Strike Indicator Tool

[admin]

When the tool first came out it cost about £35.  :shock:  The delicate tip broke off mine when it got caught up in my fleece so I thought to myself - sod that I'll make my own.  It took a while and a bit of rummaging in the Letham craft shop to find a suitable needle.  Millward no 18 was the best. Getting small enough tubing was also an issue, just had to do a bit of raking about on eBay.

I'll be honest, my version is better, not quite as fiddly and a lot stronger.  I'm writing a Fish Wild article for the next issue.

This style of indicator was invented by an American guide called Rudi Ferris. He used the tubing out of empty Biros.

I'm not sure why it's called a NZ strike indicator. Alex and I have always called it a Ferris indicator.

[Highlander]

When the tool first came out it cost about £35.

God & I thought £20 ish was expensive. Bobfly's use of the sheep hair got me thinking about my youthful forays
on the River Clyde Roberton to Thankerton stretch. I fished a Stonefly Nymph (Gadger) on a size 10 hook & a whisk of sheep fur taken from a barbed wire fence about 2ft from the hook. Beauty of this method was not just to catch Trout & some were quite weighty but actually catching the nymph was the fun part. I had a landing net at one time which had a bottom section of narrow gauge mesh. What I did was place the net down stream from me & I in turn kicked over some stones to dislodge the Gadger they floated down & were caught in the net kept them in a wee Golden Virginia tobacco tin. Later on I used coloured wool either red or yellow depending on water height & colour. Used an  Green Heart 10ft  rod I was given by an old fisherman until it dried out & subsequently broke. There after a Milbro Truefly of similar length A Kingfisher No 2 line with a touch of Mucilin to keep it up & a dab on the wool. If I was fishing close in & would dispense with the wool floatant. On occasion I would pinch a small split shot 6" above the hook to get it down but all depending river depth & speed.
All in all a most enjoyable way to fish. I have a chuckle when I read today about weighted nymphs, chuck & duck etc.
 Ok things, techniques/materials have evolved but nothing is really new is it you can not go far wrong using a natural  in any circumstances I believe.

So you guys that fish rivers take advantage of Fred's fine offer.

Tight Lines