Hi Peter. Good question. I certainly like versatility. I believe that if you don’t make things easy for yourself, you won’t make the switch. So changing spools is simply unrealistic. No one wants to do that on a regular basis. I have my leaders and system set up so I can change leaders in about one minute. I take the Mono Rig off and tie a Harvey style dry leader to the fly line on the spool. That’s why it’s so important to me to keep regular fly line on my spool. Not a comp line. Not all backing or anything else. Fly line. Because I like to use it sometimes.

Check out this article for more thoughts on that.

https://troutbitten.com/2017/03/21/get-me-back-to-my-fly-connecting-and-disconnecting-the-mono-rig/

And be sure to read through all the Mono Rig articles, found at the page up in the menu under series > the Mono Rig.

You’ll find your own preferences too. But those are mine.

Cheers.

Dom

Hi Dom,

Just reflecting on your latest article , I figure my dilemma really boils down to being a ‘confidence’ issue. My local waters mostly fit into the ‘small stream’ category , so my casts & drifts are mostly short in shallow water.
The drift is over before you know it.
I don’t have the time for decision making.
I am striving for a natural, seamless & effective drift.

However , during the drift , voices are popping up in my head saying
‘Are your flies in the strike zone?’how can you be sure?’
‘Is the angle of your sighter correct? what does ‘correct’ actually mean?’
‘Have you a dead drift? are you pulling your nymphs?’
‘You are wasting your time , you might as well pack up and go home!!’

On a short drift , I don’t have ‘confidence’ , time & skill in elevating the sighter , attaining a vertical angle and being able to ward off my internal critic!
What actually happens is , I allow nymph to sink and then I quickly attain contact & whether that is with a vertical or angled sighter , I’m not sure, as I’m not living the moment and I’ve missed all the fun because I was distracted & not feeling confident !

Should I sell the rods & take up golf!

Stephen.

That’s a cool perspective.

Cheers.

Dom

Right on. I think you’ll love the tuck cast if you get used to it. I will mention that I don’t care to tuck cast much when I use a water haul/load. I actually don’t use a water haul much at all. I don’t like to fish the cast out below me because the dead drift is over once the fly is past my position. So all my work happens upstream. Anyway, the tuck cast will work best if you set it up with a good, crisp backcast. All that said, it sounds like you are good at finding your own way. I love that.

Cheers.

Dom

You know, Paul, I actually never thought of the word mono in that way, in this context. Ever. But that’s a really, really excellent point.

Thanks for that.

Dom

Excellent.

Also, I arrived at a tailwater last weekend that was supposed to have decent flow, only to find lake-like conditions. I tied a big woolly bugger on my mono rig, and was amazed at how productive I was. The ability to use the sighter to see strikes as the streamer was sinking or the line was slack was a welcome surprise.

These are only two examples of how your articles have inspired me to constantly think and tinker while on the water. I truly appreciate it!