"I wrote before about sensitive take detection and its importance in hard fished waters where we have to present small, imitative nymphs on fine tippets. I gave the general construction of a long (necessary) leader for this, as used by the top European fly fishing teams. I have been experimenting for some time with these and have added certain refinements. To be more precise, I have been fortunate enough to see or use several other anglers’ ideas on this, including those of Luois Otano Perez, of the Spanish First Division of competitive fly fishers."

Read the full article inside and learn the secrets of the "Stren coil indicator"!..........

In this installment of his 'Fishing on the Frontier' column, Jeremy Lucas looks at the various styles of leader construction and how they can improve your odds in specific circumstances. We are also introduced to the "next level of take detection" - the coiled leader indicator! More of which is planned for future installments also.

This month, England fly fishing international and Fish&Fly team member Jeremy Lucas moves on to look at a techinque often used on rivers when there is no apparent surface activity to seek out fish feeding lower down in the water column. Is this a better technique than the ubiquitous "Duo" - read on and see what you think!?

I said that I would write a piece about the complicated subject of take detection when nymph fishing, particularly on rivers. This is also a controversial subject. At its crudest, we can apply a strike indicator to the tip of the fly line, or somewhere along the leader. Every nymph fisher tries this, reverting to the ‘float fishing’ styles of bait anglers. It is however, much less subtle than float fishing.

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After the floods that have characterised this winter, on every river I have fished, and the recent intensely cold nights, the waters are now flowing low and clear. San River is currently a 100m width of translucent, sparkling shallows, interspersed with lively rapids, while the Eden, here in Cumbria, is a sunshot glitter of upland waters.

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