The bite had slowed, and we were back to the technical fishing required to fool wild trout here, day after day. Mike stood upstream and to my right as he threw tight line tuck casts, mostly up and a little across. With the sun over our left shoulders, his angle of...
** 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...
** UPDATE ** After publishing this article, I've settled on as my current replacement recommendation for Red Amnesia. I still prefer Amnesia (and I have more than a dozen spools), but the Neon Fire...
Missed trout are most often the result of a bad hook set. Slow sets, bad angles and failing to set the hook are the reasons we say, “Ah . . . missed him again.” We call it missing a trout when we fail to convert a trout-eat into a hook in the jaw. The trout takes the...
The Lift and Lead is a cornerstone concept for advanced tight line nymphing skills.
Most euro nymphing or tight line studies seem to ignore the lift, focusing only on the concept of leading the flies downstream. For certain, the lift and lead is an advanced tactic. But if you’re having success on a tight line for a few seasons now, you’re probably already incorporating some of this without knowing it. And by considering both elements, by being deliberate with each part of the lift and lead, control over the course of your flies increases. The path is more predictable. And more trout eat the fly . . .
On a tight line rig, things are different. We keep line off the water — so it’s the rod tip that dictates the actions of the fly. Direct contact with the fly lends us ultimate control over every variable. With line off the water, it’s the rod tip that charts the course, the actions and all the movements of the streamer. And that . . . is a very big deal . . .
If you’re thinking about a new fly rod (and who isn’t), it’s helpful to understand the upside and downside of extra length. Whether your intentions for the new rod are tight line tactics, streamers, dries, or a versatile tool that can easily tackle all of these, the advantages and disadvantages of extra length in a fly rod are important to understand . . .
Leader length restrictions unnecessarily limit the common angler from taking full advantage of tight line systems. Such rules force the angler to compensate with different lines, rods and tactics. And none of it is as efficient as a long, pure Mono Rig that’s attached to a standard fly line on the reel. Here’s a deep dive on the limitations of using shorter leaders and comp or euro lines.
Using competition fishing standards for the average angler is extremely limiting. And following FIPS Mouche rules makes little sense for most dedicated fly fishers. (FIPS is the governing body for international competition.) Comp rules strip away too much of the versatility and efficiency offered by long leader systems in the first place . . .
A steady and balanced sighter is important from the beginning, because effective tight line drifts are short. But there’s one overlooked way to stabilize the sighter immediately — tuck the rod butt into the forearm.
Here’s how and why . . .