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Post by jonbo on Jun 8, 2021 12:07:48 GMT -6
This is to sort of complement my fishing report above where I admit it's been a poor year for me, fish-catching-wise. Really poor, actually. For the past season and a half, maybe two, I've been more or less committed to the euro-nymph or modern tight-line system. You know, with the in-line 'sighter", the super long leader or else euro-line so it doesn't sag in the guides, trying to maintain contact with the bait, fishing right in front of your rod-tip, etc. It just hasn't worked out well for me. Maybe I'm not able to fish often enough (10-12 times a year) to get proficient. I don't know, but I've just never have gotten as comfortable as I'd like to be. Especially, I'm just not getting good results. I don't know how often I've fished pockets on SC, the Rockpile Run, the run just below the EH Bridge, all to no avail. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, exactly. Mainly, I'm just not confident at a given time that I know where my flies are. I generally know I'm reaching bottom when I hang up on it. That's not too satisfying to me. One of the advantages of this system is supposed to be that you DO know where your flies are in the column. In any case, trying to learn to euro-nymph in a fairly committed way seems to have resulted for me in quite fewer fish caught than more.
Another complaint I have about the system is, it's hard to switch from it to another style. I like to start swinging, stripping, a soft hackle when I see fish becoming active and stuff coming off the surface. Or I might want to try a small streamer. I've tried a bunch of euro-type rigs now. I can't find one where switching over is not quite tedious. When I bobber nymph, I use the same leader, sometimes tippet, for almost everything. If I really decide to streamer fish I'll usually switch to a 2x or 3x tippet, but it's an easy switch. Not so with the super-complicated euro set-up.
Anyway, I think I'm going to hang up my beret and cigarette holder for now. I got a new zealand indicator system for my birthday a while back. I finna try that!
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Post by turfdawg on Jun 8, 2021 18:43:16 GMT -6
Different strokes for different folks. Plenty of ways to catch fish. Do what you enjoy doing.
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Post by dannys on Jun 9, 2021 1:09:38 GMT -6
I like the beret and cigarette holder comment. I never tried Euro and doubt I ever will--mainly for the "easy switch reason" but also because I just don't want to learn another method. Too set in my ways I guess. I also like swinging soft hackles or going to mergers just below the surface. Like Turfdawg said--different strokes for different folks; and more importantly--"do what you enjoy doing." I'll take the latter any day.
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Post by jonbo on Jun 9, 2021 6:43:51 GMT -6
I also have to face the possibility that I just suck! Yeah, but for me, it's just been to complicated and I don't seem to get the time on the river to get comfortable. On the Facebook "euro" sites (Bill knows the ones), a lot of the big fans of the system, I'm pretty sure they spend at least once a week on the water. As Bill said, "To each they own"! But yeah, for me, one of the main things is if I'm bobber nymphing I can switch to another method quickly. Dannys, the beret remark I can't really take credit for. We were making jokes like that on a thread a couple of seasons ago.
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Post by golferjeff on Jun 10, 2021 14:52:11 GMT -6
So Jon, what are you going to sell?? I Might be interested  |
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Post by jonbo on Jun 10, 2021 18:57:45 GMT -6
Well, I might not be selling anything. The part I left out of my woeful tale is that the rod I've been using is a Recon, the old model. Now this is an excellent rod for most traditional methods. I really like it for that. It kind of blows chunks, though, I've found, for tight-lining. Not-very-sensitive. I think Bill tried to gently warn me. I didn't take the hint. Should of. So I'm probably going to keep it and just fish more traditionally with it.
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Post by breeden3 on Jun 11, 2021 10:07:44 GMT -6
If you are really wanting to learn to Euro-nymph, you should just splurge and book a trip! I don’t really do a whole lot of Euro anymore but I can teach you. What I would really recommend is book a trip with BBFS guide Stephen Ruiz. He is a master at Euro-nymphing and will get you up to speed.
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Post by darrelln09 on Jun 11, 2021 17:42:14 GMT -6
I have a 3-wt rod set up for euro nymphing and a 5-wt rod for everything else. I have fished dry flies with my euro rod with okay results but generally, I just switch rods. Normally, I look at the water and decide which rod to start out with. If it's narrow and fast, I go with the 3-wt. If it's slower water or I see rising fish, I go with the 5-wt.
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Post by mirvc17 on Jun 11, 2021 18:41:02 GMT -6
Euro Nymphing is boring. End of story. 😂 Lob, catch a fish…repeat….yawn….
But really, how about some real casting …you know, like the fly line? …that delivers the flies…to the fish?
*grenade dropped*
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Post by darrelln09 on Jun 11, 2021 18:58:31 GMT -6
Euro Nymphing is boring. End of story. 😂 Lob, catch a fish…repeat….yawn…. But really, how about some real casting …you know, like the fly line? …that delivers the flies…to the fish? *grenade dropped* I don't find Euro Nymphing all that boring. Catching 20 stockers in an hour or so, many on the tail-end "swing" is not boring for me. Neither is catching a dozen stream-born McCloud Redbands in a morning at six different pools. However, I really enjoy casting dry flies/emergers (upstream of course) into faster water. I love nothing better than to see those takes. What I find boring (tiring maybe) is steamer fishing. Cast, cast, cast, cast, cast, cast, cast, strip, strip, strip, strip, strip, strip, strip, strip ... repeat ... ugh. *grenade tossed back at ya* |
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Post by FlyAndStream on Jun 11, 2021 21:38:52 GMT -6
Even tho mono/euro is often my go-to method of catching fish, I view it as one of many tools and ways I like to catch fish. On a given day I may: euro/tightline, dry-dropper, emerges and midges under a bobber, steamers fish, or just plain swing some trash and see what sticks.
In these matters, I personally feel it isn’t an either/or, but rather what you enjoy doing – catch fish on your terms and no one else’s. For me, this comes down to situationally, and I want to be proficient in any scenario or presentation, that’s why I don’t mind spending time to learn them all.
Gear does play a significant part though. I often hear people say I tried euro but they do not even own a specialized rod, which is like saying I spey with my 9’ 5wt – it’s just non-sensical. Having the right setup for the application makes a world of difference, then it comes down to experience which can only be won through trial and error of time spent on the water – to which there really aren’t shortcuts.
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Post by turfdawg on Jun 12, 2021 7:24:56 GMT -6
Well, I might not be selling anything. The part I left out of my woeful tale is that the rod I've been using is a Recon, the old model. Now this is an excellent rod for most traditional methods. I really like it for that. It kind of blows chunks, though, I've found, for tight-lining. Not-very-sensitive. I think Bill tried to gently warn me. I didn't take the hint. Should of. So I'm probably going to keep it and just fish more traditionally with it. Actually I feel kind of bad now because I think I actually talked you into that rod. I did say that it isn’t as sensitive as some other rods but I really liked the way it cast and weights. I guess I’m kind of different because I go by the sighter more than feel unless I’m using heavy flies. I actually used that same rod a couple weeks ago for a few hours. In my opinion my T&T Contact 10’ 3wt blows away any rod I’ve used, including the Sage ESN, but I still like that Recon better than a lot of the other rods I’ve used. But then again I like Licorice jelly beans also lol |
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Post by turfdawg on Jun 12, 2021 7:37:43 GMT -6
If you are really wanting to learn to Euro-nymph, you should just splurge and book a trip! I don’t really do a whole lot of Euro anymore but I can teach you. What I would really recommend is book a trip with BBFS guide Stephen Ruiz. He is a master at Euro-nymphing and will get you up to speed. X’s 100 on getting Stephen to take you out if you’re interested in learning the “euro “ style. You know you are pretty dang good when you can land a huge Brown while Devon Olsen is your net man on his home water |
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Post by mirvc17 on Jun 12, 2021 8:19:46 GMT -6
I am just kidding around when I bash Euro….
I often do what Aaron does…switch methods if it makes sense or I want to try something different…
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Post by turfdawg on Jun 12, 2021 14:41:53 GMT -6
I am just kidding around when I bash Euro…. I often do what Aaron does…switch methods if it makes sense or I want to try something different… Dude we all know you’re a closet euro freak |
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Post by jonbo on Jun 14, 2021 5:09:25 GMT -6
Darrell - A large part of my problem with tight-lining has been I haven't been getting your results. I fully accept that it's likely the fly fisher not the fly fishing system who's to blame. Turfdawg - Naw, you didn't talk me into anything. I was set on the Recon. It's still a really good all around rod that I plan to hold on to. Still, if anyone wishes to seriously try out tight-lining, this tight-line failure guy strongly recommends buying a rod that's known for its sensitivity (the new and improve model of the Recon is supposed to have fixed that issue, FWIW, and it fishes other methods very well in my experience), cause for me, not knowing much at all about what was going on below the surface has been a big part of the frustration, FWIW. Well that, and not hardly catching fish! 
Aaron - I know, you have to pay your dues. I think I have just been unable to find the time to do enough of that.
Peter - I will consider that. Thanks! I secondly recommend that anyone who wants to try it out start with a lesson to lower that learning curve!
Tight-lines, all!
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Post by darrelln09 on Jun 14, 2021 22:05:39 GMT -6
Jonbo - Most of my great days of Euro Nymphing have been in Missouri - Roaring River SP, Montauk SP, Little Piney Creek, Eleven Point River, and of course, Crane Creek. The location and time of year have always been in my favor for tight line fishing.
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Post by Tommyboy on May 12, 2022 16:02:18 GMT -6
Think the first and second place winners of the mystery fly were Euro men. Just getting into to it full bore...
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Post by jonbo on May 24, 2022 18:33:30 GMT -6
I may have "tight-lined" a couple of times this winter/spring at Cardiac for decent results.
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Post by jlynch on May 25, 2022 15:35:48 GMT -6
I placed second this year and last year at the Mystery Fly. I don’t euro, but do “tight line” in certain situations. Last year first place went to a non-euro guy, but this year did go to euro.
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Post by golferjeff on Jun 9, 2022 21:38:09 GMT -6
2020 and 2022 were euro. I did it simply because of the crowds that day, Gui (2022) is almost exclusively euro (and he's a Euro to boot!). I am just a euro poser |
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Post by gui on Jun 15, 2022 13:14:32 GMT -6
Haha, is it that time of year already?! I guess the heat wave came in early this year... Jeff is right, I mostly euro and I grew up in Europe. The funny thing is that I had never heard of "euro-nymphing" until I moved to the US. It's like French fries. I had never heard of it. Back home, we just call them "fries". I mean, how else would you ever want to cook your fries?  So we just call it "nymphing", because, I mean, how else would you ever want to fish a single or double nymph rig?! Just joking here... Joke aside, perhaps what attracts me the most with euro-nymphing is the "research" or "prospecting" aspect that I believe comes in pair with the versatility of the technique. For example, a same leader system may allow you to efficiently fish a dry-dropper, a double nymph rig and a ("euro" - I guess) streamer with minimal changes in the terminal leader, such as just cutting off and tying on new flies on your existing sections of tippet. Maybe you'll be also adding or moving some sighter wax - also a quick adjustment. And of course you also have all the minute variations from switching between flies with different bead sizes. I am finding more and more that this ability to make rapid changes, but with big impacts on the depth of the drift and/or the imitated food source, makes euro nymphing a fun approach for "prospective" fishing. With this ability at your disposal, you can break down each run into different sections of water, take your time to fish it, and make adjustments as you go from one section to the next. Oftentimes, you may go back to the same section that you just fished, but this time cover it with a different setup. I think Devin Olsen has a couple of videos like that, where he starts with a dry-dropper at the tail end and edges of a pool, then switches to a double nymph for the main seam and the fast waters and finally comes back to "clean up" the deeper parts of the same pool with a euro-streamer. I am not Devin Olsen, so for a given hour of fishing time, I don't know if I do catch more fish with this type of approach, but I definitely have fun with it, and, in a sense, I think I am more relaxed. In my early years of fly fishing, I think my approach was more about "running" up river to cover as much ground as I could in order to find willing fish. Having to change flies or make adjustments to my leader would be synonym of wasting fishing time. I guess now that I'm getting older and have a small family, inevitably, I can't go fish as much as I used to or want to. And so my goals when I go fish have somewhat evolved from covering a maximum of grounds to taking my time fishing a run, trying different things, having fun and being more relaxed. Even if I still fish "hard" from dawn to dusk on that given day where I have the green light to go fishing. In that purpose, euro nymphing fits me. But I totally understand that we all have different ways to find satisfaction and relaxation, in fishing, and in general. One, for instance, might find his/her Zen spot by casting beautiful loops back and forth in the air. Anyways, I don't always euro. Recently, we went to Mexico for a wedding and I fished a stream up in the sierras. I spent a couple hours throwing a single dry on a WF floating line and watched little stream-born beauties come up and crush it. I loved it. |
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Post by dannys on Jun 16, 2022 5:14:21 GMT -6
After spending many years in Europe as a kid and adult, I know what you mean, Gui, about dropping the term Euro and French. We always called fries "Frites", especially when in Belgium. It's all sort of like dropping "American" before the word "football" once you hit the US shore; or adding the word once out of the country. |
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Post by slinginbugs on Jul 18, 2022 12:14:48 GMT -6
Just do what you like. I have gone through 4 different systems while Euronymphing and have settled on 2. With my 10' 3wt rig I use a 3wt WFF fly line and run a straight mono leader of around 24'. I don't use a sighter on this one because I am using white Courtland indicator mono and I add black stripes with a permanent marker on the tail end and can add some colored wax if need be. This set-up can nymph at great distances and you can even float the sighter with a little mucilin or payette paste. I can fling some small streamers with it and use a dry dropper. I can also remove the leader and attach a dry fly leader in a minute or two with the microloops I have on the end of leaders. Then I have another setup which is a 10'9 3 wt but conforms to competition rules (not that I compete), but this is the 14' straight 8lb amnesia to a ring, and I prefer to have my anchor on the dropper so I can fish more traditional flies behind it. I often jig a single streamer with this setup too. I find tight-lining to be the most efficient way to find fish and catch them, but if I have a good feel for the river I am using a soft hackle or a streamer because those are blast to fish. Right now I am in the hopper/dropper phase and I am mainly using a 6 wt, so I can streamer fish between holes.
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Post by jonbo on Jul 23, 2022 10:02:04 GMT -6
I.can't.seem.to.stay.away. Okay, it seems I was lying to myself and everyone. I haven't given up "euronymphing", or couldn't stay quit, or something. The main reason it still seems to be a thing to do, for me, is Spillway Creek. Especially at Cardiac Hill, I can't ever find the best system for presenting nymphs, or at least a better one. The river there is all up/down/up/down/up/down/plunge pocket -repeat! Indicators just haven't seemed the most effective method there. And the area is "fishy" as can be. So, I keep trying to tight-line it. My Orvis Recon, old-model, is insensitive to bumps, though. I don't seem to know where my flies are in the column tight-lining any more than with an indicator. So I'm about to pull the trigger on an Echo Shadow X.
Now, the Recon is really good in most respects. What I want is a rod that can "do it all", not necessarily wonderfully, not like say a T&T Contact, but adequately. The Recon traditional-casts great. It fights a big fish great. It casts a 30' leader fine. It doesn't help me feel for the bottom when I'm tight-lining, though, worth a flip. That's my only problem with it. I'm hoping that the Shadow X will have quite a bit more sensitive feel, and will make me less frustrated with having an idea of what's going on with the nymphs through the drift. Then I need it to just cast a wf line with a 10 ft leader/tippet... ok. The Shadow II I once had could do that to my satisfaction. I want, if possible, to just use one rod to tight-line at Spillway, then go down in the afternoon to the flats and swing soft-hackles. "That's all I need!" I'm clumsy, somewhat, and forgetful, a lot. I can not manage 2 rods all day without losing, breaking, mis-placing, or something, one of them. Fretting about them will just damage my enjoyment of the time.
As to the term "euro-nymphing", I think that most know it refers to a style developed here in the States that was originally inspired or at least influenced by competitors who returned from Europe, probably, I would guess, in the past 15 years. It involves super long leaders and in-line "sighters" as opposed to floating indicators (bobbers). Also, more direct contact with the flies than with indicator nymphing. "Euro-nymphing" is just a name that has stuck. It distinguishes it well from indicator nymphing, especially as it's a real specialty with it's own equipment. "Tight-lining" is probably a better description except that tight-lining goes back a long ways and probably doesn't necessarily include a lot of the specialized equipment and methods that "euro-nymphing" implies. So, the way I understand it, I like the name "euro-nymphing". Now if only I can figure out how to do it the way others seem to have.
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