** NOTE ** This is the first installment of the Troutbitten Short Series covering drop shot nymphing. Find the full series HERE. -- -- -- -- -- -- The more time I spend on the water, the more I find new ways to use old ideas. I enjoy finding inspiration through...
** NOTE ** This is the ninth and final featured skill in the Troutbitten series, Nine Essential Skills for Tight Line and Euro Nymphing. You can find the overview, along with dedicated articles for each chapter and skill published HERE. -- -- -- -- -- -- So, at the...
The Troutbitten Podcast, Episode 5 is now available everywhere that you find and listen to your podcasts. ** Note ** The Podcast Player and links to your favorite providers appear below After hundreds of Troutbitten articles featuring the versatility of the Mono...
** NOTE ** This is the eighth featured skill in the Troutbitten series, Nine Essential Skills for Tight Line and Euro Nymphing. You can find the overview, along with dedicated articles for each chapter and skill as they publish HERE. -- -- -- -- -- -- In this series...
The tuck cast is a fly first entry. And it is the basic skill of tight lining. If you’re still lobbing, then stop it. And learn to cast. Because doing so opens up a world of new opportunities. And because a fly first entry sets up every necessary skill that follows . . .
For some reason, nymphing anglers seem to believe they’re getting wonderful drag free drifts on a tight line, just because the nymph disappears out of sight. But here’s the fact: If the line is tight and it’s crossing seams in any way, you are not dead drifting the nymph.
Angles and approach are critical . . .
Here’s an overview of the essential skills for tight line and euro nymphing. A good grasp and facility for these techniques prepares an angler for all the variations available on a tight line.
These skills are best learned in order, as none of them can be performed without the ones that precede it. So too, these are the steps taken in a single cast and drift, from beginning to end . . .
The critical tight liner’s skills must be learned up close before they can ever be performed at distance. There are no shortcuts.
Your next time out with a tight line, be mindful of your casting distance. Stay within two rod lengths and find a rhythm. If you feel like you have to fish further away, then you’re in the wrong water. Relocate, get close, and perfect your short game. Even for advanced anglers who can stick the landing at thirty-five feet, if the action is slow, fishing short is almost always the best solution. Get back to the basics and refine them . . .
Troutbitten leaders are now available in the Troutbitten Shop. These are hand tied leaders in four varieties: Harvey Dry Leader, Standard Mono Rig, Thin Mono Rig, and Micro-Thin Mono Rig. Standard Sighters are also available, and they include a Backing Barrel. The Full Mono Rig Kit contains each of the three Mono Rig leaders.
All Troutbitten leaders come on a three-inch spool, making long leader changes a breeze.
Here, finally, is a full breakdown on the design of my favorite leader. It’s built for versatility without compromising presentation. It’s a hybrid system with an answer for everything, ready for fishing nymphs on both a tight line and under an indy. It fishes streamers large and small, with every presentation style. It’s ready for dry dropper, wet flies, and it even casts single dry flies. All of these styles benefit greatly with a tight line advantage.
Anglers in contact are anglers in control. It’s fun and effective, because we know where the flies are, and we choose where they go next . . .