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Euro style nymphing

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Fergal

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Who does it? I tried briefly on Sunday, couldn't get the feel for it and switched back to an indicator (I was too impatient, I should've stuck with it but my adhd wouldn't allow for it that day). I'm using a 10' 4wt, SA Competition line. I'm guessing I need to do things a little different with my flies, I probably need some that are weighted a little more heavily. I gave it about 30-45 minutes and gave up. I've looked at vids, read books, but again, the comfort level wasn't there.

 

For the future I have a 11' 3wt cts on the way (who know when it will arrive due to complications from the chinese virus but that is what it is at this point). That s/b a nice stick for that. The 10' 4wt (fished with a 6wt line) is a pleasure to fish with so far. 

ASMFC - Destroying public resources and fisheries one stock at a time since 1942.

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Drew

 

It is very very different to indicator nymphing. Much shorter range for starters.

 

Takes are felt or you see line do something different.

 

You don’t use any fly line.

 

It is difficult to do in water deeper than three feet. Not easy to do in flat water  as you need to be very close to the fish.

 

Not easy if you have a strong downstream wind.

 

Stick with it it is a learned skill and will take a little time to master.

 

You will need to adjust the weight of your nymphs to balance out with water depth and current speed.

 

You can do this by varying size of tungsten bead or wire.

 

Your point fly should be ticking bottom. You will soon get the hang of it if fishing in a nice bubbly run that you know holds a lot of fish.

 

It is a deadly way to fish.

 

mike

 

 

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29 mins ago, Mike Oliver said:

Drew

 

It is very very different to indicator nymphing. Much shorter range for starters.

 

Takes are felt or you see line do something different.

 

You don’t use any fly line.

 

It is difficult to do in water deeper than three feet. Not easy to do in flat water  as you need to be very close to the fish.

 

Not easy if you have a strong downstream wind.

 

Stick with it it is a learned skill and will take a little time to master.

 

You will need to adjust the weight of your nymphs to balance out with water depth and current speed.

 

You can do this by varying size of tungsten bead or wire.

 

Your point fly should be ticking bottom. You will soon get the hang of it if fishing in a nice bubbly run that you know holds a lot of fish.

 

It is a deadly way to fish.

 

mike

 

 

I wasn't necessarily expecting to get it right away, i also wasn't expecting to look like a monkey trying to screw a football either....

 

I also made the mistake of going to a walk-in spot (not a long walk tho) and not taking my spool with the flyline with me just in case. I stubbornly told myself it was 'euro' or nothing. After 30 minutes of struggling I said screw it and walked back and swapped out spools, switching to a full line. I proceeded to have a very good day after that.

 

Right now, I need some heavier flies I guess. That's easily fixable, I will be tying some today since I'm off. Going forward I will carry both spools with me and try and dedicate a little time each time that I'm out and see if I can get it to work for me.

 

I will say that overall I am very happy with my freshwater experience so far. I decided to try it last fall with the collapse of our shore-based fisheries here in the NE. I've found it interesting, challenging and a good bit of fun. I'm not questioning myself on why I didn't try it earlier.

ASMFC - Destroying public resources and fisheries one stock at a time since 1942.

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Drew

 

You will get it down soon enough. It is a bit weird but also a lot of fun. Really deadly on Grayling which allow you to get much closer to them.

Light feet and stealth help a great deal.

 

Leaving your plastic fly line at home will help to. Bit like leaving the spin rod at home effect on the learning curve.

 

Mikey

 

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18 mins ago, Mike Oliver said:

Drew

 

You will get it down soon enough. It is a bit weird but also a lot of fun. Really deadly on Grayling which allow you to get much closer to them.

Light feet and stealth help a great deal.

 

Leaving your plastic fly line at home will help to. Bit like leaving the spin rod at home effect on the learning curve.

 

Mikey

 

That's how I learned to flyfish - i left the spin tackle home. I'm not sure I'm at that point on the trout side yet. I obviously have a ton of stuff to learn there. At this point, I'm learning no matter what I do.

ASMFC - Destroying public resources and fisheries one stock at a time since 1942.

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Haven’t done it myself but have a friend who fishes Montana and Idaho a ton and he raves about it.

It seems very rod, leader and fly specific based on the conversation we’d had regarding his fishing this technique.

There are some good YouTube videos on it that you might want to check out if you haven’t already.

SF

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I started Euro/Czech/Tightline nymphing last season on the advice from a friend who guides.  Once you get the hang of it you'll catch fish year round. If you picture the nymph as bucktailing you'll get the hang of it much quicker. I picked up a 10ft 3wt Orvis Clearwater.

 

I usually only have 6"-14" of my fly line past the tip Then 14" of 10lb mono as a leader, then my indicator line, at the end of the indicator line I use a tippet ring that allows me to switch out different setups fairly quickly. My go to has been a 2 nymph rig, essentially a hi-lo rig or putting a teaser in front of a bucktail. The lead nymph is something flashy to get them out of the rocks to have a look- san juan worm, single egg sack, or a grub. the second or main nymph is what I'm matching the hatch to. Cant go wrong with scuds or midges right now. After 30-45 min of nothing I'll switch that out to something else like a large stonefly....big bait catches big fish and big bait makes an easy target for lazy fish. If you're fishing a highly fished area and everyone is throwing stoneflies chances are after a while they wont touch them. Thats when the attractor or "teaser" will start to catch. 

 

All the photos below are from late last week

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Edited by BeachBum818
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Picked this method up last year for fishing the Farmimgton and have had some good success so far.  At this time of year, i generally fish a junk fly such as a squiminator or mop as the point fly, with unweighted natural nymphs or wet flies above that. I generally fish two to three flies and recommend sticking with 2 while you get the hang of it.  

 

Fish a run you know holds fish and you should get some takes with that setup.  As a right handed person, i find i am more comfortable fishing with the current flowing to my right for some reason.  Hope this helps.

 

A couple of pointers, loon sells small foam spools that you can use to rig and store leaders on with multiple flies tied on.  This saves time when you eventually lose your setup on a snag.  I also use the Davy knot to secure the flies to the leader and dropper, which can be tied to minimize tag ends and lippet loss.

 

Good luck.

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I should've also added that I don't use the expensive fly tippets. I have a spool of the Seagur Fluoro. 300yd spool cost the same as 30yd of fluoro tippet material. I use mono when fishing dry flies and fluoro when nymphing. Granted dry flies arent nymphing but when the hatch is popping off around you and you see fish rise, you don't want to miss out. 

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2 hours ago, Drew C. said:

 

 

 

I will say that overall I am very happy with my freshwater experience so far. I decided to try it last fall with the collapse of our shore-based fisheries here in the NE. I've found it interesting, challenging and a good bit of fun. I'm not questioning myself on why I didn't try it earlier.

Ditto.The Great lakes were on the verge of collapse two decades ago bcz of invasives and I went to SW.Now that it's gone to crap I'm back to a whole new world of steelhead fishing.The lakes have found some semblance of balance and stockings have been cut back to take into consideration the diminished forage base and fish are thriving.And it's closer than fishing SW.

I miss SW but catching smoking-hot, lake run trout that go from 6-14lbs has been a blast and reasonable compensation.I also enjoy all the wading around the creek that doesn't get done in SW.

I can't fish for stream trout any more,I feel like a child molester.

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The tippet rings and those foam discs come in real handy. I have been doing this for a while and have found it to be very effective. I rarely fish on top. This has more to do with available hatches and where I fish.

Couple of things:

Roll casts and water hauls work...most others create knots.

To save your self from the extra spool dilemna, use the spool with the regular line and loop attach about 25' of 10# to 15# mono onto it with the ring at the business end. You can switch out methods that way

Heed the expression that the difference between a fisherman and a good fisherman is often only a split shot away.....get to the bottom.

I have whatever success ( there are always days when no one's home ) with a lead fly on the bottom and an attractor about 10'+/- above. Since most places I fish have stockies, I go for flash on top. 

 

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Drew-  I started it last year.  I have the Redington Hydrogen 10' 3wt.  I had a reel with a beat 4 wt line that I cut down and then run the rio euro-nymph leader 11' with the tippet ring at the end of the sighter.  Usually 6-8' f 3x fluoro then 4x or 5 x fluoro 18-20" to my anchor fly.  I only run two flies- my anchor fly is usually a tactical bugger or heavily weighted stone with a mayfly on the dropper or the dreaded squirminator.   My one visit to the Farmington last year was my first real outing with that rod last year and all I did was lose flies.  After spending a lot of last season working on the technique, I'm a little more confident.  It was downright deadly a few times on the Penobscot and East Outlet.  It was downright even deadlier on the Gallatin...

I would ******* LOVE a grave blanket. icon14.gif
 

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48 mins ago, JoeGBreezy said:

 

Heed the expression that the difference between a fisherman and a good fisherman is often only a split shot away.....get to the bottom.

 

Also, a step or 2 can make a huge difference...presents the nymph down a different line and a different set of bottom structure. After 5 passes with nothing happening I'll take a 2 steps and that has allowed me to hook up. 

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