Nymphing with a Hinged Leader

by John Childs from Flyfishing & Tying Journal, Fall 2001

Nymphing is arguably the best way to achieve a fish on the end of your line. There are times when a dry fly will out fish the sunken nymph, but day in and day out the nymph fisherman can steal the show. It's been said that trout consume more than 80% of their diet subsurface, so it makes sense that the wise fisherman will have some sunk-fly techniques in his bag of tricks. Often this can be something as simple as running a nymph just under the surface behind a dry fly. Another method, and the one most commonly used, is fishing a nymph under a strike indicator. This method allows for quick changes during hatches. All the angler has to do to employ another method, say a dry fly when a hatch begins, is simply remove the indicator and lead shot from the leader.

The Standard Nymph Rig

The indicator is a useful tool, but it is often used in only one way, and this limits its true versatility. Most fishermen use an indicator attached to the butt section of a standard nine foot leader, and then add a couple of nymphs at the point with a BB-size split shot eighteen inches above the flies. I would suggest adding your indicator at the connection point of your butt section and tapered leader. Then add eighteen inches of tippet material to the leader, and add your first fly.

Now there are many ways to attach the second fly, but I prefer tying my next tippet section directly to the bend of the hook. If you prefer you can also use a blood knot to attach the eighteen-inch section of tippet, leave a long tag end trailing from the knot to attach the first fly, and add your second fly at the point. Either of these methods works quite well. Normally, the split shot would then be placed at the knot attaching the tippet to the leader. While this method works well, I rig my lead a little differently.

How many times have you just finished tying up a new nymph rig, only to snag it on the bottom on the first cast? You then have to stop fishing and tie another setup. Since the lead sinks quickest, and is above the flies, it will drag your flies into the rocks, and the whole outfit is lost. I generally rig my split shot at the bottom, below the nymphs. This has increased the life span of my nymph rigs, and reduced the number of flies I lose. In addition, it lets the flies fish slightly off the bottom, right in the strike zone.

To rig lead on the bottom end of a setup, simply attach another tippet section to the bend of the bottom fly. Then tie an overhand knot in the leader four to six inches below the fly. This overhand knot keeps the shot from slipping off during fishing, but will allow it to pull it off in case it snags in the rocks. Although I go through as much lead as I used to, I now save the vast majority of my rigs. My fly boxes stay fuller, and I catch just as many trout.

To fish this system, the angler simply casts quartering upstream. This allows the flies to sink to the bottom. Then simply follow the indicator with the rot] tip through the drift. If the indicator dips or stops, set the hook!

The Hinged Leader Method

Another option for fishing this same sort of rig is called a hinged leader nymph. Guide and author John Judy, with the publication of his excellent book Slack Line Strategies for Fly Fishing (Stackpole Books, 1995), made this setup popular on the Deschutes River in Oregon. While this is probably the best bottom probing technique I have fished, it has a downside. It is more laborious to rig, and doesn't lend itself to change as easily as the standard nymph setup. On the flip side, it gives a more natural presentation on a stack leader. It also uses less overall leader length to achieve the same depth. The real key to this system is leader construction. The leader is comprised of a butt section, a yarn indicator, and level tippet material from the indicator all the way to the flies. This works so well because you are no longer trying to sink a bunch of large-diameter monofilament used to build a tapered leader.

To rig a hinged leader, begin by taking a standard butt section of 20- to 30-pound monofilament 18 to 20 inches long, and attach a strike indicator to the end of this section. I generally use macrame yarn to build these indicators. I cut a three inch piece of yarn off the skein. Then I take Kevlar or 310 Monocord tying thread, and tie a short section of thread in the middle of the yarn to give me a place to attach the leader butt. I whip finish it, and cement the tied section. Now that the yarn is sealed in the middle, it needs to be fluffed out. I take a standard dubbing needle, and tease the fibers out from the center until the indicator is a little puffball. Once I have finished the indicator, I treat it with dry fly dressing. I have tried "Water Shed" with some success, but I still feel it is necessary to apply more dry fly floatant on the indicator once on the water. Pre-built indicators will last longer than might be expected. If indicators are taken off and set aside, then they will be ready the next time out.

There is a shortcut to making this indicator. Starting with the same 3-inch piece of yarn, take your leader butt section and tie it directly in the middle. For this knot, a standard fisherman's knot or improved clinch knot is perfect. Attach your pre-tied indicators in the same manner. Use tippet material in whatever size is applicable to the size flies being used. For example, if using size 16 flies, use 5X tippet and tie it onto the leader butt section just above the indicator with an improved clinch knot. This is one of the keys to making this outfit work. Attaching the tippet to the butt section in this manner allows the knot to slide up and down the butt section. Snug the knot down to the indicator, and voila, the right angled leader is complete. Start with enough tippet material to equal the depth of the water you're fishing, plus six to twelve inches. If you are going to fish in five feet of water, use five-and-a-half to six feet of tippet material to your first fly. Set up the bottom of the rig the same as the first indicator system, with shot on a short tippet tied to the hook bend of the point fly Again, I have found that lead on the bottom saves me trouble.

To fish the hinged-leader nymph rig, quarter the system upstream. Mend the line to drift down a current seam naturally. Try to keep a lot of slack line around the indicator to help achieve a dead drift. Take notice that the yarn indicator will float higher and lighter than other indicators. It gives a more visual feet of what is happening to your fly. When the lead is ticking along the bottom, the indicator will practically vibrate as it floats down the current scam. When a trout takes one of your nymphs, the indicator is pulled under abruptly. Sometimes, however, takes will be indicated through nothing more than a hop or a hesitation in the indicator. Set the hook on anything unnatural in your drift. Rick Hafele once told me to look for something to set up on in every drift. That's good advice from a great nympher.

Another trick when fishing the right-angled rig is to add an inversion mend when the setup first lands on the water. Don't get discouraged with the technical jargon, It is really a simple mend. When the indicator lands, the nymphs and tippet are all upstream of the indicator. The surface current is almost always faster than the currents below, so the indicator tows the nymphs through the seam being fished. The nymphs sink, but under tension. To correct this, when the indicator lands with the tippet and flies upstream, immediately draw the rod up to the same position used for a roll cast, then perform an under-powered roll cast. This modest roll should pick up the line all the way to the indicator, and throw it upstream of the flies, tippet, and lead. The indicator should start to lift up off the water as if the entire rig was going to be rolled upstream. The weight of the split shot should hold the flies and shot in the water. Now the indicator is positioned upstream from the flies, tippet, and lead. This allows the indicator to drift faster than the flies and lead, without dragging them through the current seam. It will take a couple of tries to figure out the right roll-casting stroke. If the whole rig is roll cast upstream, just keep at it, but lessen the amount of strength you put into the stroke until it under powers, and allows the rig to invert.

After the under powered roll cast, the flies and lead are almost driven to the bottom because the tippet is totally slack. When the indicator catches up and passes over the flies, it will slow down and settle a little bit in the water. This is the sweet spot; the nymphs are directly below the indicator. More trout will be hooked and held during this part of the drift than any other, because there is no slack line upstream from the indicator. When you hook the bottom with the traditional nymph rig, the nymphs are generally several feet upstream of your indicator. With the hinged leader method, trout directly below the indicator are the ones being hooked so there is less slack to remove from the leader. A quicker setup on the trout is accomplished. As a result, a higher percentage of takes will be hooked and landed.

With these two methods, the traditional shot and indicator rig and the hinged-leader rig, you are set to start probing bottom currents for trout. Both methods are good, but I think you will be surprised at how pleasurable the hinged-leader method is to fish. Give it a try, and who knows, you might become a convert.