# Strike Indicators



## CaptainJuice (Sep 4, 2010)

Hey everyone. I'm just curious how many fly anglers like or use strike indicators. I'm almost a year into fly fishing and have been using them.


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## Clayton (Oct 7, 2008)

Nothing wrong with using them. I love them and use them whenever I nymph. Yes, you can detect strikes without one, and I have, and that's fun. However, when nymphing around wood and snags, limiting the depth of your presentation can come in handy. Therefore, I use thingamabobbers. They are the best one, and that's not really opinion I don't think. 

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## CaptainJuice (Sep 4, 2010)

Thanks for the quick response Clayton. Those are the indicators I have been using. I've tried a couple others and keep going back to the thingamabobbers.


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## snacks (Dec 28, 2010)

from what i have experienced with indicators is tht the thingambobs will wear a little bit so when you fish shallower and move oyur indicator down to lighter tippet it wears more and will break.. so for deeper water and a thicker tippet they r tough to be but if fishing shallower or lighter tipper try a pinch on float or the fish pimps.. this is just what i have gathered over the years


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

I like to use my fly line as my indicator usually but if I do use one I use those adjustable football type ones (fish pimp style) for bead heads or if I am adding a couple shots and its heavier I use the pop top indicators that let ya know if you got a dead drift goin. its also adjustable.


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

I love bobbers while fishing. I use them all the time. theyre great. I like to use the micky mouse bobber.


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

A lil tip I learned last time out. When Mickey looks like hes drowning, set the hook!!! lol I wonder if a largemouth would go after him? I know they go after the deer hair mice I tie up...


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2011)

i am not an elitist, i do use some foreign stuff because it is what i can afford, and i have used strike indicators while steelhead fishing. do whatever you have to to make your time on the water enjoyable. there is no singular way to catch fish.


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## steelheader007 (Apr 8, 2004)

When I fish in from time to time for our pelletheads I used the bobber! I use an Slotted Ice Fishing Float! There is no reason why you cannot use these! Sure there are some ppl out there who think bobbers are not meant to be on a fly rod, but if you fishing in a legal manner who cares! There are some ppl who believe in 1.5 X the water depth is where your bobber should be! I have rolled casted a small sponge bob bobber on the Salmon river in the flower fly zone with my 9wt to prove some points..lol...! Just make sure your leader is stiff enough to turn over the lead and the bobber! I carry them in a array of sizes I have 1.125" die to .25" dia it really depends on how deep I have to go and how much lead I have to use!


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

I personally don't care about what elitists think about indicators or anything else, if it helps you and you want to use it, use it. I don't always use indicators while trout/steelhead fishing (actually it's rare), but it's not because of worrying about what some snob thinks. I tend to high-stick when nymphing and don't feel I need an indicator for that. When I do use indicators is pond/lake fishing for bluegills early and late in the year. I'll run a nymph or wet fly about 3' under a Thingamabobber to help detect subtle cold water strikes. During warmer months, I tend to surface fish for them so there's no need for an indicator.

And I'd bet you that most elititsts who look down on indicators won't hesitate to run a dry-dropper rig, in which the dry fly is a strike indicator with a hook on it.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2011)

+1................


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## wabi (Jun 14, 2008)

Used 'em yesterday at the local lake. 

Tied on an indicator above my freshly tied presentation (live waxworm threaded over a bare #16 kahle hook) and caught bluegill that wouldn't touch a PT nymph or partridge & yellow. 

Seems like when I mention using live bait a lot of people get a bit snobbish, but it sometimes works very well when all else fails and the fish are just as much fun to catch. 

IMO strike indicators, live bait, or anything else is fair play when the object is to catch fish. I catch & release them, but the fly rod makes the action more fun for me, and I'm there for my personal pleasure. Water was very stained (downright muddy) and the added scent of live waxworns did it for letting the 'gills find the hook.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2011)

wabi, my dad fished live bait with an old cane rod for years, until the late 60s, to be exact. he absolutely loved what little time he had on the water, and he would have flipped had someone told him he was doing it all wrong.

it is fishing, an escape, a spiritual regrouping, and an event. no one has the right to critique another angler on how he legally fishes. there are wars going on all over, there are people living under bridges, and many other tragedies. fishing is a good thing in a rough world. we each chose to fish in the way it brings us the most satisfaction.......plain and simple.

fish waxxies, wabi, the gills love em.


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

rapman said:


> wabi, my dad fished live bait with an old cane rod for years, until the late 60s, to be exact. he absolutely loved what little time he had on the water, and he would have flipped had someone told him he was doing it all wrong.
> 
> it is fishing, an escape, a spiritual regrouping, and an event. no one has the right to critique another angler on how he legally fishes. there are wars going on all over, there are people living under bridges, and many other tragedies. fishing is a good thing in a rough world. we each chose to fish in the way it brings us the most satisfaction.......plain and simple.
> 
> wish waxxies, the gills love em.


Amen! My mom still won't fish with anything BUT a cane pole!


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

sbreech said:


> Amen! My mom still won't fish with anything BUT a cane pole!


One of my earliest fishing memories was with my grandpa when he was using a cane pole. He had an old red and white bobber on there with a little nightcrawler just fishing for bluegills. He sat his pole down by the bank and sat under a shade tree a few feet away. All of a sudden his bobber disappeared and his cane pole went into the water and made that sound of a spear or arrow hitting the water! Gone. A few minutes later we saw the pole floating along the bank maybe 50 yards away. I ran up and grabbed the pole, and on the other end was about a 5lb channel cat. Line snapped, fish gone, but at least we got his cane pole back.


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

TheCream said:


> One of my earliest fishing memories was with my grandpa when he was using a cane pole. He had an old red and white bobber on there with a little nightcrawler just fishing for bluegills. He sat his pole down by the bank and sat under a shade tree a few feet away. All of a sudden his bobber disappeared and his cane pole went into the water and made that sound of a spear or arrow hitting the water! Gone. A few minutes later we saw the pole floating along the bank maybe 50 yards away. I ran up and grabbed the pole, and on the other end was about a 5lb channel cat. Line snapped, fish gone, but at least we got his cane pole back.


That's the kind of story memories are made of! Growing up, we only fished farm ponds. My mom had her cane pole, Dad had his Johnson Century reel (green), and my sister and I had our zebco 202s. I'll never forget when mom hooked a big bass by the lilly pads...she was yelling, "OMG OMG COME HELP GET THIS FISH!"  snap goes the line. Good stuff!!


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2011)

i should explain, my dad used a cane (split-bamboo, tonkin cane) three piece fly rod, two tips, with a south bend automatic fly reel. this was a carry over from before world war two. with an old fishing jacket (didn't have specialized fishing apparel in those days), a crusher hat, a cigarette hooked in the corner of his mouth, and that rod, he caught anything and everything. with a smile.


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