Season Two concludes with a round table discussion for answering the most common questions about tight line and euro nymphing skills. My full panel of friends, Austin, Bill, Trevor and Josh join me to get deep in the weeds of the tactics, to clear up misconceptions, and offer their own ideas.

Here we are at the finish line. In this ninth installment of this Troutbitten Skills Series, my friend, Austin Dando, and I walk through some of the best tips for putting it all together. Because this set of skills, performed in order and flowing from one to the next, results in a great drift that starts and finishes with a convincing, trout-catching presentation.

The strike is the best part of fishing. It’s what we’re all out there waiting for, or rather, what we’re trying to make happen all day long. And the trout eats because we get so many things right. When the fish strikes, we strike back. Short, swift and effective, the hook finds flesh. Then we try to keep the trout buttoned up, and get it to the net . . .

Guiding the flies is a blend of two skills called leading and tracking. At the core, this skill of guiding the flies is fishing the flies. And this is what anglers tend to focus on most — for good reason. It’s the longest in duration. It’s the most active, and has the most room for variation.

In truth, there are number of ways to dead drift nymphs through one seam. And the choices we make are about how much influence we want to have on the flies. A leading approach puts the angler in charge, and a tracking approach let’s the river dictate the course of the flies. Guiding the flies is an effort to mix the two . . .

Unlocking this knowledge — understanding the strike zone — and then finding it and drifting your flies there, is perhaps the most pivotal moment in your nymphing skills progression. It changes everything.

Most of what happens in a river occurs in the strike zone. It’s where the trout spent most of their time. It’s where the bugs and baitfish live. And understanding everything about the strike zone allows us to know exactly how and where we want to present the nymph . . .

Contact is visual. It’s about reading the sighter to know that we are in touch with the flies from rod tip to the nymph or split shot. It’s not about touching or ticking the riverbed. Instead, the contact we’re looking for is seen on the sighter.

With contact, we know everything about the depth and speed of our flies. We know where they are, and we determine where they are going. That’s the advantage of a tight line (contact) nymphing system . . .