Eero nymphing.

[k.b.]

Done it a few times, just can't seem to be able to force myself to enjoy it. Deadly if you want to catch a bunch of fish, but somehow seems like cheating to me. 

[puppet]

8 hours ago, CWitek said:

I like to believe that if whatever someone is doing doesn't hurt the fish, the river, or other anglers, it's all good.

 

I have to admit that I cringed a bit when I saw someone tossing spinners below the Hazel Road bridge on the Willowemoc last May (honestly compels me to admit that I saw such spin fisherman catch and release at least two decent trout, while we fly fishermen did nothing more than exeercise our arms), but I will also freely admit that such cringing was irrational.

Technically we are all hurting the fish, so in general, it is all a grey area.  Guys who shake and bake their fish in the gravel and pose for photos might be the worst.  Stocked fish are there for our entertainment. I feel less aggrevated in socked water than if I saw the same in wild water or for stiped bass.. Theoritically spin guys should land and release fish faster.  I have seen some fly guys play trout until they float. 

 

I hear what you are saying.  A really good spinning angler can put the hurt on a stretch of water.  It is a long drive to arrive on a bunch of stung fish, that may not feed again for the day.

 

I only visited the willowemoc once and was horrored by the amount of flyfishing trash everywhere. Tippet, indicators, leaders, packaging, etc.  Lots of anglers everywhere.  Not for me, but there sure are a lot of trout dumped there.  Its a problem with easy access.  I try to hit water that requires more commitment.

 

[gdc23]

On 3/18/2023 at 9:48 AM, John350 said:

Great post with a lot of very valid points.  In my experience, again only my experience I have found the dry or die guys to be the least approachable folks on the river.  Had a few run ins with these guys who came across at stubborn and elitist.  That is probably why I perceive these fisherman as not wanting to evolve out of their comfort zone.  Not the right way to think about it, I get it.  Thanks for the perspective 

Not to beat a dead horse but I recently have been thinking of getting into fly-fishing and while watching some YouTube videos was surprised to see the direction the sport has taken. I thought originally fly line was developed to cast a weightless lure, now they are casting multiple weighted nymphs, sometimes with added split shot weights and a strike indicator. It seems this could possibly be done with spinning gear and seems to get away from the whole concept of fly fishing. I understand the need to get the lure down in the strike zone but are we now dealing with a whole new type of fishing that does not necessarily rely on the use of fly line/rod. 

[surfflyguy]

7 hours ago, gdc23 said:

Not to beat a dead horse but I recently have been thinking of getting into fly-fishing and while watching some YouTube videos was surprised to see the direction the sport has taken. I thought originally fly line was developed to cast a weightless lure, now they are casting multiple weighted nymphs, sometimes with added split shot weights and a strike indicator. It seems this could possibly be done with spinning gear and seems to get away from the whole concept of fly fishing. I understand the need to get the lure down in the strike zone but are we now dealing with a whole new type of fishing that does not necessarily rely on the use of fly line/rod. 

There’s nothing new about euro nymphing it’s been around for decades. Just do some research on Joe Humphries. Euro nymphing currently is only popular because of the marketing that has been done. 

[PAtroutbum]

On 4/10/2023 at 4:37 AM, surfflyguy said:

There’s nothing new about euro nymphing it’s been around for decades. Just do some research on Joe Humphries. Euro nymphing currently is only popular because of the marketing that has been done. 

What Joe was doing was different than modern euro styles. Also we can get super technical and talk about the broad term euro is, George daniels book goes into the different types in detail and their applications. 
 

I think modern euro has gotten so popular because of the effectiveness, low skill level needed, and generally cheap entry cost. Not to mention social media impact, look at shops like fly fish food cranking out related content or YouTubers smoking fish on mop flies. Personally it’s old news for me, I’ll do it if I’m hurting for a fish or jig streamers but I’d rather swing a fly or dry drop.

[Mike Oliver]

Is it really low skill. Most Anglers wade like elephants. I am amazed that some catch a fish this way. 

[stormy monday]

On 4/17/2023 at 6:43 PM, Mike Oliver said:

Is it really low skill. Most Anglers wade like elephants. I am amazed that some catch a fish this way. 

It is a "different" skill I would say. Unfortunately some people are being taught euro and just flipping a weighted fly or jig with a bobber before being taught any other skills. A couple I knew for example had spent a week somewhere "learning fly fishing". They had nice pics of trout and salmon, and asked me to take them striper fishing. As it turns out they live 2 miles from a great spot so I obliged. I set them both up with 8 weights, showed them where the dropoff was, maybe 50' at this tide, but a 40' cast would get them schoolies. They proceeded to start flipping the fly about 15' letting the current take it. I was not familiar with this style of fishing, so I thought they were working line out or something. It all devolved to an hour of casting instruction at which point they declared they preferred trout fly fishing and left. I don't know who "taught them fly fishing" but they did them a great disservice. I suspect the goal of whatever that program was was to land a bunch of fish and that was it. They will probably do more "trout fly fishing" and maybe will someday want to do  more but the skill they got won't work for much else. Maybe an extreme example, and makes me wonder if guides up north are taking this instant gratification route. I hope not.