[Bjay]

Hi guys
A tip for finding bottom and setting your line depth. A lot of guys use their forcepts for finding bottom. This is not a good thing. First they are pretty heavy and second they are pretty slim. If you have a soft bottom they could easily sink into the bottom a foot or two before you realize it, and if you set your fly to be 2 feet off the bottom you could easily be on the bottom or just a few inches off the bottom.
My method, not perfect but I think better. I use a stainless steel 1/4 inch bolt , 3/4 inch long with 3 stainless nuts on the bolt and a skinny "O" ring in the center. Put your hook through the "O"ring and drop it over the side. Works good. Being fatter and lighter than the forcepts it doesn't sink into the mud as easily but is still heavy enough to touch bottom quite fast.
I use it down to 50 feet with no problem.
I drop it down till I can feel bottom then crank my line in till my rod tip touches the water then I reach up to the first guide and pull the line back to the reel and wind up the slack I just created, and my depth is set. I sit with the tip a couple of inches off the water and watch it like a hawk.If you can't sit with the line close to the water adjust your length accordingly.

Now-- sometimes the fish want that fly dead still. Other times ,say when there is a chronomid hatch going on they will want it moving, so I lift the rod slowly about a foot, stop, count to 3 or 5 then lift again. I normally don't go up any more than 3 feet ,then I drop it back down and start again.
When chronomids are hatching I use a chromie up to 3x long #12's. Be carefull, never just put your rod down unless it is in a rod holder, when a chronomid hatch is on as the strikes can be very hard.
When I first did the bolt thing I dropped the bolt over the side, found bottom, pulled up the line, took off the bolt,and promptly threw it over the side instead of the fly. Get two bolts just in case!!!!!
Cheers
Bjay
Ps a 5/16 or 3/8 inch bolt is too heavy.