Depth of Water to Best Fish Wets

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

I know for nothing ... so I ask questions.

Roadkill mentioned the leaders he uses to get to the fish,
what kinds of lines and leaders did JL & PH use? Would the
lines and leaders they used make it more likely to 'hit the bottom'???
Just thought I'd ask...

hank

[Old Hat]

First off, unweighted soft hackle flies are not the answer to every situation. Neither are heavily weight nymphs or dry flies. Trying to fish in situations without the appropriate "tool" usually only leads to frustration. Although, as William stated, sometimes it can be fun to explore the boundaries as long as there is little expectation involved. I love to fish unweighted soft hackles, spider, flymphs etc. I know they aren't going to work in every situation, but it is what I enjoy. Because this is how I enjoy fishing, I search for water that suits the style of fishing I enjoy most. I don't waste time, or invite frustration fishing those areas that I know there are fish in but have little chance of presenting what they want and where they want it. I move on. Oh, I may drift or strip a wingless wet through a deep pool for that chance of seducing a trout but with no real expectation and not a lot of effort lost. There are areas around me that have some great fishing opportunities but I rarely fish them because they don't offer the type of fishing I enjoy. I didn't used to be this way. I understand that is not an option for some. Limited water or untimely opportunities can be the norm. Still, if your ultimate goal is to catch fish then your best option is to use the type of fly that puts you in the best situation, nymph, wet or dry. If I have to fish deeper than about 2 ft. under the surface, I probably won't fish a wingless wet. Rarely does that happen though because I am searching for wingless wet water where I can best fish the flies I enjoy. In those rare times that I do decide to try and fish deeper my first option is to switch to a weighted leader to get a little deeper. I feel, unlike a weighted fly or split shot, this gives the fly a closer drift to the regular set up I use. But, I'm still not using this to fish very deep, probably less than 3ft of water.

" I've come across a sort of issue, however. After finding some confidence in spiders at my nearest stream which is often no more than 3-4ft deep. Lots of riffles and quick runs- perfect for spiders. The last few times out, however, I've gone to a more elaborate stream with deeper riffles and pools- perfect for weighted nymphs."

Taylor - for me, the answer is in your question. If you want to or have to fish nymph water then your best option is a nymph.

[Greenwell]

Good question Hank!

JL would most probably have only known and used oiled silk fly lines and silk worm gut leaders. Nylon leaders and tippets were introduced in the late 1930's but took quite a while to catch on. I think Lance could shed some light on his Dad's tackle but I'm sure PH made the transition during his fishing career from natural to synthetic materials for lines and leaders.

Silk lines are notoriously hard to keep floating and anyone who has used them knows that they don't float nearly so well as the modern synthetic lines do. Silk worm gut leaders and tippets needed to be soaked in order to make them pliable enough to fish with. They sank more readily than nylon so it's quite conceivable that this helped sink the flies a bit, but I doubt that it would have taken them to any real depth.