S5, Ep 57: Nymphing Essentials with Jason Randall Pt III

Marvin Cash: Hey, folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of The Articulate Fly. We're back with episode three of Nymphing Essentials with Jason Randall. How are you, Jason?

Jason Randall: I'm doing great, Marvin, thanks. Spent the day fishing with Mac Brown and, boy, it's been a great day.

Marvin Cash: That's awesome. And you know, folks, episode three, we're going to talk about detecting the strike. We've already talked about getting in the zone and getting the drift, but this time we're going to spend all of our time on detecting the strike.

And you know, I guess, Jason, the best place to start is, you know, why do most anglers miss fish?

Jason Randall: Well, I think if you look at the first illustration that we put in for tonight's episode, you can see that when we use suspension devices, which is a default for many of us nymph anglers, there is an inherent delay that's built into those as far as when the fish picks up the fly from when we register the strike.

And we want to blame ourselves and say, wow, I'm just, maybe I'm not good at this. But in reality, there is a faulty system. There is a delay and that causes us to miss fish.

Marvin Cash: Yeah. And that really happens even if you don't use weight. Right. Because there's that little strip of water at the top of the water column that's moving faster than the water at the surface.

Jason Randall: That's right. That's right. And that creates a lot of subsurface slack between our strike indicator and our flies. And we think that when we're fishing with a suspension device, if we mend and there's no drag between us and the strike indicator, meaning that there's no drag that we can see, that we have a perfect drift and that we're going to register those strikes.

But in reality, as you look at either the illustration that we put up for tonight or the photos from prior episodes, if you look at those, you know that not only is our drift not as good, we're not reaching goals one and two, but that slack that we see subsurface between our strike indicator and our flies is creating missed strikes. It's really the fault of the system.

Marvin Cash: Yeah. And it's interesting too, because I know a lot of people sometimes will try to compensate by using more weight. That actually makes the problem even worse.

Jason Randall: Well, it can. I mean, more weight is not always the answer. Balancing the rig, we talked about a little bit prior, but having a small suspension device. A small suspension device that will float our flies and then balancing it with the right amount of weight so that we stay in the strike zone, reaching goals one and two, but also by doing so, we eliminate some of that slack.

That creates the problem in reaching goal three, which is strike detection. So the more connected we are to our flies, the better our strike detection will be.

Marvin Cash: Yeah. It's interesting. I think I shared this story with you before, but, you know, I usually will go fish with my boys. We kind of have a standing fishing date between Christmas and New Year's. And I can remember watching my oldest son fish, and the water was really clear and we were fishing kind of junk flies, so they were easy to see. And I can remember literally watching the trout eat and spit out an egg about a half a dozen times. And the indicator never moved.

Jason Randall: Yep. And that happens a lot. The fault is in the system. It's a faulty system. But now that we know that this is a problem, then the fault goes to us. You know, it's so far we've been led astray by an inaccurate system. But now it becomes our fault because now we know about the problem and then we have solutions that we can fix.

Marvin Cash: Yeah. Do you believe in a sixth sense?

Jason Randall: I used to. But I think really more and more, I believe in the powers of observation and trusting yourself, knowing that that little movement that is registered in our strike detection method, whatever it is, what we're using could be a fish.

And I think that one of the guides that I began fishing with probably 25 years ago, and I learned a lot from him, he told me hook sets are free. And if you think that it could have been the bottom or it might have been a fish, go ahead and set that hook. And if it's not a fish, well, then it's simply the beginning of a new cast and hook sets are free. Set the hook.

And so I think in the evolution of becoming a more complete nymph angler, I think it's learning to trust yourself and going ahead and setting that hook. And if it's not a fish, that's okay. There's a lot of times where I'm nymphing and I don't get through three out of four drifts without setting the hook. Because that could have been a fish. And maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But if it's not a fish, it's simply the beginning of a new cast.

Marvin Cash: Yeah. And I think the great thing too, particularly fishing barbless flies is you know, you really don't need a lot to set the hook. And so like for me, you know, I just think about, you know, I start lifting and if I feel tension I keep lifting. Right. But if you don't, you can just put your flies back.

Jason Randall: That's right. That's right. And a lot of times a hook set is relevant to where it occurs during that drift. If a presumed strike occurs when the fly or the drift is still upstream in my position, a simple lift is all you need to do. Set that hook.

But if the strike should occur below my position and the drift is already past downstream of me, a lift might end up pulling that fly out of the fish's mouth. And so my hook set from a downstream position when I am above the fish and the strike would occur downstream of me would be usually a horizontal sweep over my shoulder rather than lifting directly because I think I get more fish hooked up that way.

Marvin Cash: Yeah, got it. And so you know we've identified the problem. What are your suggestions for improving strike detection?

Jason Randall: Well I think depending on the method that you're using, I think when the opportunity presents itself using some type of a tight-line, you know Euro-nymphing style of nymph fishing is probably allows the greatest connectivity to our flies, minimizing subsurface slack, and I think that gives us the most accurate and sensitive strike detection when we're going to use alternative methods.

And again it's a water that tells us when we need to use one method over another. But when I'm using a long range nymphing method where I cannot use Euro-nymphing or a tight-line type of nymphing, I think balancing that rig, using the smallest strike detector that will float my flies and enough weight to reach goals one and two of contact with the strike zone. I think those tend to be more sensitive and more subtle as far as picking up and registering those strikes that are softer and I like yarn indicators that have a small footprint in the water and I think those can really register those subtle and softer strikes.

Marvin Cash: Yeah, and we talked to you before that they're also you know there's certainly a way that like New Zealand yarn indicators float when you've got a good drift. But you know, like I know Dave Whitlock designed an indicator. There are quite a few that almost have a needle. Right. That kind of tells you where your flies are. Right?

Jason Randall: Right. Dave Whitlock's is a Telestrike and it's a very good indicator. I think there's a lot of good commercial indicators available. New Zealand is certainly one of them. If I'm going to use a plastic, I like airlocks. I think they're a lot more adjustable and we make those adjustments based on water type and depth.

And I think if you have an indicator system that's more adjustable, you will make more adjustments based on the circumstances you face. And I think those are all really good choices. I think again, having something that is small enough and sensitive enough to register the subtle strikes.

Strikes vary greatly based on the water. In fast moving water, that trout is going to just stick his nose out from undercover or up into the current, grab that fly and duck. And those strikes tend to be a lot more abrupt and a lot more obvious.

It's the subtle strikes in slower moving water that are hard to register because that trout can just kind of drift with the fly and kind of suck that fly in by flaring the gills and they can eject it just as fast by coughing. Those are the strikes that are harder to detect. And that's where we really need the most subtle or the most sensitive strike detection method. And I think that's where the yarns and the New Zealand style indicators really excel.

Marvin Cash: And Jason, what are your thoughts on like drop shot rigs? Right, where you're basically, you know, putting chains of split shot at the bottom of your rig to kind of tighten things out under the indicator?

Jason Randall: Well, you know, there's a time and place for most of these techniques and drop shotting can be super effective. It definitely reaches goals one and two and it reaches a strike zone. And I think you can get a good drift with it. But when we add mass to our rig like that, I think we dull the sensitivity of that as well. So if I'm looking for a little more finesse, then drop shotting would certainly not be where I would turn.

Marvin Cash: Yeah, got it. And you know we talked about hook sets are free, we talked about kind of how we would set the hook with the fly being upstream of our position and how we would set the hook if the fly was downstream of our position. Anything else you want to kind of share with folks on kind of, you know, setting the hook once you detect the strike.

Jason Randall: Sure. You know, I think there's a really underappreciated value to playing fish as well, keeping the fish as short as possible, you know, not just holding the rod in a high rod position and letting that fish tumble downstream and getting ahead of it.

I think trying to master the fight is often underappreciated. Get control of that fish. I like to keep that fish. I like to steer the fish and keep him on a relatively short leash while I play them. I like to stay abreast of the fish. I don't like the fish to go well upstream or well downstream of where I am. I tend to try to follow the fish.

If it's a big fish and he's going downstream, try to keep him as short as possible, and try to stay abreast of the fish. And then as you steer that fish towards the net, I think, again, that's something we want to make sure as anglers, we have control of that and not letting the fish dictate the fight. Trying to be in charge.

Marvin Cash: Got it. And so are you a big fan of side pressure?

Jason Randall: I am. I am. I think when we hold that rod straight over our head and straight upright, that's kind of neutral. And if we're trying to direct that fish by holding that rod horizontal, I think we have more influence in the fight, and I think we can take control of that and keep the fish where we want them and then guide the fish and steer the fish into a position where it's easier for us to net them.

We don't want to net that fish necessarily in fast water. We want to try to get him to the point where we're not fighting the fish and the current together when we're trying to net it.

Marvin Cash: Yeah, I think, you know, too. I think, you know, folks, what we're really saying, too, is you get the ability to bend the rod really deep down the blank to the handle, and you're still protecting the tippet, but you're able to put a lot more pressure than if you basically have the tip high and you just have the tip of the rod bent, maintaining tension.

Jason Randall: Yeah, you're absolutely right, Marvin. I think, you know, the spine is where we play the fish, that the tip is what protects the fish. And so getting that fish into the flex of the rod into the lower part of the rod is going to bring that fish to net quicker and it's going to be easier on the fish as well. We're not going to fight that fish to exhaustion to the point where it's depleted and can't recharge once we release them.

Marvin Cash: Yeah. And I guess the only thing else I can think of is, you know, not to change direction unnecessarily because you're just basically making the hole that the hook is in looser and looser. Right?

Jason Randall: That's right. Yep. And the barbless hooks, I'm a big believer in barbless hooks, but you're going to lose a few fish and I'm okay with that. You know, I'm really okay with that because I think it is easier on the fish and trying to play the fish to net quicker without exhausting that fish is just another sign of respect for the trout that we try to catch.

Marvin Cash: Yeah, absolutely. And you know, folks, we love questions. And remember the promotion that we're doing. If you send questions to us and DM me on Instagram, that's the easiest way I'm keeping track of all the questions. And everyone that submits a question will be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of Jason's book, Nymph Masters.

And then we're going to select a handful of the best questions, and those are going to be in our final Q and A episode. And those folks will be entering a drawing for a TFO stealth rod and reel combo loaded with an SA Euro-nymphing line. So, super cool. Send us your questions. We've gotten a ton of questions. And also, you know, Jason, we definitely want to thank our friends at TFO and SA for supporting us in this.

Jason Randall: Absolutely. And, you know, we can't say enough about that. These are great companies that invest a lot in education in our sport, and really innovative companies that are working hard to bring new products and good products to our sport. And I think that really is a point to be emphasized.

Marvin Cash: Absolutely. And folks, you know, we're pretty much everywhere in the United States now, you know, at least feels like spring for most people. And you owe it to yourself to get out there and practice some of the things we've been talking about and go out there and catch a few. Tight lines, everybody. Tight lines. Jason, thank you.