A Guide to Casting Farther: How It’ll Elevate Your Tight Line / Euro Nymph Game

Unlocking the full potential of Euro nymph and Tight-line nymphing techniques requires breaking free from the misconception that they're only suited for short-range fishing. Delve deeper into the art of casting farther, and you'll discover a realm of possibilities that can transform your fishing experience. Here are three compelling reasons why mastering the skill of casting farther is essential for most tight line anglers.

Trout fishing's a puzzle, isn't it? To me, it’s less about following the crowd and more about figuring things out on your own. Last week, I had a reality check while out Steelhead fishing—a different game than the high mountain trout fishing I’m more comfortable with.

I got caught up sticking with the “normal” steelhead routine, forgetting about problem-solving altogether. Armed with two 7 wt rods, one with a skagit line and the other with a sinking line- my trusty euro nymph rods would stay in the truck, for now.

So, you think you have the basic techniques down, and you’re catching a lot of trout using Tight Line techniques. But your fish all seem to be on the small side. You know there are much larger fish in this river, but they don’t seem interested. Why is it that beginners usually catch small fish?
 Well, unfortunately, it’s not just a matter time before you consistently hook into big trout. You must step up your game. Think and fish differently.

 

Understanding these 9 Tips will help you advance to the next level and catch larger trout:

Combat the Wind with the Two P's - POSITION and POWER

This time of year is the most unpredictable but you can bet that the wind will come into play at some point in the day. Whether it’s a light breeze or strong gusts, you need different tactics when the wind shows up.

Netting trout is a skill in and of itself. It’s something that takes a lot of practice to get good at and only experience makes you better. It’s not something you can really practice in your backyard like casting and knot tying- it’s something you must do in the water and it’s something you must think about even before your net is drawn. In some cases, even before you make your first cast.

So, you drank the kool-aid. You read all the hype on euro nymphing, bought tackle and hit the water. But you’re still not catching fish. What the heck? I can assure you that you’re not alone. In fact, That was me a few years ago. Back then, I didn’t know what I didn’t know; but now I do. So, I’m going to tell you what I was doing wrong and what I see everyone else doing wrong when they start to euro nymph.

It took me about 100 days on the water to figure this all out. For me, that’s only 6 months, for you it might be 10 or 20 years! Let’s fast track it so you can catch fish now.

I’m assume that you understand the basics of trout fishing in moving water

Things like:

• Cast upstream of the fish and let the fly dead drift in front of it.
• Don’t scare the fish- Always be stealthy when fishing.
• Know where the fish are generally located in the given river.

When I started Euro nymphing, Contact nymphing, Czech nymphing, whatever you want to call it, I was confused as to what gear I would need and why it was different from what I already had. As I became familiar with the new techniques I realized why it required different gear. I’m going to share what I’ve learned so you can avoid some of the mistakes I made early on. I’ll save you some frustration and maybe even save you some money.

*Keep in mind that my advice is based solely on wade fishing in technical high sierra rivers and streams for trout- It doesn’t pertain to stillwater, drift boats, steelhead or other large fish. Just river trout. OK?

I designed the Stinger reel to save weight. People ask “why,” so I wrote this because I realized that the answers are not so obvious, especially to those who have been fishing the same way for decades.

Lightweight and high performance are synonymous terms with regards to competitive sports equipment- the world I came from. Lightweight almost always improves performance because mass and inertia are your enemies when trying to increase quickness, accuracy and or maximize endurance. But what does high performance have to do with fly fishing? Lots.

Thanksgiving presented an unexpected fishing opportunity this year. Our plans for outdoor festivities with friends were upended by bitingly cold wind and a friend's positive covid test, which left me with a few free hours in the middle of Thanksgiving day to check out the river. Stepping out of my truck on a sunny sage brush flat, the wind sliced straight through my puffy and cotton t-shirt. Cursing the lack of forethought, I rummaged for another layer of clothing without luck. Feeling stupid and a little desperate, I exhumed a buff matted with dog hair and crumbs from under the driver’s seat. With a shake, on it went.

If you’re new to ESN (European Style Nymphing) fly fishing you probably have lots of questions regarding tippet line. There’s very little information out there because tippet setup is specific to types of water, fish, conditions, etc. Here’s how I rig my tippet and why. 

First the basics. Tippet is the thin clear portion of the leader that attaches the fly. It’s thin to cut through the current and minimize drag, and clear to not spook the fish. In Euro-nymphing tippet takes much more abuse because it makes frequent contact with rocks and gravel down at the bottom, so fluorocarbon is used because it is more abrasion resistant than nylon. And because fluorocarbon it tougher I can use thinner tippet than Nylon.