** Here is a VIDEO version of the following article. (Part of the Troutbitten Riverside Series) **

Leading nymphs through a great dead drift is a complex endeavor. It seems simple enough at first — throw the fly upstream and recover the slack. But after some time and plenty of failure, every analytical, honest angler comes to the same conclusion — this isn’t as easy as it looks.

Drifting under an indicator is less complex than tight lining, because there are fewer decisions to make. Once the fly and indicator are on the water, there’s not much to do but keep tension off the indy and sense a strike. In essence, the indy makes the decisions about the progress of the fly down the current. But on a tight line, our rod tip is in charge of everything — drop rate, depth and speed. And dialing all of that in for each drift, every lane and every pocket, is complicated.

One more fact must be acknowledged. With a nymph, we are simulating or imitating a dead drift more than actually achieving any natural progression through the current. Why?

It’s the weight.

Even the lightest fly in our box falls directly to the bottom when unattached to a tippet. Even the smallest split shot sinks to the riverbed if we drop it out of hand before it’s attached to the leader.

Weight falls. But real nymphs do not. They are neutrally buoyant, and they (mostly) glide through the currents. Thankfully, trout seem to be a little more forgiving about the perfect dead drift on a nymph, no doubt the three dimensional nature of currents, combined with the swimming and wriggling ability of nymphs allows for a bit of randomness in the drift, and it still seems natural.

Nymphs will never drift like dry flies. So we cannot approach the objective of a dead drift the same way. The dry fly weighs nothing. It sits in the top layer of the water, visible to us. And when we provide slack to the dry, it drifts naturally, unaltered by the tethered connection to us. But a nymph drift is very different.

We need weight to get underneath. We need a straight line to the nymph if we are to have any chance at strike detection and a true, natural ride in one lane.

Weight falls. And a straight line pulls and influences the fly. These are the unavoidable consequences of a tight line system that we manage. Our efforts toward a dead drifted nymph then, are a balancing act — a compromise — with the falling weight and just the right tension. We need control and contact, enough to prevent the nymph from falling once it’s in the strike zone. And we need to choose the right course for the fly — one lane at just the right speed.

Can you tell me again, how tight line nymphing is easy?

Over the last five years or so, efforts have been advanced to actually make all of this a bit more attainable, or more accessible to anglers.

The current trend to go lighter, longer and smaller — the thin to win mindset — has finally brought the ultralight concept to the nymphing game, just as those principles have made their way to nearly every other fishing discipline. Fairly put, lighter weights mean less work for the angler and more finesse to the flies. A lighter rig drops through the water column for longer. And when it does make it to the strike zone, it’s much easier to keep the flies hovering downstream near the bottom without hanging up.

Ultralight nymphing is what I call tracking the flies. And going extra light is an excellent way to get convincing dead drifts with nymphs. Indeed, tracking is much easier. Instead of making the decisions about drop rate, depth and speed, tracking allows the river to make the decisions. That’s the concept. But it’s important to realize that our influence to the nymphs is ALWAYS there, simply because the tippet is attached, and because weight always falls.

Learning to Lead

So what then of leading? I’ve written and done podcasts about leading vs tracking the flies. And while tracking produces trout on many days, I argue that GOOD leading produces in more rivers, in more seasons, and under more conditions than tracking. Everything works sometimes.

Our ability, our skill, for leading the nymphs through a good drift and aiming for perfection is what puts trout in the net more predictably than any other approach.

But leading is tough. And as time goes on, I find that fewer tight line anglers make the effort and learn to lead.

The opposite held true for decades. Until recently, most proponents of nymphing emphasized a bottom bouncing approach. This also catches trout, and it’s the third way that I aim for dead drifts with nymphs. I break these three tactics down this way: tracking, strike zone rides, and bottom bouncing. All are valid dead drifts. But to make the most of either strike zone rides or bottom bouncing, an angler must learn to lead.

Touching the bottom is a good place to start, and if the riverbed is the goal, then nothing beats a drop shot rig. And learning to lead either a shot or a weighted fly, is fairly straightforward. Get the fly down, and then keep it coming. But just like tight lining in general, the complexities add up.

After years of guiding and watching some anglers lead the flies almost intuitively, I’ve also seen far too many fishermen struggle with this fundamental skill. Leading shouldn’t be that hard.

So here are some keys for learning to lead . . .

Start With the Bottom

Eventually, strike zone rides are arguably more productive than pure bottom contact. But learning to lead starts best by touching the riverbed. Feel the bottom through the leader and the fly rod. Watch how the sighter responds and moves through the drift. See how the sighter softens in between the brief moments of bottom contact. This is excellent training for reading a drift and reading the sighter.

Get Down Quickly

While learning to lead, don’t waste time with a long drop. Use enough weight in the fly or split shot to get the fly down in the first part of the drift. It shouldn’t take half the drift to achieve the first contact. I usually want to be in the preferred target zone within the first third of the drift or sooner. So for bottom bouncing, that means I’m getting that first bottom contact no longer than two seconds after the fly enters the water.

Not Too Heavy

Be willing to adjust weight, and do it frequently. A fast run of three feet in depth requires three times more weight than a soft run that’s just calf-deep. Use what is necessary to get down. Then lead through.

** Side Note ** There are many other ways to get deeper, but weight is a critical component to the system. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that lighter always means better.

Practice Leading in Skinny Water

Before you adjust weight for a shallower piece of water, use the heavier weight that you already have. Learn to hover that extra weight across the riverbed. Once you get it, this is a very convincing and useful look.

Stop Worrying About Dragging the Flies

I hear this way too often . . . “I don’t want to drag things downstream unnaturally.” I agree, but I also don’t want to watch the flies fall to the riverbed and just lay there. Once they’re down, we need to lead.

Don’t Let It Fall Anymore

Another way to think about this is to simply prevent the flies from falling. Instead of worrying about how fast to lead the flies, just recover enough slack so the flies stop falling. This is a good mental trick. Allow the flies to fall, then help them drift.

Let the Current Push the Flies

If you stop the flies from falling, right at the riverbed, the current can then push the flies downstream. This is another way to think about what’s actually happening.

Be the Boss

Always remember, that without our influence, the weight falls. So it’s up to us to lead through, even with the lightest flies. Be in control. Be intentional, and make it happen. Keep the flies in one lane and choose a speed that matches the bottom current.

See Beyond the Sighter

Leading is much easier if we can see through the water and down to the riverbed. In this way we notice a tall rock to get over or a pothole to dip into. So stop staring at the sigher and look to where the flies are, even if you can’t see the riverbed.

Try Using Bright Flies

Fishing bright orange, green or white nymphs in clear water is an excellent tool for learning to lead.

Get a Drift That Makes it to the Back End

We surely want to strike when a trout eats the nymph. But when learning to lead, get stubborn about leading to the very end of the drift before setting and picking up for the next cast. These long drifts teach us to lead through the tough spots.

Find the Right Speed

Most anglers think about the speed first. And truly, good leading is precisely that — finding the natural speed of the current near the bottom of the river, and keeping the nymph coming along. But instead of focusing on the speed, think more about recovering slack, hovering the bottom and allowing the river to push the flies. Building those skills will lead you to the right speed with little effort.

Now . . . Lead Through the Strike Zone

All of the tips above are for leading through a bottom bouncing approach. However, most of them apply to leading through the strike zone as well. And NOTHING catches more trout than gliding the nymphs naturally through the first 4-10 inches off the riverbed.

Once a bottom contact lead is refined, move the target up a few inches, and love your life.

No single skill in the nymph game is more valuable than learning to lead. Good leading is a balance between the rod tip, the weight at the end of the line and the river current. Good leading requires focus, experience and some obsession about the details.

One more thing. Hanging up on the bottom once in a while isn’t a mistake. It’s just part of the process — every day.

Fish hard, friends.

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Enjoy the day.
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com