“A slip strike indicator allows you to set and easily change the depth at which you fish your flies from your indicator. It also allows for a quick-release “…
I have previously posted re how to slip strike indicator, but I think this effort is much more clearly presented. It is a nice presentation on stillwaters for a vertical or wind drifted presentation of a leech or chironomid or any subsurface fly. When I saw Brian Chan doing this, he was wind drifting small leech patterns. It is perfect for running a long leader from indicator to fly and once the fish hits and the pull frees the indicator, it slides down toward the fish making it easy to land the fish. The casting/lobbing could be difficult if seated in a tube (Chan was standing in a boat), but this may be one of those get the rig out there aways from you, then feed line out and row/kick away from the fly. If you can roll cast the rig away from you with enough force you may be able to cast fairly easy if the indicator is not a considerable distance from the fly. frycdf has quite a few youtube vid’s that are helpful.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
SwittersB & Exploring 
Sorry, so late in getting back to you. Have had little chance to fish between company and rain. Tried drifting my leech patterns near the bottom, a few feet off the bottom and half way up with very limited success. This particular lake has good populations of damsels, callibaetis, crayfish, chironomids and snalis but I have never seen any leeches. I tried to do a fair comparison but it was pretty difficult. At any rate, I caught one trout on the leech and eleven trout drifting the chironomids.
There are some higher mountain lakes nearby where the leech patterns might be more effective. We’ll see.
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Dennis,
When I said Leech, perhaps misleading. A Woolly Bugger, Damsel, Dragon, Callibaeits are all good to drift along in the wind at various depths. Keep up the great experimentation and thanks for sharing.
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In using a strike indicator in stillwater with a very long leader of 15ft or more there is no need to make long casts. In just a couple of weeks of intense (every day) chironomid fishing,
I have found that it is not necessary to make long casts.
If you can get 30 ft of flyline out plus your long leader that is more than enough.
This is vertical fishing and not the horizontal fishing that we are used to. After you have put in enough hours, you will learn about moving the flies, making them jump from the bottom, suspending them just off the bottom, drifting them, using an anchor to hold your position, suspending the flies at various depths and probably a whole lot more that I have yet to learn.
A couple of tips that might help you new to chironomid fishing is to mark your anchor line so that you know the depth of water. Also, note what kind of bottom you are fishing. Chironomids live in softer substrates like mud and sand. If you are fishing over rock…you might not do too well. If the anchor comes off the bottom with a sucking or spongy feel then you are probably on the right bottom type.
If there is a current, you will need to lengthen your leader so that it is longer than the depth you are fishing. How much depends on the strength of current. I find that if I am not catching fish, it is more right to lengthen the leader than to do anything else. When you are suspending your flies, if you have more than one size fly, then the larger heavier fly should be closer to your reel rather than as the point fly. This helps with casting and also helps get your flies to hang down more naturally. Give your flies plenty of time to get down. When I am fishing, I actually use my wrist watch to give the flies a full minute to get down about 20 feet. Moving the flies is very important and will elicit strikes that you probably will not get with a completely still presentation. You are fishing a creature that is moving about on the bottom or moving toward the surface to hatch.
The construction of your leader is pretty important. I am striving to build a leader that will turn over in the wind with three flies tied from hook bend to hook eye. I am currently using a 1X 9 ft leader as a starter. My fishing depth is from 16 to 20 feet on the nearby lake I am fishing. I tie on to my leader about 4 feet of 3x and then a few feet of 4x and attach my first and heaviest fly. I then use 5x to the next fly (about 2 feet apart) and then another two feet of 5x to the point fly. People always ask me how far apart your flies should be. My stock answer for lakes is that the flies should be apart about the length of the fish you expect to catch. Streams of course are completely different. Fluorocarbon sinks faster than monofilament so I am using fluorocarbon leaders and tippett material.
Another thing to consider is the fly pattern. Most of the commercial flies that I see are tied very tight and many times have thread bodies. This is a mistake in my opinion. The flies that I am tying have something on them to give them some life. I use a tightly dubbed body and the dubbing contains antron to give it some light reflection/refraction. I have found (and this is all in two weeks LOL) that red or wine colored wire is much better than black, gold, or silver to create segments. I am also using some light colored antron strands to imitate the external gills. Thus far I have found that dark tungsten beads work better than white and the beads should not be oversized. I have tied my chironomids on TMC 2487 and 2457 hooks in sizes 14 to 8 and in colors from black, to brown to wine and have caught plenty of fish on all of them. All the flies have something to give them some life and movement. Only your imagination limits you.
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Thanks for the help. Glad these forums are around so that a fisher can get some answers. I found the indicators and they are made by and can be purchased from Mike Rowley and of course are called Rowley Slip Indicators. He has his own website where he is selling his various books on stillwater fishing and fly tying. I ordered from him and expect to get the indicators about the time that the Chironomid bite quits. Apparently Mike Rowley is rather well known as a stillwater fisherman/author/tyer in Canada. A package of his slip indicators is 6 dollars but the shipping is an outsized 8 dollars. Oh well. That is the price we pay for our curiosity. Fishing here, in Southeren Colorado has been rather good on our local lakes. I am a veteran of the flyfishing movement and have fished in a lot of different areas of the US, Canada, Mexico etc but this is the first time I have really gotten serious about Chironomid fishing and it has been fun to learn a new skill. Who says ‘You can’t teach an old dog…….
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Sorry, I gave you the wrong first name of Mr Rowley, It is Phil Rowley and his web site is flycraftangling.com. You can purchase his products at this site and even use Paypal for your safety. He is located in Canada so any products ordered will be delayed.
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Thanks for your quick reply. These indicators may be prevalent in your area but I can say without exception that you will not find them in our area of the country which is the Southwest. Searching the web has not helped either. I have bell shaped foam indicators that I can drill out but no hollow pegs. I’ll take a look at the local hardware store. Ah, Sir do you have hollow pegs for flyfishing? That will get some attention. LOL
I am using a football shaped detector with a rubber gasket that I simply thread on my line and jam it up to the fat part of my leader. It works fairly well but I am intrigued by the setup that you demonstrate. A name of a manufacturer or the product name would be most appreciated.
Now, if you need some help on a cactus……………
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Dennis,
A little research and if you are willing to order on line I think you will be successful.
http://www.caddisflyshop.com/slandstinro.html Great Oregon shop in Eugene. Ask for Lou or Nate.
Also, the Deep Bob Indicator by Hendrix Outdoors possible contact: Hendrix Outdoors 222 E Center St Fallon, NV 89406-3410 775-423-4254 http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/coldwater-fly-fishing/13679-strike-indicators-lake.html Maybe write Mosca Pescador and ask for precise location of Hendrix Outdoors. I could only locate Nev. site but no direct link to their on line store beyond bow hunting.
Query Brian Chan (Brian Chan: riseform@shaw.ca) or Phil Rowley for assistance as well. They were the first ones I saw using this in B.C. Write them and see if they can offer assistance in where to order. I assume you are wanting these for stillwaters? Best wishes. Let me know if you run into a dead end.
Gary
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what is the name of this particular strike indicator and where can they be purchased?
thanks
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Any hollow core bobber with a hollow core plug can be used. Very prevalent in NW in Great Lakes steelhead circles. Adapt to lake fishing.
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Thank you for the advice. I lose fish because I do not know they have taken the fly.
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Heshem,
This method is best suited for lakes and perhaps slower stretches of rivers. The casting will be difficult unless a backcast is available. It will still require paying attention to the indicator for movement, however slight. It is a very good technique for windrifting along say a marabou leech pattern…I have used it for that with surprising success. Good luck!!!
Gary
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