I suppose it’s the competitive element in me that is always on the look-out for something different that is still within the tradition of fly-fishing yet will give me an edge. And, if it works, I like to pass it on. There are no secrets with me.
We often see various types of "floating" indicators the likes of wool, etc. used for visual takes when the trout or grayling accepts your Nymph on the river; here is another which is easily seen and not prone to be missed when fishing turbulent water.
The "Bungee-Butt" came about after watching a coarse fishing technique shown to me by my mate, NFA coach Ken Stevenson, of Worksop. Ken uses pole elastic as an aid to bite detection. Those huge poles that you see coarse fishermen wielding from under their boats on canals and rivers have a piece of elasticised cord attached between the end of the pole and the fixed monofilament line to act as a shock absorber. Instead of using a float on his line, Ken attaches a short piece of pole elastic to his main leader, creating a loop of nylon. When a fish takes the bait, it pulls on the line, the loop straightens out, and thus the bite is detected. Simple! Then I got thinking: with a little tweak here and there I can use that system for bite detection when fly-fishing on the rivers.
The set-up is child’s play. You will require a darning needle, a braided monofilament leader, say about 6" to 10" (either home-made or shop-bought), and pole elastic of different sizes to suit different conditions (available through coarse-fishing tackle shops).
Cut the elastic to roughly half the length of the braided leader; with the use of the needle, thread the elastic between the woven filaments, feed it through the hollow braid, out one side; create a loop of braid, then feed it back into the braid again, run it down through the braid for an inch or two, then repeat the process to create a "bow" or two of braid.
There is no need to glue the elastic, as the braid will grip it, as in the "Chinese finger trap" (when under tension the closure of the braid weavings will pinch the cord). It’s a case of selecting the correct diameter of braid for the job.
The end result is an S-shaped braided loop held together by a single strand of pole elastic under tension (see photo, left). This is is now ready to attach to the end of your floating fly line as normal.
The fishing method is the now well-known Czech Nymphing "close-quarter fishing" of casting upstream and bumping the flies down on the bottom as they sweep past you. Normally, you would be watching the end of your fly line, waiting for it to stop or dip, but now you can watch the "Bungee-Butt" for signs of dipping or in most cases, straightening-out (see photograph).
It can be dependent on the size elastic you use or, indeed, the use of either one or two loops that balances everything up. Get it right and you will see every movement of the flies as they go through your swim and the loops will transmit every offer, even from the most wary fish. The whole set-up is easy to cast with no tangles.
I have used two different sizes of elastic on the two loops Bungee and Butt, the heavier closest to the fly line and the finer elastic on the end. The finer elastic helps show the take, and the heavier elastic help hook those "bounced-off" fish at the end of the drift.
This can work when Spider or wet fishing, absorbing those sudden "thumps" that have the adrenaline rushing and you cursing your low rod.
I have had some excellent days on the Derbyshire County Anglers water on the River Derwent below Matlock perfecting this method with my angling chum, John Cooley - who is a relative novice, but since using this Bungee-Butt has never looked back.