1st time Euro nymphing

[a23fish]

To say there is a steep learning curve is an understatement. Granted, I have only been fly fishing 2 years and frankly, I'm not that good with a 9' 5Wt beginners fly rod using WF5F fly line. However, after reading about Euro/tight line nymphing for the past year, I decided to give it a go and tied up my own mono rig to try it out. On my Orvis Encounter 9' fly rod. I know that is not a Euro nymphing rod but I'm not spending a bunch of money on a specific nymphing rod before I dip my toe in the water. Which I did this afternoon.

I caught no fish and had no detectable bites. Not a shock because none of the other 5 anglers I encountered were having any luck either. But I kept at it. I discovered several things:

1. Casting is enormously different. I expected this and took a while to make adjustments. I got marginally better, but still couldn't put the flies where I wanted about 3/4 of the time. For perspective, when I'm casting with my normal fly line I can't put the flies where I want them about 1/2 of the time.
2. It was difficult to stay in touch with the flies, probably because I was not using heavy enough flies.
3. I found myself following the flies during the drifts rather than leading them.
4. I also found myself getting lazy and not keeping the sighter out of the water, thus ensuring there was unnecessary slack in the line.

Like I said, a steep learning curve. But I'm not giving up. It sure looks easier on all those YouTube videos than it does when you try it yourself the first time.

 

[PennKev]

In regard to number 2: Usually if you add weight in effort to "stay in touch" you will add more than is beneficial for effective fishing. Work on allowing the flies a moment or two to sink and then get a proper lead. This will resolve a lot of issues. Also don't rely on feel, you have a sighter for a reason. It tells you more about what your flies and leader are doing than just showing when a fish hits. Relying on tactile feel will force you to be reactive instead proactive if that makes sense.

 

[Jay_H]

While not “Euro” specific this video was a big help for keeping in touch with your flies and helping to read the sighter.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Recommend using a drop shot rig, especially in winter. By using weightless flies and shot below you can make adjustments a lot easier. Its very common for people to feel like they don’t have enough tension or have too much when really they need to add or subtract weight. I tightlined from 7am to 5p today and i probably added or subtracted a split shot between 50-75 times today.


Also don’t have your cast enter the water more than one fly rod across from you or more than two rod lengths upstream. If you do its just going to drag. If you need to hit something beyond that range just add an air lock bobber to your mono rig and tightline to the bobber to extend range.


Just watch the bubble line/ surface and if your sighter or bobber is moving at same speed your not on the bottom/in the strike zone. Bottom current moves slllowww. So when your in it and in the strike zone bubbles/surface of the water moves faster letting you know your in the ball park.

Also in general fish in winter time seem to pod up in deeper runs and pools. It pays to “figure out” a spot more in the winter than blaze through it like you see some comp anglers do in warmer weather. Adjust weights first, angles you present from second and distance from first shot to first fly next.

In general think of your drift as an electric razor with adjustable settings. In spring during hatch season you don’t need a “close shave” as much because fish are feeding higher in the column at times with hatches. In winter they are much less willing to move if at all so you need a “close Shave” ticking bottom 50-75% of the time versus 25% -10% in prime hatch season.

use an established tight-line leader formula rather than just a running line and a little bit of sighter, it adds some accuracy/turnover when fishing lighter flies.

 

[GeneBeam]

First this I must say this, that is my opinion along but, I hate bass tournaments, and I came to this outlook when working temporary assignment in northeast Alabama back in 2010 to 2011, before that I didn’t give a **** about bass tournaments. I will not get into the assholes that swarm into northeast Alabama every spring and summer with their pickups and bass boats and trailers taking up each and every parking spaces at any and all hotels and parking them with total disregard about others who were staying at that hotel. Also they bring them to every restaurant parking lot as they don’t want to leave that big piece of **** boat at the hotel so another ******* bass fisherman could sell it. Bass tournaments are nothing but catching\snagging\ foul hooking fish with 60 to 120lb line and drag it into the boat as fast as possible.

So Euro nymphing is nothing but a bass tournament with Europeans trying to make it very gentlemanly.

Can you catch trout, yes but is it fly fishing, IMHO no.

Now when I first started fly fishing in the UP of Michigan, they taught me about tight line fishing. Back then you use the same size leader 10’ to 18’ that you used for all of your other fly fishing, i.e. streamer and dry fly fishing, and you just kept the line without slack and yes you have a different color line section as a sighter.

Today you have people with 30’, 40’, 50’ or 150’ leaders, in fact here in Pennsylvania they changed the rules so you can do this, at one time the longest leader you could have while fly fishing was 18’. For me Euro nymphing is nothing else but fly fishing with a spinner rod setup. What most people forget is that to fish in the Fly-Fishing section only stream, here in Pennsylvania you MUST have a fly line on your reel.

My take is Euro nymphing is for people who don’t want to learn how to cast a fly line, which it OK with me as when the dry fly fishing turns on, the nymphets will still be flipping a 40’ leader around with a nymph fly on and real fly fisherman who know how to tight line fish and dry fly cast will be catching fish, with a leader less than 18’.

Thank god we here in Pennsylvania can’t use beads or the next big thing would be bead fishing as that also "catches" fish (See below).

I just can’t wait until we see here on this site we see a picture with someone with a big trout with a hook in its eye with a bead just above the hook, asking for his likes. Remember it called fishing not catching.

“Since this method is designed to hook a fish on the outside of the mouth, it is not currently considered legal in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The beads do not make the terminal tackle a regulated item, it is the manner in which the fish would be hooked.”

 

[PennKev]

People are fishing for fun, catching fish is fun. If the length of their leader, or a few split shot or whatever ruins it for you that's your problem. Also, perhaps the internet is not the place for you. There's lot of terrible things on here that will insult your narrow perspective of the world. Like thst fishbrain app.

 

[krayfish2]

I'll be the guy who's brutally honest.....
You need to learn how to cast a fly rod. It's not that difficult. You don't need to be 6'6", powerlifter strong or anything else. Proper mechanics, understanding what the line does during the cast and timing.

 

[dudemanspecial]

To add to what Krayfish said, if you cannot cast a regular fly line you will never cast a mono rig effectively.

The following advice is based off of my own personal experiences......

Take a step back. Fish with your regular 5w line. If you want to nymph, learn how to do it with a single nymph and split shot. If you are having trouble understanding your drift I recommend a small, lightweight indicator - not for strike indication so much as to let you know what your flies are doing under the water. Figure that out and then expand to a double nymph rig. Then try a longer leader. Then when you feel like you can catch fish but want more, move to more indepth techniques like mono rigs. Learn to walk before you run. Odds are you will enjoy walking and never need to run.

 

[jifigz]

I once took a guy flyfishing for bass on the Juniata. He showed up wearing waders, a buff/sun screen thing, hat, glasses, etc, etc. I was wearing flip flops and old shorts looking like a river-billy. Well, I soon learned this guy couldn't cast a fly rod to save his life. He had talked like he was a pro. Well, I think he was a euro-nympher and a euro-nympher only. He really didn't know how to fly fish because he couldn't adapt.

Fish how you wanna fish, do what makes you happy. I have never eruo-nymphed, so to speak, but I do love nymphing and use a variety of tactics to make it work for me. Just don't be a "one-trick pony."

 

[GeneBeam]

Your missed my whole point, which was that fly fishing is and should be about fun and not about catching fish, but being out of doors and having fun seeing scenery.

Also you don’t know much about Euro nymphing because it is competition fishing, which was my main point, and they don’t allow split shot when Euro nymphing. Euro nymphing is all about fishing competition, which was my main point. I do use drip shot when fishing sometimes.

Also I think I’m pretty good at casting a fly rod, most of my rod are bamboo or fiber glass because when I started to learn to fly fish, I needed to feel the back cast in my right hand. As most of the lessons I took when learning to fly casting they told me that you can look back over your right shoulder and see your rod loading. I can’t do that because I’m blinded in my right eye. I needed to learn to cast a fly rod by feel along and I think I’m pretty good at it.

I also to learned to shoot a shotgun both right and left-handed and do pretty good at sporting clays both right and left handed, I also learned to hunt both right and left-handed with a rifle, but mostly right-handed because I’m naturally right-handed. I never learned to bow hunt left-handed but did pretty good bow hunting right-handed.

My whole point was if you want to call it tight ling fly fishing with a leader less than 18’ leader I have no problem with that but to me Euro nymphing is competition fishing and that was the problem I have.

 

[coyoterahn]

Interesting……as jifigz said, have fun doing whatever you like to do….and call it whatever you want to call it.

To: a23fish—- keep at it. You’ll figure it out. Some good advice from some of the posters above. Check out some of George Danials videos on YouTube. You’ll find some good advice there also. Good luck and don’t get discouraged. We all get skunked. Especially When just getting started.

 

[afishinado]

1. Casting is enormously different. I expected this and took a while to make adjustments. I got marginally better, but still couldn't put the flies where I wanted about 3/4 of the time. For perspective, when I'm casting with my normal fly line I can't put the flies where I want them about 1/2 of the time.

As others above have posted, I also suggest you work on your casting and other skills first before trying to tight-line nymph.

Making things more difficult, a mono rig can be cast best with a 2 or 3wt nymph rod with a light tip to load the rod without the weight of flyline.

Fishing a traditional fly rod with mono line makes it no fun at all to try to cast.

Suggest you use an floating indicator to nymph and keep working on your casting, reading the water, mending, getting a good drift, etc.

Your frustration will subside.

And who knows......you may actually catch a few fish and have fun doing it.

Good luck.

 

[joebamboo]

Euro nymphing/tightline nymphing, same thing. One can use any fly rod to do either! I too have issues with competition fishing!

I find it amusing watching bass tournaments where the contestant is on a boat with a dozen rigged rods while wearing flip flops!

 

[Fish Sticks]

Do what you enjoy, how you fish does not have to fit into anyone else’s comfort zone as long as its legal who cares. If this was 100 years ago we would be saying a nymph attached to any type/length of line is blasphemy. In 100 years it will be something else.

I try to reserve criticism of what people and organizations are doing or not doing and the associated consequences of this for the conservation arena because in the grand scheme how someone fishes or thinks of how i fish is in consequential to me personally.

However, i have made the observation that a lot of times people who are critical of how someone puts a hook in a fishes mouth are really focused on whats attached to that hook and make comments on the skill required, or “morals” or some other aspect of it. Its just funny how the fish itself is so often left out of the discussion of the morals and merits of the sport.

My personal view is it is comical how people label anglers who include tight-lining with a mono rig in their bag of tricks as supposed talentless hacks but then these “purists” consider chasing someones aquatic pets that are fed purina cat chow out of donny beavers hand to be the pinnacle of the sport. I would get zero flack for posting a huge wild or stocked brown or rainbow trout that ate its weight in kibbles and bits as long as It wasn’t on a mono rig. Now hey i don’t criticize how people fish or what they enjoy but for those who do self appoint them selves as the fips-mouche of morals and merits I’m just saying there are a lot of stocked/pet/club fish involved that will eat a fly attached to anything.

 

[bdhoover77]

Most of my fishing has been using the tightline method. But I am decidedly not a fan of the mono rig. I prefer casting and handling a fly line instead of mono or even a level Euro-specific line. After reading Dave Rothrock’s posts on The Ranting Angler, I went with a Cortland spring creek fly line and a 10-12’ leader. It has been much more effective for me than trying to cast a longer leader or all mono system.

I agree with the idea that you do whatever method you prefer, provided it is within the rules and regulations.

 

[Nymph-wristed]

Instead of letting everyone poo poo a VERY effective tool, I would say one on one instruction with someone will flatten that curve in no time. Save your money and hire a guide for half the day. If you are in SEPA, send me a PM, and I would take you out this spring. Not as a guide, just as proponent of the technique who had others help me and likes to teach others and share my success with it....

 

[Schaefer406]

Euro Nymphing and Tightline Nymphing are the same thing - the only difference is Euro Nymphing relies on your flies as weight, whereas tightline systems can have the addition of split shot, etc. to your leader. I noticed you stated that you are having trouble casting - as many other members have suggested, you need to practice your casting with a normal fly line before mono. Mono is difficult to cast, especially given windy conditions and if you are using lighter nymphs on a longer rod. As for you stating that you felt you were "following" your flies, you likely were fishing too fast of water thus allowing your flies to quicky flow down and not sink to proper depth. It also may be that you were using too light of flies that weren't sinking down into the strike zone - which is often the most productive zone for fish feeding close to the bottom where the current slows down. I would suggest you start off mastering using a WF floating line with an indicator for nymphing, then proceed to the mono rig. You can also investigate a "long-line" nymphing system, which is what Joe Humphreys uses and has written about.

Don't let the "Euro-Craze" captivate you too much as it is only one nymphing technique in a wide array of them. It is often very effective, but is also often not very effective. I run a mono rig a lot of the times, but I also find myself adding an indicator to my tightline system, and I even remove my mono rig and put on a regular tapered leader with my fly line depending on the situation.

I also strongly second Nymph-Wristed's suggestion of obtaining one-on-one instruction on the technique. This will really flatten the learning curve, and help you understand what waters to look for, and when you need to not use your mono-rig. Best of luck.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Instead of letting everyone poo poo a VERY effective tool, I would say one on one instruction with someone will flatten that curve in no time. Save your money and hire a guide for half the day. If you are in SEPA, send me a PM, and I would take you out this spring. Not as a guide, just as proponent of the technique who had others help me and likes to teach others and share my success with it....

Can you give me lessons on tight-lining? I suck at it. I'm also in SEPA.

 

[krayfish2]

To be clear, I meant no disrespect or ill will towards the original post.

It's like saying I enjoy playing golf but the only club I can hit is a sand wedge. Well it is important to have a good short game you also need to learn how to hit the rest of the clubs in the bag in order to be able to play the game as intended. What if the original poster wants to go streamer fishing or cast dry flies? A tight lining / euro nymphing /mono rig casting style is it going to be much benefit to him.

I'll be more than happy to learn you how to cast. If you live anywhere near me, shoot me a PM and let me know if you want to help.

 

[Tigereye]

I save my "experimenting/learning" for prime conditions and prime locations. Trying to learn a new technique in winter is a recipe for frustration.

You could be doing everything right but if the fish are sluggish or absent, you will never know what you are doing, right or wrong.

If you are new to fly fishing, my advice ( which is worth less than you are paying for it) is to focus on wet fly swing or dry flies first. You will learn line/ rod control and basic casting mechanics. If you are doing this at prime time and location, you will catch fish.

Later, as you master the basics, expand your horizons to indy nymphing. Much more visable and correlates closely with dry fly fishing, ie you are fishing in 2 dimensions rather than 3 as in euro.

I dont mean to make euronymphing mystical or solely for those with vast experience. However, learning it has a very steep learning curve.

Pesonally i have fly fished for >40 years and considered my self more than adequate. I have fished many states unguided and was succesful. I tried Euro a few years ago with minimal success. 3 years ago i booked a day with Dom Swentosky (Troutbitten). Learned more in 8 hours than i thought imaginable. I told him i didnt care if i caught a fish, teach me as if you were a marine DI. He did. I learned and caught a few fish.

After that day my confidence in the technique grew the more i fished it. Last year was undoubtedly one of the most succesfull years ive experienced. I still have lots of room for improvement.

If you want to short cut the learning curve, book a guide with the intention of plucking his/her brain for as much info as possible. Domenic is great.

Its a great sport that is really simple. The problem is, its not easy.