Try looking for marl (weedy) bottoms. Fish hang out where the food source is (in the weeds) and deep enough to stay away from predators like eagles and osprey. Fish 15 to 25 feet of water. If you are fishing chironomids then fish them a foot to 3 feet up off the bottom. Anchor your boat both front and back with a big enough anchor so that your boat does not swing. Having the boat stationary helps a lot when your fishing with an indicator. In fact not anchoring the boat properly so that it does not swing is a big mistake that a lot of rookie stillwater fishermen make.
When using an indicator clip a pair of hemostats onto your fly and drop the fly to the bottom. When the line goes slack then pinch your line at the surface of the water and bring it up 1 to 3 feet. Attach the pin from your indicator to secure it to the line. Bring the rest of your leader up by hand and remove the hemostats. Now once you cast the line out it will be exactly a foot or two off the bottom and you will put your chironomid right in the fish zone. This method also works well with balanced leeches and damsels.
When trolling you should try to use either a clear intermediate line or a type 3-6 full sink line. This will help get your fly down into the fish zone.
Yes, it is all about putting your fly into the fish zone. The longer you have it in the zone, the more likely you are to catch fish.
Tight lines. I hope this helps.
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Fishing isn't always about catching fish.
Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath, look around, and admire what mother nature gave us.
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