1st time Euro nymphing

[Swattie87]

I’m equally bad at all of the above. But I enjoy it all. So who cares what the method is, or what you call it. I’ve seen guys catch fish dragging a Sulphur dry from one bank to the other, and not on purpose.

I used to be really good at golf, and still am pretty good, but I almost can’t stand to play anymore. Guys from work want to go play an indoor sim round tomorrow after work. I told them I’d go, but only if there will be wings and beer involved. I’d much rather go fishing, and don’t require wings, or beer, to be convinced to go fishing.

 

[JimKennedy]

Strictly speaking, tight lining- euro-Czech and especially tenkara are a lot more traditional than what we now regard as traditional fly fishing.

Izaak Walton (bait) and his fishing buddy Charles Cotton (flies) both used a rod about 14 to 20 feet long and made of different kinds of strong wood. The line (braided horse tail hairs) is directly a fixed to the rod tip (like a tenkara).

Heavy as heck and almost impossible to cast. The idea was to extend the rod tip upstream from the fish and guide the fly (or night crawler in Walton’s case) down to the fish (like euro-tight line).

Then came greenheart rods, which were long and capable of holding a rudimentary reel. The rods had guides, but mainly for allowing big fish to make a run.

The big change came post Civil War when industrial precision met came from French Indochina (gulf of Tonkin, specifically) in a workshop in Easton, Pennsylvania. The split cane rod that emerged had a true handle, guides and a reel.

It was the split cane rods that made true casting (not lobbing and the occasional flip) part and parcel of the fly fishing experience.

The split cane revolution was a little more than 150 years ago. Meanwhile Aelon (Greek historian) wrote about guys fly fishing in Macedonia in the 350 AD period, using tackle that Walton and Cotton would have recognized.

Lob, flip and guide: 1520 years of fly fishing tradition.

Back cast, roll cast and double haul (traditional fly fishing): 150 years of tradition.

The point may be on my head, but numbers are on my side. Fly fishing is whatever you say it is, so long as you don’t fish with bait or spinners or plugs.

 

[dudemanspecial]

How did a post of a guy talking about struggling with something turn into a pissing match about what is or isn't fly fishing?

EDIT: I went back and reread everything. It's like a few of you are posting arguments to back up your stances that nobody is actually questioning. Geanbeam kinda went on a little tangent but that's it.

 

[wildtrout2]

How did a post of a guy talking about struggling with something turn into a pissing match about what is or isn't fly fishing?

It's how some folks deal with cabin fever.

 

[JimKennedy]

Why should an old man not answer a question with a question?

Also, get the George Daniels book. It’s a comprehensive look at how to for nymphing. And just keep estimating how deep the water is, then keep that much leader (plus a few inches) in the water. It’s all about keeping that fly right on the bottom. If you think about making a delicate dry fly presentation and translate that to doing the same thing on the bottom, you’ll get it and you’ll end up catching more trout and bigger trout.

Thanks to el dude-a-Reno for bringing the discussion back to helping a brother angler.

 

[a23fish]

Wow. I didn't realize my initial post would spark so much response.

First, let me say I appreciate all the offers to show and/teach me more about casting. I really do. I have had several fly club members and fellow anglers provide me with tips & demonstrations, attended a fly casting seminar, and even had a guide provide input on my casting. Needless to say, some of the advice was contradictory. However, I did pick up valuable information and realize I need to practice more, which happily coincides with fishing. Especially if the fish aren't very active. Basically, I'm still a beginner.

But I will continue to pursue my regular WF-style fly fishing and the tight-line approach. I appreciate all the advice to date, and will attempt to incorporate it into my fly fishing development.

Now, nobody get all ratcheted up about this topic. Go fishing instead.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

In the few instances implying a tight line system with sighter I wasn't very effective with it. It's definitely a massive change from indicator style fishing, at least for me. It was hard for me to track the sighter as I am much more used to looking for an indicator. I too had trouble getting my flies down. I will have to implement this method more so I can learn it to use it in the really fast and deep pockets where it would be impossible to fish with an indicator rig system. I am doing a Penns trip this year and after fishing it this past Dec I would like to fish some parts of it tight-line style (and hopefully get some dry fly action too).

I will say casting fundamentals don't really apply to this style of fishing as you are more so using the current to load your rig and flick it upstream. I wouldn't even consider what is done in any tight-line method to be casting. It would actually be easier for someone to start off tight-lining AND THEN progress to casting fundamentals for all other aspects of FF.

I wish I would have started off tight-lining and then graduated to more casting intensive styles of fishing. My problem in nymphing is that I like to bomb out casts and then pull in line like crazy to alleviate slack. Probably the most inefficient way to nymph put perhaps impressive to fire a nymph rig, bobber and all, 60 feet upstream. I call this long range nymphing. I don't even want to think of how many fish I missed or the fact that at those ranges I couldn't really even set into the fish.

For the record I am not trying to say that tight-line or methods similar to it aren't fishing or don't require skills, just again, casting fundamentals don't apply themselves too thoroughly.

Rods aren't everything but I casted a buddy's 9ft 5wt Orvis Encounter and found it to be pretty poor overall. It was heavy and clubby feeling.

 

[PennKev]

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.

This is a good idea, but it is also a good idea to make sure you and the guide are on the same page. Most guides have numbers/success as their first priority, even when the clients say otherwise. Make sure you find one that has a reputation as a teacher and also understands that is what you want.

 

[Tigereye]

Plugging Dominic here, i told him i didnt care if i caught a fish. I was there to learn. He was more than accomodating