Going down the rabbit hole...and loving it!

[silverfox]

I went down the rabbit hole and climbed back out.

It's probably the single most effective way to drag fish on the bank if that's the primary goal. I bought the long twig, strung it up with 3 miles of mono, and dredged boat anchors for a while. It's incredible how effective it can be.

I was never much for counting fish though. I lose track after about 5. Some of the best days of "fishing" I've had were probably pretty low on numbers to the net but had everything else going for them.

To each his own though, and if you enjoy it, pursue it.

I agree w/ lyco about drop-shotting as you're not tied to the fly weight or tying 15 variations of each fly at different sizes + weights and you don't have to constantly change fly size to adjust for water depth. Slide some lead off or crimp some lead on and you're good to go.

 

[JoeE]

it all depends what you want out of life! I'll take the dry flies any day but will not knock the euro nymphing.

 

[greenghost]

A good nympher will kick the $h!t out of a dry fly guy nearly every day. No question about that. And nymphing takes its own unique set of skills to become adept.

I was taught to nymph by Humphreys at PSU. When I was younger, I nymphed all the time, became good at it, and caught a lot of fish. But it took a lot of work--adjusting flies, weights, wading into tight-line position, etc. The ultimate compliment I received was while fishing Yellow Breeches behind Allenberry Playhouse. The stream was packed as usual and nobody was catching anything except me. I was nailing them on a simple green caddis nymph, rolled on the bottom in faster water. Someone asked if I was a local because I knew where the fish were hiding. lol

All that being said...

These days, I don't care about catching tons of fish. And maybe I'm just getting lazy and soft. But I'd rather fish with dries. I'm weary of the work it takes to become good at it. I'm tired of constantly snagging bottom, adjusting weights, losing flies, setting the hook on every bump. I only nymph when nothing else works.

So you guys go ahead and Euro-tight-line-drop-shot your brains out. I vote to float.

 

[RLeep2]

>>So, if you fish nymphs without an indicator, and you're not "euro" nymphing, what is the name for that?>>

Artifact. I know because I are one too...

Mostly because I didn't know any better, I taught myself to no-indicator nymph with a 6" Fenwick glass rod on one of the most miserable and contrary wild brown trout streams I know of anywhere. I eventually got the hang of it and started doing well, but it took a while. After that though, once I got longer rods and started going to other streams, everything was that much easier.


I guess it's true what they say about what doesn't kill us makes us stronger..

 

[McSneek]

greenghost wrote:

These days, I don't care about catching tons of fish. And maybe I'm just getting lazy and soft. But I'd rather fish with dries. I'm weary of the work it takes to become good at it. I'm tired of constantly snagging bottom, adjusting weights, losing flies, setting the hook on every bump. I only nymph when nothing else works.

Same

 

[nomad_archer]

I'm way way way way down that rabbit hole and it's a good time. I have invested in a specialized high end stick for the endeavor and while not necessary it has quickly become a joy to fish with the specialized equipment.

That said I have found simplifying my fly selection has helped keep it simple. You can tie lots of "euro" patterns but I have found that any nymphs will work. You can also add shot to the leader and still be effective. I have found more success being semi in contact with the nymphs suspended in the foot or so from the bottom rather than full contact dredging the bottom.

My latest obsession is fishing dry dropper on a euro rig. Its rather effective.

Full disclosure I learned to indicator nymph then switched to more the euro techniques and caught a lot of fish. I am slowly working backwards to learn to fish dry droppers and dries and eventually streamers to become well rounded. The main reason for this is situationally there are times where euro nymphing isn't the best approach and I want to be prepared for those times.

Unlike some of the other comments here, I like catching lots of fish. Euro nymphing has forced me to become a better angler because you need to focus on where the fish are and getting the flies to them. In turn, I sometimes catch quite a few fish. I don't keep count but euro and dry dropper techniques on a euro setup has resulted in me catching lots 'o fish the past few years. It's fun for me and welcome to to the party.

 

[wgmiller]

silverfox wrote:
I was never much for counting fish though. I lose track after about 5. Some of the best days of "fishing" I've had were probably pretty low on numbers to the net but had everything else going for them.

This is something that I have wrestled with, because for me at least, a big part of fly fishing is escaping from reality and enjoying time in nature. It's never been about numbers (after the first one at least :-D ), so whether I catch one or 31, it doesn't really matter. I've never really seen the merit in bragging about numbers, because if that's all your focused on, then I think you're missing the bigger picture. That being said, making my time on the water more productive is a good thing.

I should clarify that I don't plan on going deep down the rabbit hole when it comes to the "Euro" game. By that I mean tying a particular size fly with five different bead weights. For me I'm keeping it simple in the sense that if I'm too heavy or too light, I'll change to a smaller or bigger fly, respectively. That too me is keeping it simple, although it may go against true "Euro" nymphing principles.

It's been interesting to see everyone's take on how they like to fish. As we all know, there is no "one size fits all" template and we often change tactics and techniques through the years.

Tight lines!

 

[troutbert]

There are other ways to fish nymphs than 1) floating indicator nymphing or 2) euro short tight line contact bottom bouncing nymphing.

Picture this scenario.

You're fishing with a dry fly, and trout aren't taking it. Maybe the water is too high and cold, the insects aren't active, etc.

You snip off the dry fly, and tie on a weighted nymph. Cast it upstream at about a 45 degree angle, drift it down through good looking spots.

That's it. No need for an indicator, no need for specialized rod, reel, line, or leader.

And you aren't locked into fishing a close, short, tight line. You usually fish the water close to you first, with a short line, but then you gradually pull more line out, to cover the water further out.

This is not "bottom-bouncing" the nymph. It's more like "swimming" the nymph.

You just cast up and across and drift it down through, trying to get a drag-free float as long as possible. People fish wet flies and bait the same way, and have for a long time.

It's a very enjoyable way to fish.

 

[jifigz]

Troutbert, I've fished nymphs like that lots of times.

I, too, don't care about numbers. I don't really care about size of fish. I just like getting out and exploring and fishing different waters with different approaches.

 

[afishinado]

troutbert wrote:
There are other ways to fish nymphs than 1) floating indicator nymphing or 2) euro short tight line contact bottom bouncing nymphing.

Picture this scenario.

You're fishing with a dry fly, and trout aren't taking it. Maybe the water is too high and cold, the insects aren't active, etc.

You snip off the dry fly, and tie on a weighted nymph. Cast it upstream at about a 45 degree angle, drift it down through good looking spots.

That's it. No need for an indicator, no need for specialized rod, reel, line, or leader.

And you aren't locked into fishing a close, short, tight line. You usually fish the water close to you first, with a short line, but then you gradually pull more line out, to cover the water further out.

This is not "bottom-bouncing" the nymph. It's more like "swimming" the nymph.

You just cast up and across and drift it down through, trying to get a drag-free float as long as possible. People fish wet flies and bait the same way, and have for a long time.

It's a very enjoyable way to fish.

Good post by TB.

It ain't rocket science; FFers have been fishing for a long time using the techniques described above.

And you don't need specialized tackle or flies.

Also, I don't consider tight-line nymphing as going down a "rabbit hole" unless of course that's all you do. I consider it one more option as a way to FF at the time.

I also try to remain versatile. I've developed a hybrid type of rigging to allow me to easily change over to any type of FFing using dries, nymphs, wets or streamers.

 

[larkmark]

First rule of Euronymphing...
You must refer to your fly rod as a "stick".

 

[hooker-of-men]

Can we get an illustrated guide to the hat taxonomy, though? Would be a solid thread.

 

[LetortAngler]

I have for the last few years and it’s improved my tight-line tactics for sure. But what I like most about the whole euro style is the tungsten beaded slim bodied fly patterns that have come out as a result. Truly in a class of their own in terms of performance. Euro nymphing can be as effective as most other types of nymphing strategies (Long-Line, Indi, or Drop-Shotting.) But, where I think it truly excels and is a bit better than the other methods is in faster riffles and pocket water. Im at the point where I always carry two spools with me - one for tight line tactics spooled with DT or Mono line, and another spool with WF fly line for everything else.

So, I recently had a discussion about the development and origin of euro style nymphing with one of its leading authorities, as I’m of the belief that the method was used long before the mid 2000s which is what is often claimed.

What I was told is “In the U.S., everyone used split shot and sighters didn’t exist” Interesting. Did everyone use split shot when Nymphing up until early 2000s? Was there no sighter material built within the leaders?

So after digging around I found a Fly Fisherman 1989 June issue that had an article by George Anderson called “Getting Started Nymphing”. He mentions the use of long rods (9’), fine tippets, fluorescent mono built within the leader as a “indicator”, casts no longer than 30’ with short drifts on a tight line system, and weighting the FLY instead of using split shot. Would that not be considered Euro-Nymphing today? I think so.

 

[JeffK]

I collect antique fishing tackle and like to swing flies with those really old 11' to 12' calcutta cane rods from 1900 more or less. The old silk lines that come with the attached reels commonly had colored silk bands along the last few feet of the line that I only could guess were to gauge depth like an indicator.. Tried using the marks to set depth with heavy wets over a rocky patch that snagged a lot of weighted nymphs, and guess what - I could control the depth so that I caught fish and didn't hang up. I think colored indicators have been around as long as fishermen have been trying to fish near the bottom without hanging up.