Guest Blog from WCA Guide Jim Murray

“Short leash” nymphing is a really fun way to fish. It usually involves a couple of nymphs, suspended 3-4 feet below a bobber, and little to no additional weight. It allows for a little bit more of a technical cast than lobbing bobbers and BB’s, and it can be damned effective as well.
In the past, the standard Missouri River Short Leash indicator was the foam pinch-on. Let’s just say that these could be less than ideal. I know many guides and anglers swear by them, but I always found them to be a nuisance. They can be hard to remove, leaving a gunky pasty substance on your leaders. They are cumbersome to cast. And they can fall off into the river, leaving unwanted debris floating through your favorite seam. Yes they are inexpensive, but you go through a ton of them in a season. All in all, I don’t really like using them.
As a result, I’ve been looking for a good alternative for a while now, and this Spring, fellow WCA guide Matt Hargrave showed me the light. The Strike Foundry “Lil’ Nugget” ½ “ indicator. Light weight, indestructible and easy to cast, these bobbers do the trick. I tie the butt section of my leader into the bright side of the indicator, then tippet out the grey side. Clients love fishing this set up, as the indicators are easy to see, easy to cast, and easy to mend. One of the concerns with short leash set ups is if the bobber will disturb the fish in the upper third of the water column. I haven’t noticed this to be the case at all. Fish have been happily eating our nymphs using this set up all Spring.
The one downside to this method is that the indicators are not easily moved. You could tie additional tippet if you wanted to fish a little deeper, but converting to a deep nymph rig would require you to remove the set up, and either switch leaders or add additional tippet material to get down deep. Or you could do what I do and have a couple short leash rods rigged up and ready to go, along with my deep nymph rods.
All in all, I love this indicator for my short leash nymphing. It has worked flawlessly for my clients and I, and client feedback has been extremely positive. If you are looking for an alternative to the old foam pinch on indicators, give the Strike Foundry “Lil’ Nugget” a try. They work great.