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If they still don't cotton up to it at this level, drop it 18 inches and raise the rod gently to make the nymph appear to be struggling upward in the water. If this doesn't produce and the stream has a fairly even floor, drop a long leader to take the nymph down to the bottom, allowing extra line for it to trail because bottom water travels slower than top water as you'll see in Reading a Stream, Chapter III. For this nymphing Dan Bailey's Devil's Scratcher often produces. (Address Dan Bailey's Sport Shop, Livingston, Montana. And if you want to see the outlines of more than a hundred big trout taken on flies, every fish is from four to seventeen pounds, drop into his shop and drool!) In this fishing, the bubble acts both as floater and bobber. When the fish strikes, the bubble will act unnaturally, perhaps even go under. To connect with the fish, strike immediately. With an uneven floor, the usual condition, it's better to change the method of using your float. Now, thread the line through the ear- hole of the bubble and let the line run free, not anchored to your bubble. This will permit your bait to follow the contour of the bottom where big fish spend just about nine-tenths of their waking time getting about nine-tenths of their food.
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