** NOTE ** This is the sixth installment of the Troutbitten Short Series covering drop shot nymphing. Find the full series HERE. -- -- -- -- -- -- I began this series on drop shot nymphing close to a year ago. And after five in-depth Troutbitten articles, I’ve...
** Note ** This is Part Three of a Troutbitten short series about what tight line anglers might be missing by following competition rules. You can find parts one and two here: What you're missing by following FIPS competition rules -- Part One What you're missing by...
I field a lot of questions about leaders and fly rods. Those two pieces of gear, along with fly choice, seem to make the top of the list for every angler. We all have our terms and conditions for comparing things like a fly rod. And one of the descriptions I find most...
** NOTE ** Links to each leader for sale, along with full descriptions, are listed below. And here's a direct link to the leader category in the Troutbitten Shop . . . BUY: Troutbitten | Category | Leaders On Friday, July 22 at 7:00 am, EST, all five leader varieties...
As the years pass, I’ve found a few refinements, I’ve learned a few advantages that lead me toward drop shot as the solution for more on-stream problems. It’s a tactic that has its place alongside all the other ways that I like to drift nymphs. Because the principles of dead drifting a nymph usually come down to imitating a natural drift as close as possible, but the methods for doing so are remarkably varied.
Every river scenario has a solution. And quite often, drop shotting is the perfect answer.
There’s a talent for combining all the essential techniques. Stitching them together seamlessly and flowing from one to the next takes a certain aptitude, and some intention.
Refine one through nine. Then time and again, you’ll see what you want to see. You’ll put it together. And you’ll say with confidence, “Now that was a great drift.”
After hundreds of Troutbitten articles featuring the versatility of the Mono Rig, now there’s a podcast. My friends Josh, Austin, Trevor and Bill join me to discuss how each of us fishes this hybrid rig as a complete fly fishing system, detailing the ultimate flexibility of this amazing tool.
The Troutbitten Mono Rig is a hybrid system for fishing all types of flies: nymphs (both tight line and indicator styles), streamers, dry-dropper, wets, and small dry flies. With twenty pound monofilament as a fly line substitute, better contact, control and strike detection are gained with the Mono Rig versus a traditional fly line approach. And yet, the casting here is still a fly line style cast. Ironically, it takes excellent fly casting skills to efficiently throw a Mono Rig.
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.
We fool a fish, and we fulfill the wish of every angler.
When the fish strikes, we strike back. Short, swift and effective, the hook finds fish flesh. Then we try to keep the trout buttoned and get it to the net.
In the next article, this series concludes with the focus on putting it all together . . .
A simple piece of Dacron, tied in a barrel, is a visible and sensitive addition to your tight line and euro nymphing rig. The versatile Backing Barrel serves as a stand-alone sighter, especially when tied with a one-inch tag. Better yet, it draws your eyes to the colored monofilament of any sighter and enhances visibility threefold. The Backing Barrel adds a third dimension of strike detection, with the Dacron flag just stiff enough to stand away from the line, but just soft enough to twitch upon even the most subtle takes . . .
Choosing a fly rod that’s perfect for the Mono Rig and euro nymphing starts with knowing your goals. How versatile do you want to be?
From the best all-around fly rod that’s ready to handle nymphs, streamers and more on a long leader, to specialized euro nymphing rods and dedicated streamer rods, here are my favorite tools for fishing the Mono Rig . . .