** NOTE ** Video for Hook Sets appears below Setting the hooks is the most exciting part of the day. For all the time we spend planning, prepping, wading, tying, casting and drifting, it's all in anticipation of that brief moment when a trout eats the fly. You fooled...
** NOTE ** Video for The Dorsey Yarn Indictor appears below For over a decade, my Troutbitten friends and I have fished a small yarn indicator that weighs nothing, is extremely sensitive, versatile, cheap, doesn't affect the cast, and flat out catches more trout than...
** NOTE ** Video for the Golden Ratio appears below There are two parts about the path of a dead-drifted nymph that matter most. The fly should stay in just one lane, and it should travel at the natural speed of the target zone. On a tight line system, both of these...
** NOTE ** Video for the Lift and Lead appears below. Also, please find the full Lift and Lead article that introduces this one. There you'll find a full breakdown of the concept, along with diagrams. READ: Troutbitten | Tight Line and Euro Nymphing -- The Lift and...
But, what about that pretty magazine pose? What about those videos of nymph fishermen with their arms high and extended, reaching the fly rod out to maximum length? It’s silly. It’s unnecessary. And it won’t last for long.
Reaching is an unsustainable body position at any age. Reaching the arm takes power from the forward cast. And by keeping the elbow in a natural and relaxed position, casting accuracy and delivery options improve dramatically . . .
There are no flying fish in Montana, not in Pennsylvania, and not anywhere. Norman Maclean’s line in A River Runs Through It sums this up:
“One reason Paul caught more fish than anyone else was that he had his flies in the water more than anyone else. “Brother,” he would say, “there are no flying fish in Montana. Out here, you can’t catch fish with your flies in the air.”
And yet, anglers everywhere love the false cast. I daresay most fly fishers spend more time setting up their fly for the next drift than actually drifting it — exactly Paul’s point.
The most effective anglers are the most efficient. So they spend double, triple or a lot more time with their fly FISHING the water instead of casting in the air above it. And inevitably, these anglers catch more trout — a lot more trout . . .
In short, turnover gives us freedom to choose what happens with the line that’s tethered to the fly. How does the tippet and leader land? With contact or with slack? And where does it land? In the seam and partnered with the fly, or in an adjacent current? By having mastery of turnover, we dictate the positioning of not just the fly, but the leader itself. And nothing could be more important . . .
Classic upstream nymphing feels a lot like fishing dry flies. The challenge of making precision casts is there; it can be employed at extra distance if necessary, and it’s most often performed with tight loops and light flies than don’t change the cast.
While pure tight line nymphing is performed with no line on the water, classic upstream nymphing does the opposite.
Then there’s the induced take and floating the sighter . . .
Extra thin leaders can be a great tool for the tight line nymphing angler. Sag, power, sensitivity, accuracy, and versatility. These are the elements to consider.
Here’s an in-depth look at some nymphing challenges and how extra thin leaders meet or miss the objectives . . .
This is the direct advantage of knowing your weights. Fly changes become more deliberate and less experimental. Efficiency improves, as does your confidence to read water and the ability to fish it well.
Knowing your weights and measures is about understanding how to balance the elements of your fishing rig. It’s a give and take. But it’s up to you to first know what is being balanced. It’s the design of the leader, the weight of the flies, material resistance and distance. Put numbers to these things, and know your stats . . .