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Fly Tying
David 82nd

Looking for Hardcore Nymph guys

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Tying nymphs is fun i enjoy it , fishing them is an art in my opinion,i have seen countless videos and seen guys just catching trout left and right , i have tried it several times not much success,from snags to just missing trout ,to thinking im snagged and it was probably a trout but i missed it .....

from what im reading i think a new rod would help based on the sensitive tip on rod.......long leaders and this seems to be the combination guys use .....

So big question who here is one of those dedicated guys that are nymph fishing with successful? Its kind of like im missing something out there lol ? 

Id apreciate some input ,thanks guys 

David 

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Save your money re: the new rod. I have some old rods with stiff actions before actions were in vogue and have learned to be a "line watcher" for those nymph strikes. I fish long leaders and tippets. I fish downstream and watch the end of the floating line. Current helps keep the nymph or streamer up in the water column. When it twitches, set the hook. Some will use a bite indicator (bobber). Been fishing local tailwaters and streams around here since 1989. Takes practice which is a good excuse to fish more.

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i feel i'm very successful at nymph fishing. it took a couple of years to get proficient at it. it didnt just happen overnight. trial and error brought success. fishing tecnical streams like the south platte river in colorado, the big horn river in montana or the green river in utah didnt help but eventually i learned their little secrets.

i have nymph fished with 7 foot 3 weight to 9 foot 6 weigh rods and everything in between (line weight and rod length) ranging from soft to stiff actions using a basic 9 foot tapered leader sized apprpriately for the size of fly

i usually weight the leader with split shot where allowed. and yes i use strike indicators (bad eyes for quite a long time). when it goes under its no time to wonder! strike!

just keep at it. youll get there.i'have heard that 80-90% of bug life lives underwater. thats where to be fishing

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Great advice guys thank you , i just love tying Nymphs.   Figured im going to start fishing them but ,man theres a learning curve for sure. 

As norm said it takes patience,plenty of it ive tried ,and i think the more videos i watch , the more frustrating i get lol they make it look so damn simple.   .....but hey nothing is easy im going to learn this.   Lol. Thanks guys.  

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There are tons of great instructional videos out there so nowadays you can really get up to speed quickly. But over the last 50 years,  I found the main differences between a good nympher and a not so good nympher is believing. 

It might sound nuts and simplistic but that is THE difference.  You gotta believe every bump and hesitation is a fish.  As they say, hook sets are free so use them - especially when your beginning.

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This is true. Ive heard that. ,like norm said it takes practice and a lot of patience...ive tried for years lol, watching the videos they seem successful im now at the point to get dedicated to learning this form of fishing,from practice to videos im going to get this , ive never had a lesson to fish dry flys or casting lessons,and my tying is from practice as well ,so i just need to dedicate to it and practice , ive spent many an evening in the yard practicing my casts and rolling loops ...i kind of enjoy the whole thing like its a new adventure, years ago i wanted to tie my own flys ...lol before  “ you- tube.  I looked at a few pictures in books and didnt give up.  ...so im looking forward to this now.  ..thanks guys as always.   

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On 12/17/2021 at 2:44 PM, skeet3t said:

Save your money re: the new rod. I have some old rods with stiff actions before actions were in vogue and have learned to be a "line watcher" for those nymph strikes. I fish long leaders and tippets. I fish downstream and watch the end of the floating line. Current helps keep the nymph or streamer up in the water column. When it twitches, set the hook. Some will use a bite indicator (bobber). Been fishing local tailwaters and streams around here since 1989. Takes practice which is a good excuse to fish more.

Skeet I couldn't agree more.

Dave on shallow streams I fish nymphs the same way I fish winged wet flies and soft hackles.  For lack of a better term I call it the "English style" because I learned most of what I know from watching Oliver Edwards and Davy Wotton.   It's the same technique they use when fishing winged wets or soft hackles up stream.  Cast 2 - 3 rod lengths of line and dead drift. Instead of using an indicator  grease your leader with Mucillin so that it floats and the tippet sinks. In effect becomes a 5'-7' "indicator".  

Personally I enjoy fishing this style but on most days Euro Nymphing or High Stick Nymphing is probably going to catch more fish.  For both euro nymphing and the English style strikes are free.  Fishing without an indicator does have the advantage of not spooking the fish when you strike because your not ripping a bobber off the surface as you do if you suspend your nymphs under one.  Also in areas where the fish are pressured they may become wary of indicators.  Another advantage is you don't need to be as close to the fish as you do with euro nymphing and casting without an indicator at least for me is easier and more accurate. The disadvantage to the English style is that your nymphs are not suspended by either the rod tip or a bobber so they constantly sink through the water column though at times this can be a good thing.  You will need to do a mental calculation as to when you need to recast before snagging the bottom and off course, subtle takes are much more difficult to detect. 

The main point of the hobby is to enjoy our time on the water.  When I started out and decided to try indicator nymphing it all went horribly wrong.  It seemed like I was spending most of my water time untangling thingama bobbers from split shot, 2 flies and a thorn bush.  So that is how I came to discover fly fishing without indicators.  I still hate casting with split shot. 

 

 

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Yep, like Norm says it takes time to get good at. If you can nymph successfully at Deckers or Cheeseman Canyon on the South Platte you can do it anyplace.  So what have I learned, or at least how do I do it? I like to fish from higher in the water column to lower. Mostly I fish an indy multiple fly rig. I start with minimal weight and work my way down to the bottom. My theory is trout look up for food so if your nymph rig is below them you're SOL.  I always check the water depth and velocity before I put any weight other than weighted nymphs on my line. If you can fish multiple flies on a rig do it.  Don't space your flies too far apart. I like about a foot between flies. Keep your rod tip up and mend, mend, mend. You know how when you tie you take dubbing and then reduce it by half, well you can hardly mend too much. Don't be afraid to adjust your depth and weight until you find the right combo.  Also change flies if you have to. We can fish 3 here in CO.  If you have a way to keep pre-tied rigs handy, do so. It's easier and quicker  to tie one knot rather than 5.  I use a Dorsey indicator whenever possible, I think it's the most sensitive out there and as opposed to a thingamabobber it doesn't land with a "splat" on the water.  Keep track of water temps. pupa->larva-> emerger is temperature dependent.  Try to sight fish if you can. You might not see your indicator move but if you see a fish take something near where you think your fly is strike.  And make sure that after your drift you check your flies for snot on them.  Use flouro.  As @Dfoster mentioned it'sa real PITA ass casting with split shot so either lob cast using water tension to load your rod or slow that stroke down.  Remember Rome wasn't built in a day.

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DFoster, I don't use an indicator now, just watch the line. One technique I use is to cast downstream, stop the rod at 12 o'clock and let the fly and line float with the current by lowering the rod tip. As for catching more fish by one technique or another is subject to a lot of variables. I have fished for about 68 years and found what works one day does't work the next day. Consider bass anglers who fish different lures and techniques.

Checked at Hobby Lobby and will be getting UV resin and light later this week. Out of the light right now.

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Yes, you are missing out on what should be made illegal it works so well. 

All you need is a ten foot 3 weight Euro nymph rod and a Euro nymph level line. You can go big on the rod or start with a lesser expensive model for 250-350 ( or have Steve make you one). The soft tip and heavy backbone of these rods are key when Euro nymphing. I can beat up 20"+ browns all day with a 10 ft 3 wt.

The line will set you back 50 quid no matter whose you buy. A spool of bi or tri color indicator tippet is probably the only other thing you don't already have on hand to make up a Euro mono leader. Watch all the Tactical Fly Fisher videos and then go out and put into practice what you watch. Depending on how often you can get out, you should see marked improvement after a dozen times out.

Begin tying Euro style nymphs and streamers (jig style) and use these, as they will work far, far better when using the Euro tight line technique.

 

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On 1/5/2022 at 5:35 PM, FIN-ITE 34 said:

All you need is a ten foot 3 weight Euro nymph rod and a Euro nymph level line. You can go big on the rod or start with a lesser expensive model for 250-350 ( or have Steve make you one).

There's some good advice right there.

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On 1/4/2022 at 3:41 PM, skeet3t said:

DFoster, I don't use an indicator now, just watch the line. One technique I use is to cast downstream, stop the rod at 12 o'clock and let the fly and line float with the current by lowering the rod tip. As for catching more fish by one technique or another is subject to a lot of variables. I have fished for about 68 years and found what works one day does't work the next day. Consider bass anglers who fish different lures and techniques.

Checked at Hobby Lobby and will be getting UV resin and light later this week. Out of the light right now.

Agreed Skeet-  I'm not sure what name the pros call the down stream cast your describing but I use it often.   I'm sure you know that you can also pull the rod tip back to 2 O'clock on the forward cast down stream (aerial mend) and then let your line dead drift up to the point of drag.  One of the best trout rivers I fish is very heavily pressured especially since covid hit.  Because there are usually other anglers nearby being able to dead drift upstream or downstream is a must. 

It can be sadistic and maddening how the technique that hooked a dozen fish yesterday may not work at all today.  Trying to solve the puzzle is the allure and magic of fishing.  

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Update: HL had the light but light and very small bottle of resin would be a bit over $20. Will do without and find something else.

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