old guy problem - seeing #20 midge dries

[mikel]

ok...bad enough having to tie on these little suckers and deal with 6 or 7x tippet....but if I simply drop a little dry on the water RIGHT NEXT TO ME I still can't spot it...I mean from like 6 feet.

so...option 1 for me is to get a handle on where I THINK the fly is drifting and set up on any slurps or swirls in the area. This sux, but works for me on stillwaters. Not so much moving water, especially if casting any distance at all.

or...option 2 is to tie on a stimi or something that I can occasionally spot above my #20 and fish it like an indicator. I do this with mixed success.

Am I missing an obvious option 3?

-Mike

[lancer09]

Just hope for the best? Shoot I'm young and still can't see the small little things.
I typically just watch for the end of my fly line to give an unnatural twitch, and set then.

[mikel]

Originally Posted by lancer09

Just hope for the best? Shoot I'm young and still can't see the small little things.
I typically just watch for the end of my fly line to give an unnatural twitch, and set then.

Oops...yep, I'm a line watcher too, but again, with moving water that doesn't help me at all...

[kayo]

go to #18,

It's tough getting old.

[jcw355]

When I was fishing the Elk river in West Virginia during an evening spinner fall, we were using 32's. No way to see that. Tie a size 16 on and then tie tippet to that and put your small fly on. The bigger fly is your indicator and could still get taken. In my case they only wanted the 32 but I could see the bigger fly as it got darker.

[smalliesrule]

Man I'm WITH ya on this! I recently fished a hatch of #22 BWO's and fortunately I had a couple of parachute versions in my box. I could see the post even when I couldn't see the fly. I even had one with an orange post that was very easy to spot. Maybe give that a try, but my best bet with the little stuff has been like you already offered- tie on a big fly and use it as an indicator.
Stan

[mcnerney]

I have the same problem, poor eye sight so I either watch the end of the line or do as Stan suggested, fishing parachute patterns with a bright post. I can usually see the post. Sucks getting old!

Larry

[ted4887]

Originally Posted by smalliesrule

I recently fished a hatch of #22 BWO's and fortunately I had a couple of parachute versions in my box. I could see the post even when I couldn't see the fly. I even had one with an orange post that was very easy to spot.
Stan

That would have been my recommendation too. Tie some of the flies with easy-to-spot posts.

[tbblom]

32's!
I can barely tie on 24's...

But I'll echo what others have said.
Big elk hair, spider, stimulator, beetle, or hopper indicator, or a neon post parachute adams if the bug junk spooks the fish. The 'clown shoe caddis' looks ridiculous, but makes a great indicator that takes fish.

I like to tie heavier tippet to the indicator (like 4x), and lighter line following (like 5x-6x). If a big fish smacks the indicator, you have stronger line to work with, and if you snag the lower fly, you can break it off without losing the upper fly.

[silver creek]

Try the greased leader technique, normally used for film flies or flies just subsurface, but can be used for small dries or difficult to see flies like small ants. You can also use just a very small amount of strike putty about 24" from the fly to help you locate it..

Strike Indicators | MidCurrent

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