How do I set up a strike-indicator nymph rig?

What does a nymph rig actually look like?

From fly line down, in order:

How deep should the indicator be set?

One and a half to two times the water depth, measured from the point fly to the indicator. In three feet of water that is four to six feet.

The reason it is more than the actual depth is that the rig does not hang vertically. Current pushes the flies downstream of the indicator, so the tippet sits at an angle and the effective depth is always less than the length you set.

Beyond about eight feet an indicator rig becomes difficult to cast and slow to sink. That is the point where tight-line or Euro-nymphing genuinely outperforms it.

Where does the weight go?

Twelve to eighteen inches above the point fly, on the tippet itself. Two practical rules that are worth more than they sound:

• Never pinch shot onto a knot. The knot is already the weakest point in the system, and crushing lead onto it is how you lose fish and flies together.
• Add weight before you change flies. When a run is not producing, the answer is almost always depth, not pattern. Anglers change flies because it feels like doing something; the fish were simply never seeing it.

You can skip shot entirely if the point fly is heavy enough — a tungsten Perdigon or a jig-hook Copper John will often get a rig down on its own in water under three feet.

Which flies go where?

Heavy on the point, small and natural on the dropper. The point fly is an anchor that happens to be edible; the dropper is the one you expect to get eaten.

A Pheasant Tail Nymph or Zebra Midge on the dropper covers an enormous range of trout water. If you are unsure what to trail, trail one of those two.

How do you know it is working?

You should tick the bottom every few drifts. That is the single best feedback signal in nymph fishing.

Why is my nymph rig not catching anything?

In rough order of how often it is the actual problem:

1. Depth

   You are almost certainly too shallow. Move the indicator up before you do anything else.

2. Drag

   If the indicator is moving faster than the bubbles beside it, the flies are being dragged. Mend upstream.

3. Weight

   Add a shot. In fast or deep water the rig may not reach the bottom within the drift at all.

4. Position

   You may be fishing the wrong water. Trout hold in specific places, not evenly across a run.

5. Pattern

   Last. Change the dropper before the anchor, and change size before color.

The order matters. Anglers reliably work this list backwards, and spend an afternoon changing flies through water their rig never reached.