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[badboi]

HI,

I am getting into Naked Chironomid fishing and did some experimenting last weekend. 

I prefer to use a WF6F line.  Say I am in 20 feet of water I have read that you should go 25% deeper.  So, a 25 foot leader + Tippet is recommended if I want to get near the bottom - correct?

Another question is how do you attach the Mono leader to the Flourocarbon tippet?  I usually use a very small swivel but is that recommended when fishing Naked?  I worry that the swivel will sink the tippet down too much and I will be on the bottom.  I was experimenting all weekend and I never knew if I was on the bottom or slightly off the bottom or several feet off.

Tips and suggestions?

Thanks.

[Chehalis_Steel]

Yeah you want the swivel to attach your tippet to the leader. Depending on the conditions and the size of the fly, you want the tippet to be between 18 and 22 inches. The longer the tippet, slower the fly will sink, so for fishing naked, a longer tippet would work better.

Just a question, why are you using this method? IME for shallower water and shorter leaders it works good but if you go past 15 feet its more of a pain than anything else. With long leaders its much easier to control you depth with an indicator and you miss less takes. Too much guessing without the indicator when the leader is over that 15 mark or so. Personally, I only use the naked method with a long leader if the wind makes casting the indicator too difficult.

[chironomidking]

Fishing Chironomids without an indicator is one of my favorite ways to fish.  I really hate indicators but sometimes they are necessary.  I have had very, very good days with high numbers of large fish while those using an indicator beside me have had minimal success.  The key to fishing naked is the retrieve and the leader length.  I always use about 18 feet of leader, a swivel with at least 20 inches of tippet.

The retrieve must be dead slow and no slack in the line.  The depth that you wish to fish will be determined by how long you wait before starting the retrieve.  I have found that when fishing 15-18 feet of water, start the retrieve when you think the Chironomid is about 2 feet off the bottom.  As you retrieve give the odd quick strip to bring the Chironomidkin up a few feet.  This will allow you to fish multiple depth zones during a single cast.

I have also had good success sight fish the shoals with this same setup as there is no bobber splash to spook the fish.  The key to fishing shallow water is to start the retrieve as soon as the fly hits the water.

It is very exciting to get the line ripped from your hand by the aggressive takes this method produces.