Euro Nymph Rig

[ru22dizzle]

Hey fellow fly junkies. I'm looking at getting a euro nymph rig and thought I'd see what the group had to say in this matter. What rod and reel are y'all using?
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[Dunn13]

Depends on your price point. I started out with a Cabela's CZN 10' 4 weight with the Cabela's rls+ reel. Served me well for a couple years then upgraded last year to an Orvis Recon 10' 3 weight with the Hyros SL II reel. Night and day difference between the two as the Orvis is much more sensitive which is a combination of the brand and lighter weight. Tons of good options out there in the $300-$400 rod range. You really just need the reel to balance well or be slightly butt heavy. I've been obsessed with the Euro method and it has increased my catch rate ten-fold.
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[_6x_]

I just got set up for euro nymphing! I keep hearing stories about how it's all the rage, so I'm looking forward to giving it try. I've been tying flies for it but haven't been out yet, so I have no insight to add. Dunn13's recommendations though fit with what I've heard. I'm not getting a new rod though till I decide that I'm really committed to it. Looking forward to hearing how you do!
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[riverdog]

Just don’t forget to adapt and innovate to the waters you fish. Euronymphing will usually far outperform using a strike indicator however that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily well suited to Utah. I developed my own tightline nymphing techniques starting about 20 years ago before ever hearing or seeing anyone else use them. I only later read about these centuries old techniques and the new adaptations such Czech Nymphing or Euronymphing. Of course now they’re plenty of videos buzzing about it like it was a brand new fad. Here’s my take on it after probably catching 20,000 trout and salmon with various forms of tight line nymphing. Except the very largest rivers in the state with flows above 600 cfs euronymphing isn’t particularly well suited for Utah. Most rivers that are wadable are better suited to be tight lined nymphed working directly upstream and with shorter smaller diameter leaders than Euronymphing typically uses. Skip the tippet. No siter is needed when you typically have only 9 feet of leader (typically 4 or 5x) past the flyline. Save that for larger waters where your leader and tippet while Euronymphing may run 12 -20 ft. That is where longer rods come in handy as well. The weight and sensitivity of the rod is far more important than the length on Utah’s smaller waters. A 3 or 4 wt rod is plenty. Relatively heavy flies work well especially in faster waters. Euronymphing is worth learning if you are going to fish bigger waters up in Idaho or Alaska. I tend to still run my leader with or without tippet a bit short compared to the traditional Euronymphing but that’s because I had already caught thousands of fish successfully this way before moving on to bigger rivers. I think this leaves me in constant contact with every motion of the fly so I’ve also never bothered with a siter. Good Luck, tightline nymphing is extremely effective especially if you can adapt the techniques to the water you’re fishing rather than worrying about how to Euronymph. There is a reason it developed independently in Japan, Italy, England and Appalachia over the last 80 to 200 years ago. I certainly wasn’t ahead of any curve adapting it to Utah as we entered the 21st Century.
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[riverdog]

I mentioned salmon and while some will take a nymph I use the same technique with streamer- tightlne streaming?? To be successful with these techniques you have to forget what has passed for gospel for years. There are no wake line with wet flies to keep fish from striking as with dries. Dead drift is overrated. Just as with fishing down and across which I still do quite a bit with streamers tight line nymphing (and streaming) doesn’t need to always be a natural presentation. The extreme advantage is being able to get wherever you want the fly to go in the 3D water column so it’s in the strike zone for the longest period of time. And many nymphs and minnows certainly aren’t dead drifting in the water anyways. There alive and quite a few of them are moving faster than current.
My last word of advise is ditch the 2 fly rig. You need to concentrate on getting a fly exactly where you think the fish are. While a natural presentation isn’t required, the interaction with how the flies affect the drift of each other is going to turn off fish from striking part of the time. This is the wet fly equivalent of wake lines. A saw a video last year (I think he was a Utah fly fishing Pro) where he compared 2 fly set up to 1 fly set up. While he certainly caught fish on both flies of the 2 fly set ups, he hands down always performed better with the 1 fly set up. I actually laughed as I guess a 2 fly set up is also gospel on some waters in the state. Now that he experimented with the dark side he’s a heretic like me and no longer uses any 2 fly set ups.
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[fishroof]

I highly doubt that 10 fold euro vs strike indicator fishing unless you dont know how to fish with a strike indicator.
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[Dunn13]

Well, it was ten-fold for me. I started out with an indicator and weight to get my flies down when I first started fly fishing. A good trip was being able to catch a couple fish. It was frustrating not catching fish and after switching over to the Euro method I can consistently catch 20-30 fish per day. That was a combination of a lot of things though, the style of fishing, learning how to fish different types of water, and being able to read water and know where fish should be holding and then getting your fly in front of them. I won't argue that people can't catch a lot of fish with an indicator, but for me it makes a lot more sense to Euro nymph which includes using dries and streamers on the same setup.
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[fishroof]

I watched a video on this euro it looked like it has its place,but i cant see spending money on more gear.I think Learning to tie flys and being prepared for any situation and time on the water is the best way to catch more fish.Glad it has helped you and always good to know many different techniques but i am sure you must be doing something wrong if your catching 10 to 1 euro.I live right next to the weber if you want to fish someday in the winter.
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[T-DOG91]

I have a Cortland competition 10’4wt and have started learning the techniques. I haven’t seen an increase is fish yet but I’m still getting the hang of it.

Like has been stated definitely a good way to cover lots of diverse water types with little adjustment. I’m excited to keep leaning about it!
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[ru22dizzle]

Thank everyone for the advice and info. I ended up getting a 10' 3wt Redington. Took it out for a spin today and tried to figure it out. It is certainly a different way to fish, but I can certainly see the benefits. I fished for maybe 2 hours and landed two very nice 18"+ browns, which were a riot to catch on the 3wt. I'm sure once I can get more practice I will catch even more. Looking forward to getting back out again. Pictures didn't come out too well as I was in a bit of a hurry.
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