Here in Southwest Montana, we do a lot of fishing from the drift boat with indicator nymph rigs throughout the year, especially in the spring and early summer months. After two decades of rowing folks around and watching strike indicators float, tick, and drag around the water’s surface, I know that a “good” drift is the key to success in the subsurface fly-fishing game. The RIO Elite Extreme Indicator fly line helps stack the odds in the anglers favor when nymphing from a drift boat is in the program and worth the investment.

Built on the Connect Core, the Elite Extreme Indicator fly line has low stretch and a smooth texture for quick hooksets and efficient mends. The head on a 6-weight is approximately two-line weights heavier than a standard 6-weight, weight forward fly line. This overweighting, coupled with the short front taper, enables effortless turnover of heavy nymph rigs in close quarters. The larger diameter tip section also makes this critical part of the fly line more buoyant which translates to better drifts and cleaner mends. This is not an all-around line so don’t expect it to be a good choice for dry flies in a pinch! However, if you have a dedicated fly rod for indicator nymph fishing from a boat, this line will help that fly rod perform at its best.

Fly-fishing gear is continually evolving and the application-specific tools available today are true game-changers for the versatile angler. I prefer to use a 9’ 6” 5 or 6 weight for most of my indicator nymphing these days and have come to prefer the G. Loomis NRX+ 595 and Scott Centric 956 for this style of fly-fishing. They both pair well with the RIO Elite Extreme Indicator fly line for boat-oriented nymphing with a strike indicator.