishing all of them is to deliver them to the bottom of the stream in as natural a state as possible. That is where weight comes in.
There are a few places to place the weight, on the fly, the leader or the fly line. I generally weight most of my nymphs. One way to weight flies is to wrap lead wire around the hook as the first step in tying the fly. When I first started tying flies, we would use Buss fuse wire to weight them. This was lead wire designed for electricians and bought at electrical supply shops by the pound. For instance, I used seventeen wraps of number 2 Buss fuse wire to weight my copperhead woolly buggers. Now fly tying material suppliers provide a variety of sizes of lead wire on smaller more manageable spools.
The big trend now is to use beads to weight the nymphs. You can tie a bead head in just about any fly patterns out there. The beads are tungsten or brass and are added to the hook before you tie the fly. The tungsten beads are a bit heavier and sink the fly quicker. One of the tricks that I use is to put a few wraps of lead wire up in the bead itself. This adds weight and eliminates bead wobble.
Another effective way to weight flies is to tie them on jig heads. Jig heads are basically a hook with a ball of lead on the front of the hook. The big advantage of jig heads is that they ride in the water with the hook point up. This makes them weedless and keeps them from hanging up quite as much. This is my high water standard. Not only do I tie marabou jigs but I also tie San Juan worms on them. I also tie my shad pattern, John’s shad.
Once the fly is weighted, we have to consider adding weight to the leader. On lower flows, I like to use strip lead. This is a long ribbon of lead that can be wrapped around the leader. I always attach it above the leader tippet connection, so that it cannot slip. The brand that I use is Larva Lead, which is sold at local fly shops. What I like about this product is that it comes in a long ribbon. I can break off exactly how much I need. I can add it to the leader or remove it just using my fingers, without the use of any tools. It is especially effective for adding a small amount of weight to the leader. Larva Lead holds to the leader well and I have never cast it off. There is another product that looks like a package of matches. I have found that the lead in this product is stiffer and more difficult to work with.
The classic method to add weight to the leader is to use split shot. I don’t know about you but I tend to drop them. In addition, I do not like the fact that I have to use my forceps to crimp them on. Once you get them on they are difficult to remove. Despite these failings I find them really effective for adding weight to leaders quickly, particularly in deep heavy flows. There are those that recommend several smaller split shot over one large one. I have found that this just complicates the situation. Split shot seem to disappear, especially on my back cast. To prevent them from slipping, I always attach them to the leader just above the leader tippet connection.
I have found that Dinsmore’s egg shaped removable split shot to be a superior product. It is made from tin and is non toxic. It is a bit softer material and can be removed from the leader. I have to admit that I have broken my thumbnail several times when doing this. You still need to crimp them on with a pair of forceps. They have an unusual shape that seems to hang on to the leader than conventional split shot. I have found size 4 (.2 grams) and AAA (.8 grams) to be the most useful sizes. I use the 4s in moderate flows and the AAAs on heavy flows.
There is another product, tungsten putty. This is weight in a moldable form. I have not had much success with it because it doesn’t hold to the leader well.
When fishing streamers I recommend the use of strip lead, split shot or sink tip fly lines. Sink tips are different in that the weight (lead dust) is incorporated in the forward few feet of the line itself. The forward section of the line sinks and the rest of the line floats. They are reasonably easy to cast and can really get the fly down. I favor a ten foot (the length of the sinking section) type VI (the fastest sinking) sink tip fly line.
As you can see there are a lot of possibilities. I carry them all and find out what technique is the best for the situation by trial and error. If you are not occasionally hanging up, you do not have enough weight. If you hang up on every cast, you have too much. One of the first things I do, if I am not hanging up and am not catching fish, is to add more weight. If the fly is not ticking the bottom, you will not catch fish. Another thing that I do is to constantly check my rig. It is easy to lose a split shot or a fly and not realize it.
When fishing the bottom take a few minutes and make sure that you are getting down where the fish are.
John Berry
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