Ok, I don't like indicators and seldom, if ever, use them but a little web browsing brought this to my attention. I've heard of using cdc feathers but I can say that I've never seen them used by anyone. Everyone on the Swift uses balsa, cork, foam and yarn (I hate yarn) and the trees are full of them. This web article talked about how trout in certain heavily fished streams are becoming shy of these day glow bobbers BUT are not wary of cdc. It's a feather and looks natural. Ok, I took the bait (sorry for using that term), deciding to put on the "training wheels" (sorry again, I saw the term and it sounded funny) and worked up a feather indicator to use today if I could force myself to do it. I took three WHITE (no bright colors, it had to be natural) cdc feathers and tied them to a six inch piece of 3x tippet. I cut off the tag end leaving about four inches of leader material. I then attached the remaining tippet end to my leader a few feet up from the #14 fly that I intended to use. The "indicator" was positioned about a 1/2 inch from my leader. Here's what happened. The cdc rig didn't hit the surface with the customary "plop" one sees with the usual materials but nestled gently onto the water surface like, well, a feather!! The fly and the micro-shot didn't pull the indicator under. Only the trout did!! These stupid feathers floated like hell and looked TOTALLY NATURAL. I was able to adjust the depth by moving the knot up or down. It worked very well. I took five in the pipe section under crowded conditions.
Now, does this mean that I've sold my soul to indicators? The answer is NO. I will continue to fish "commando style" going forward BUT on those certain days when the sun warms the early morning water and the trout start to move around in mid current I'll have a few of these "rigs" to possibily save the day.
Don't get any goofy ideas that cdc will work with a heavily weighted, size 6 stonefly. It's a "little" fly rig. Also, at the end of the day you can pull the feathers off the leader attachment and toss them into the air. You're not littering. They're only feathers!!!
Ken
3 comments:
Way to go Ken. The CDC approach is innovative and makes great sense for micro flies. Glad to hear you scooped a few at the Pipe. I've used your little red number there with good success. Modified one by typing in a hump of white closed cell foam at the "thorax" instead of feathers so it looks like a bandit. Worked well.
Tight lines,
That fly sounds like a jailbird, another good Swift River fly.
Ken
Yes - I get bandit and jailbird confused.
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