which indicator tippet for NC trout?

Fished with a guide a month or two ago in the Asheville area and he was using a section of indicator tippet in the leader that worked WAY better than my "add on" indicators that I had tried in the past. I forgot to ask what it was, but did some web searching and found this stuff on Amazon which I think will come close to what the guide was using. I was planning on putting 18" or so between the main leader and my final 24" of tippet to see if I could duplicate the results I had with the guide. Anybody out there use an indicator tippet, and am I on the right track? I'm still new to fly fishing and any help I can get is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Lou

Personally. I never use an indicator and if I do it is a dry fly with a dropper behind it. I do kinda like your idea with this product though. If it was me I would only use 2-4 inches of the indicator tippet and it would be much higher than 24 inches.
It sounds like a very interesting idea that I would like to try this winter if I find myself nymphing.

I've never seen this tippet rig you speak of. I'm also not a die hard fly fisherman but have fly fished enough. As quackman said, either a dry fly with a dropper nymph or a strike indicator such as a clear float or hair that floats has worked best for me. Wouldn't it sink after a while?


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I have used this tippet and it does work well but I don't really ever use it now because of the small size of streams I focus on

I believe what you're thinking of is less of an indicator and more of a sighter. The difference between the 2 is an indicator indicates strikes however places a large non-target object on the water. A sighter is just an extension of your leader and just allows you to see the leader better if you're having a hard time doing so, so you can better fish without an indicator. I don't use an indicator or sighter but a lot people just make their own 'sighters' with some fly line backing and colored sharpies. Make 2 perfection loops on each end, and color in how you want it. You can make hundreds for just a couple of bucks. My buddy's eyesight is not as good as mine. He uses them all the time.


Here's a link for reference:

https://www.feather-craft.com/images/ip041052.jpg

alt1001 said:

I believe what you're thinking of is less of an indicator and more of a sighter. The difference between the 2 is an indicator indicates strikes however places a large non-target object on the water. A sighter is just an extension of your leader and just allows you to see the leader better if you're having a hard time doing so, so you can better fish without an indicator. I don't use an indicator or sighter but a lot people just make their own 'sighters' with some fly line backing and colored sharpies. Make 2 perfection loops on each end, and color in how you want it. You can make hundreds for just a couple of bucks. My buddy's eyesight is not as good as mine. He uses them all the time.


Here's a link for reference:

https://www.feather-craft.com/images/ip041052.jpg

Click to expand...

Ahh, this "sighter" approach might work better for me than the tippet material I was looking at. At my age, I need all the help I can get seeing my leader, especially in moving water!

I like the overall idea of the indicator/sighter being part of the leader itself, rather than an attachment such as a small bobber. Having the sighter as part of the leader enables a person to quickly adjust the depth of the nymph as the stream bottom depth changes, while you're working your way in different "lanes" across the stream. One downside of a bobber type indicator is once you've set it, you can't really get the nymph any lower, if it's not already set to bump the bottom.

I've also used a dry fly as an indicator/2nd offering and it also works well under some conditions. I don't plan to abandon that technique, just looking to add another arrow to my quiver.

Thanks,
Lou

Another cool sighter that is easy to create however that I've never used, is taking a colored fishing line, coiling it around a pencil, and putting a light heat source to it, to make coils stay. It ends up like this, and allows to detect strikes when the line stretches.

http://flytyingspecialties.com/images/spiral.jpg

You can find good instructions online on which materials to purchase and step by step instructions.