Generally, I get the inspiration for my columns from my most recent fishing trip. This one is a bit different in that I got the idea for this column at the barber shop. I was getting a little shaggy and my wife Lori suggested it was time to get a haircut. I went to my barber, Kelly Kyle and she was pretty busy. There were four guys ahead of me. Like any barber shop worth its salt Kellys has a huge selection of magazines mostly about hunting and fishing.

Since I had a little wait, I picked up a recent copy of Field and Stream. It was a fishing issue, so I was interested to see what was in it. Field and Stream is one of the oldest and most respected hunting and fishing magazines published in the United States and has the largest circulation of any outdoor magazine. It is the one periodical where all outdoor writers aspire to be published.

I quickly found an article about fly fishing with a strike indicator. The gist of the article was that fishing with a strike indicator was way too easy and that the use of strike indicators had dumbed down the gentle art of fly fishing. It just doesnt present enough of a challenge to be considered fly fishing. I think that it is writers like this that give fly fishing a reputation as an elitist sport.

I, of course, took issue with the article. I often fish with a strike indicator and have my clients do the same. It is not that easy. It took me years to master the technique. There are many ways to fly fish that are easier such as swinging a soft hackle or a woolly bugger. What differentiates fishing with a strike indicator is that it is dead on effective when done properly.

The hard part for most novices is that you have to set the hook. This isnt like crappie fishing where the bobber heads for the bottom and stays there. When fishing for trout, the strike is much more subtle, particularly when fishing a size eighteen or twenty two, as we often do here. The indicator may not go down at all. It might stop momentarily of move slightly up stream. When in doubt set the hook. There is just not that much time to think about it. You basically have a half a second to lift the rod.

Another aspect of fishing with a strike indicator that is difficult, is achieving a perfect drag free drift. The trout are basically lying on the bottom facing upstream. As the food comes down stream, they will take the morsels as they pass. Often there are multiple currents in the water. There is a bit of fast water here and some slow water there. Often the fly is in faster or slower water than the fly line. If the current grabs the fly line, it can cause the fly to move too fast or too slow. If the fly does not drift down stream at the same speed as the water, it will not look natural and the fish will reject it. To compensate for drag, the angler must lift his line and move it up or down stream to compensate for the difference in the line and fly speed (mending). Therefore, to properly fish with an indicator, you are constantly mending your drift.

All the while that you are waiting for the strike and constantly mending to ensure that you are achieving a perfect drag free drift, you have to keep in mind one more thing, line control. The concept of line control is that you need a certain amount of slack in the line to achieve a proper drift. If you get too much slack you will not be able to set the hook. As the fly drifts down stream, you must strip in any excess line so that should you get a strike you can effectively set the hook.

The writer did offer a couple of acceptable methods for fishing nymphs. One was to fish them quarter and down. To accomplish this you face down stream and cast a nymph on a weighted leader down stream at a forty five degree angle to the bank. You let the fly swing in the current until it is directly down stream and then recast the fly. It is a tight line technique and you will feel the strike. This was the technique that I used when I started fly fishing. It is easy and effective but not as effective as fishing an indicator.

The other acceptable technique is high sticking nymphs without an indicator. You fish it just as you would with an indicator except you watch the end of your fly line instead of the indicator to identify any strikes. This is an effective method favored by serious, accomplished anglers. My only problem with it is that it requires the eyes of an eagle to identify strikes. There are a lot of people that just dont have good enough vision and reflexes to fish like this. I fear that I am one of them.

The article also included some illustrations of a couple of methods for rigging nymphs. Both were two fly rigs. I like to fish two fly rigs because I think it doubles your chances to hook up. The only problem is that they are not allowed in the Catch and Release sections that I favor.

The writer did not change my mind. I dont think fishing with an indicator has dumbed down the sport. I feel that it is just as challenging as other techniques. I will continue fishing with a strike indicator as will my clients because it is an effective way to catch trout. The best use of my time that morning was spent getting a haircut.