Balanced Nymphing Set-ups

[bradtheflyfisherman]

New to this whole tight-line euro-nymphing thing...have almost always used an indicator rig on a 9ft 5wt. Bought myself the Orvis Recon 10 ft 3 wt and a Taylor fly fishing Array 3-4 wt reel, which is quite small. I went and did some guided fishing and realized the tight-line nymphing rods we were using were either 10 or 11 ft and 4 wts, and had much larger reels - believe they were Hardy Ultralite® ASR in the 5/6 WT range - and these reels are larger too, much larger and likely heavier than my Taylor array 3/4 wt.

I now realize my reel is likely too small for a well balanced tight-line nymphing set-up, I need to get it out this weekend to see if it is balanced enough where I can comfortably hold the rod up for extended periods of time. I am fishing mostly medium sized streams and rivers - frequently Penns and Lehigh River and some smaller streams as well.

I am mostly just curious to get others opinions on how reel size and weight will affect fighting and landing fish - and should I opt for a larger, heavier reel. I don't believe the reel size/weight has much effect on casting, feeling bites, presentation, etc., but what do I know!?

Right now my Array has the Rio Euro-nymphing line on it as well, which seems to hold a lot of loops/ginks in it from being wrapped around the reel during storage...

 

[bigjohn58]

I had this with the 9' 4wt I built not too long ago. I originally had a 3/4wt reel on it and it just did not balance out the rod. I bought the same reel in a 5/6wt and what a difference! I'm definitely not a fan of small fly reels. Even on my 2wt I ended up putting a 3/4wt on it. Smaller the reel the more memory your line will have.

 

[ryguyfi]

First off, the reel you have should have no problems landing fish. Rarely are you even going to use a drag, but even on a 20"+ trout all modern day drag systems should be just fine.

I honestly think balance is only important in euro nymphing because you have your arm in the air all day long. If the rod is heavy then the tip will be weighing you down through a long day of nymphing. I say try it first and if you feel your rod is seeming too heavy then get a 5/6 weight reel and see if that balances better. Reels for trout fishing are mere line holders for 99% of the time you are using them.

In regard to the memory on your fly line, what leader set up do you have? If you haven't done research on a euro nymph leader then make sure you do, it makes things night and day when using that technique. Reason I say that is most of those leaders are approx 20 feet long so you're not really even using your fly line.

 

[timbow]

Your reel is fine. If you want to balance it you can pick up some braided lead core and spool it under your backing.

As to the coils, stretch it at the beginning of the day and it should be fine all day unless it's really cold out. In that case, you may need to stretch it more often.

 

[bradtheflyfisherman]

Thanks for the replies...I think I'm going to try the smaller reel and see how it feels, and then use my other 5/6 wt Sage reel I have as a back-up.

For the line set-up, I have the very thin Rio Euro Nymphing line...then tied directly to a Rio Euro nymph leader, then attach 4-5 ft of 4x tippet to the sighter, leading down to my fly rig...more of just a tight line nymphing set-up rather than a specific euro nymphing rig.

Might cut off the Rio leader though, as I bought my own sighter material and would like to be able to adjust things as needed. Any idea of what I should use between the Rio Euro nymph line and the sighter? A stiffer tippet? or something like Rio SuppleFlex?

 

[timbow]

Here's my leader setup (for euro lines).
10' of 20lb Maxima Chameleon
3' 12lb yellow stren
18" 0.012 bi-color sighter
tippet

 

[ryguyfi]

I did a bunch of research and ended up using a leader close to this one. I've only been out for about an hour with it but like it so far. We will see later in the season. https://troutbitten.com/2016/01/13/tight-line-nymph-rig/

 

[bradtheflyfisherman]

Thanks fellas - extremely helpful.

 

[Van_Cleaver]

I recently bought a 10' Euro style nymphing rod. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to really use it as my home waters are fairly small and an 8.5' is easily enough. Despite being 4 pc. the rod is only 3 oz. so when paired with an older (but quality) Lamson the balance point was way out front. I dug up an old Plueger Medalist and greased and tweaked it a little. Despite not being as smooth as the Lamson the extra oz. or so brought the balance point to the front of the grip so I'm fairly confident I can wield it all day.

 

[pratt]

I fish a G Loomis GLX max czech nymphing rod (10' 4 wt.) and have it paired with a Lamson Guru 1.5 (which is for 4 wt line). that reel balances that rod really well. For me, the reel on this setup is really just about balancing the rig so you don't go home with a sore shoulder from tight-lining all day (which you may still!). The rod itself has a stiff enough backbone that I rarely need to use the reel to bring a fish in ~ and I've caught some nice sized fish in moving water.

tight lines (literally

 

[bradtheflyfisherman]

Well I broke it out Saturday and hauled in plenty of fish with it. Had a couple knots break on me which is my own fault. The Orvis Recon 10 ft 3 wt is quite a light rod IMO compared to some larger nymphing rods I've used in the past, and my 3 wt reel worked just fine. Had to fix my Taylor reel drag though at a couple points, some of those big Lehigh River browns were smacking my stoneflies and taking off right into heavy current, and with too tight of a drag would snap my line almost immediately. Once I tweaked everything I was able to successfully land a few larger fish after putting up a couple good fights! Might experiment with a larger reel at some point as well.

 

[jacob]

I use an 11ft 4wt cabelas czn and had the same initial issues with balancing it. I ended up getting a 5/6 wt reel and it balances better than it did before- I found with the rio euro line being so thin that I’m gonna have to put another 100 yards of backing to fill the spool cuz 100 yards and the line only fills it half way.

If you haven’t already, I highly suggest checking out the film “modern nymphing.” It really shortened the learning curve and has some great tips. I think they are releasing a part 2 of it as well. Also George Daniels dynamic nymphing book looks awesome. I haven’t gottten it yet but plan to.

 

[jacob]

Also, Brad I am in Conshy too. We should hit the river sometime.

 

[bradtheflyfisherman]

Definitely need to get myself a copy of modern nymphing. I do have George Daniel's book as well which is extremely useful.

Hit me up in the summer - I'll usually kayak up from under the Conshy bridge to the tiny island above and throw streamers for smallies. Always looking for fishing buddies as all mine are back in western PA.

 

[jacob]

Aye I know where you are talking about- there is a nice hole there. I fish the west bank of that area pretty frequently. Haven’t gotten my yak out on the skuke yet and I’ve lived in Conshy 2 years now, but I plan to do a lot of warm water fishing this year. There is some nice water up above that in and around the turnpike bridge too.

 

[Number6]

Brad, I've got the same rod and find 7 1/4 - 7 3/8 balances it quite well. That's reel+line+backing.
Hope that helps.

 

[tracker12]

I have the same rod in a 4 Wt and have a Landon lite speed on it. Balances ver nicely. I also have the Rio nymph line. Fished the last couple days on spring with a euro nymph guru. He had me set up with around 3 1/2 ‘ of 4# Floro. Tie in dropper and fly. Another 15 tie stopper and fly. Another 15” and point fly. The orand end of the Rio is your sighted.