Northwest Fishing Reports

When should you use floating line for trolling nymphs and when a sinking? How do you know how much leader?

I don't know that I've ever trolled with a nymph. I usually use streamers. However, if you're fishing in shallow water like a spring creek, you would want to use a floating line. I've used leaders anywhere from 7 1/2 feet to 9 feet in that situation. Rocky Ford would be a perfect example.

I generally use a leader as long as my rod, so like Joe said 7 1/2 - 9 feet is good. I use floating line and a bead head or weighted fly when the fish are suspended near the surface, if they are down deeper I usually run a sink tip line. I don't much care for full sink lines and have never had much use for them. A wooly bugger on a sink tip line slow trolled is usually the ticket for summer time trout!

Hardly ever will you use a floating line for trolling a fly unless you know the fish are in the upper water column. Normally to troll for trout (and it isn't a normal practice I do) You would use at least a full sink type 3 to be able to get your fly to where the trout are, in spring most trout will be around 10-15' down then in the summer time they will be where the thermocline is And leader length if you were to use a floating line should be at least 12 to 15' long to allow enough length between the fly and the fly line as to not spook the fish. I normally fish a 16' leader when fishing nymphs on a floating line to cruising trout in the shallows. I also don't use a tapered leader as it really isn't necessary.

Across the pond the English fishermen that kick our butts every time during the fly fishing competitions use nothing but a level fluorocarbon leader with at least three droppers of 12".. with a 7-5' poly leader that they tie their 12-16' leader to.

Since I have increase my leader lengths to almost 16' of straight 4X fluorocarbon, my catch rate of trout on lakes have increased greatly.. I also fish deep chironomids almost 90%$ of the time on any lake unless it is early spring then I normally fish around 6-15' of water with again a long leader.

Thanks, all, for these helpful comments.

The only use for a floating line in a trolling application is for freshly planted trout. For a few days they hang around the top 18" of water looking up for their food as thats what they are used to. Once they figure out that hanging around the surface is bad for their health (cormorants), and that the majority of the available food is close to the lake bottom (chironomids) they head down. Trolling with a floating line you just can't get down into the zone, even with a long leader. If you use a heavily weighted fly to get down it has no action as its just being pulled through the water by trolling. I troll, on occasion, when I see no shucks on the water, and am trying to find the fish. Also if its too rough to bobber fish with chironomids, or to cast and retrieve to fish feeding on intermediate stage insects that are rising through the water column to the surface. When I troll its with a type 3 sinker to a type 7 deep sinker. That means trolling from a floating device I'm fishing from 18" down to about 20', depending on speed. Since I'm not casting, I usually use a 15' to 18' fluorocarbon (it sinks) leader to get separation not just from the boat but also from the fly line itself. I use unweighted flies that are tied with materials that either undulate, have rubber legs, or palmered hackle that disturbs the water as it passes through. The only time that I use a sink tip line is when I'm fishing from shore and casting over the drop off. The tip gets down but as the line is stripped back in it rises so it doesn't hang up as the water shallows closer to shore.

Although I have been told that I am not a true Fly Fisherman because I don't toss feathers. Due to arthritis in my shoulders, elbows, and hands it is not worth the pain for me. I guess I truley am a Blue Collar Fly Angler. lol But I do troll using a full sink fly line with about a 9' leader and more often than not I will drag a #6 Woolly Bugger or a #6 Carey Special with an olive body, brown hackle, with a foil wrap. When manuvering your boat there are ways to get deeper just a matter of practice. Learning how to break down a lake and watching the water will be of great help for you, after some time on the water you will understand what I am saying. This method has proven to be very successful for me through out the years and it is also a great way to introduce someone to a fly rod. Hope I didn't offend anyone.

I usually go to the lake with 2 complete set ups.

One with floating line and a long leader. Usually 12 to 15 feet so I can fish chironomids under an indicator. I also will use this set up in shallow water fishing scuds and damsel patterns and even sometimes fish on the surface with dry files.

The second is set up with a 24', 500 grain sink tip. This line gets me to the bottom just as fast as any sinking line, but doesn't get the slack or bow that comes with a uniform sinking line. It also allows for fishing the "column" of water much better than full sinking line does.

Occasionally, I will use a full sinking line when fishing vertically with chironomids and other nymphs.

I just started fly fishing in lakes and have been experimenting with sinking/floating line while trolling woolly buggers. Ive fished pass lake a few times and on the troll and the floating line almost always catches more fish, the floating line even took a brown on the troll.