Euro Nymphing (Beginner)

[Bendix]

Hi All

I have been fly fishing with regular fly rods and lines for Trout for many, many years, and I like to think I’m pretty experienced… But now I have an idea to start Euro Nymphing for Trout when the new season begins here in Denmark. I have been looking at rods and lines/leaders to use (I’m soon going to get an inexpensive 10 foot 3wt from Vision) and I have been watching a lot of videos on the subject on YouTube. I feel that I’m pretty dialed in regarding all the tackle and flies.

But the small streams I’m going to fish, are rather narrow and deep, and there’s often trees and bushes along the bank, and the fishing takes place while standing on the bank. And in all the videos I’ve seen so far, the fishing takes place while standing in the river, being pretty close to the fish. So I’m a little confused about how to do the actual casting and fishing in these small streams…

So, I really hope that someone here has some experience regarding Euro Nymphing for Trout in small streams, that they would like to share? And also, if anyone has some tips and tricks regarding the tackle they use, that might be helpful to a beginner in this sort of fishing?

Any information and experiences will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Bendix

[Paul Arden]

https://www.sexyloops.com/index.php/ps/french-nymphing

Just fish the fly on a very long tippet. 50’ should be enough! I use the HT4. A longer rod will give more control but I don’t like to carry two rods.

Watch the fly. If you can’t see the fly watch the fish. If you can’t see the fish then either watch the leader entering the water or the swing of the leader in the air. You might need to lean over/squat to see the leader. I don’t like indicators for personal reasons. It’s deadly.

Cheers, Paul

[Bendix]

Hi Paul

Thanks for your reply!

A 50ft tippet sure sounds crazy to me… My plan so far is to get a Euro Nymphing “fly line”, and then add a 15-20ft leader to this, and then connecting about 2-3ft of “sighter” material in yellow and red, and then finish off with a tippet ring. I will then add my tippet to the ring, and use about 8-15ft of this, depending on the depth of the river. I will then tie on a single nymph (I’m only allowed to use one fly, according to the rules for the river).
This should be enough according to my research so far, as the rivers I’ll be fishing are quite small, and the casts will probably be a lot less than 30ft. I know from my dry fly fishing in these rivers, that a 30ft cast is long and usually unnecessary…

I have spent the day googling, and managed to track down a book on French Nymphing, that has gotten good reviews, and should be pretty comprehensive on the subject. I ordered it straight away, but there should be about 2-4 weeks delivery time… Can’t wait to receive it!

I have this crazy idea, that I will leave the Salmon and Seatrout of my main local river a little alone this coming season, and instead concentrate on the Trout that live in the river tributaries. However, this plan could change once the season begins… I’ll have to see how things play out…

Cheers
Bendix

[Paul Arden]

Hi Bendix,

The euro Nymphing line is just to get around the championships regulations that restricted leader length. You are better without it IMO unless you are competing under these rules of course.

The indicator mono I don’t like. It definitively makes it easier but feels like cheating for me. .10 or .12 mono is highly sensitive to seeing takes already. If you are going to use indicator mono use two pieces. One for shallow Nymphing and other for deep.

30’ would certainly be a long cast and I would definitely try to close the gap. When it’s not possible to close the gap it is possible to fish up to around 50’ away with this technique.

I’ve been trying to catch Mahseer on the nymph in Tiang. No doubt I’ll be up there over the next month or so. I haven’t yet taught the OA to do this. If we can make it work and find the right flies I’ll shoot some video. Big problem here however is finding small hooks that are strong enough. Also I’m use 10lb tippet with dries to land them. Not ideal!

Cheers, Paul

[Bendix]

I didn’t realize that the Euro “fly line” was only there to comply with competition rules… It also seemed a bit weird to me to add it to the rig. So I guess I will be better off using a longer mono “leader” attached directly to the backing? Maybe something like 50 feet in my case, and the rivers I’ll be fishing? And then maybe taper it a bit, so it’ll be easier to handle?

With regards to the indicator mono, I think I will be better off using it as a beginner. And then maybe stop using it when I have some experience in detecting bites.
The thing is, that I will not be able to see the fish or the fly during fishing, and I will have to detect the bites by watching the tippet/leader, and maybe feeling it in my fingers. So I think some indicator mono will be better to start with.

And regarding getting close to the fish, I am used to sneaking about while at the river, and hiding behind bushes and tall grass while casting, plus I’m using clothes and a fishing vest in discreet colors. So the deal about “closing the gap” as you put it, shouldn’t be too big a problem.

Thanks for your replies so far, this is really helpful!

Cheers
Bendix

[Paul Arden]

Hi Bendix,

I don’t think taper makes a difference. Thicker line can be easier to handle of course so stepping down from say .14 to .10 I have certainly done. 30’ tippet should be fine. I like to have the flyline on the spool because I like to switch to dries when the fish rise!! So my set up is a long enough tippet so I’m casting just tippet, and there is a tapered leader on the flyline which doesn’t extend beyond the rod tip.

If you lean low to the water you should be able to see the mono leader swing downstream. The idea is that with the rod held above your head you can get a really nice drift of the fly and you should see the mono either where it contacts the water or where it swings in the air to the water. Any hesitation is an eat, or should at least be struck.

If you can find somewhere you can see the fish you will learn a lot about the technique very quickly. Ribnik is a good place for that. But there are many other similar waters.

Cheers, Paul

[Bendix]

Hi Paul

I will be getting a 10ft #3 rod to use specifically for Euro Nymphing, as I can see that such a rod will be better suited than a regular fly rod. And I will then be bringing a spare 9ft #5 in my backpack, that I will rig up, if the Trout start eating dry flies, and then pack away the Nymphing rod. I will also be bringing a reel to use only on the Nymphing rod, and another reel with fly line for my dry fly rod.
This is because I will often be taking the bus to the river, and then walking a couple of miles away from the bus stop. And if I should break a rod, it’s nice to have a spare, especially if the next bus home doesn’t leave for another 2-3 hours or so… I have once tried to walk 3 miles from my home to fish, and only bringing one rod, and then breaking the tip after just 20 minutes of fishing… That was no fun!!!

So tying the Euro leader straight to the backing on a designated reel, won’t be a problem. I will then simply add some more backing to this reel, to make it heavier, so it’ll balance the Nymphing rod better. This is also a full cage reel, which will be better with the thin mono lines I will be using.

So adding about 30 or 40 feet of mono leader, and then some indicator mono and a tippet ring, seems right to me. I will then add a suitable length of tippet to this rig. And should I get good at detecting bites as I get more experience, then I can drop the indicator mono as you suggest.

Again, many thanks for your replies, they are really helpful!

Cheers
Bendix

[Paul Arden]

That’s cool. The advantage of a longer rod is more reach. Personally I find it to be a fascinating technique, that is more focussed than many other fishing methods. I hadn’t realised that it had become so popular in the US until recently. One time I was fishing the Ribnik and overheard two anglers who were watching me fish. One said to the other something like “that’s a good fly fisherman” and the other bellowed out “THAT’S NOT FLY FISHING!!!”

Cheers, Paul

[Bendix]

Hi Paul

Now things are getting interesting! I got my new Euro Nymphing rod this week, and I ended up getting a 10’6” #3 from Vision, in order to get more reach on the river. This is because I will be doing most of the fishing and casting from the bank, where there’s usually a lot of tall grass and bushes, that interfere with casting and fishing.
I was on a lawn in my local park yesterday, trying out the rod for the first time. However, it was not all that successful… It turns out, that I can’t see where my fly lands on the grass, and I instead need water to get a visual “plop” where the fly lands. So although I did get a feeling for the casting, it was impossible to practice accuracy… I used a small bead headed fly with the hook bend cut off. Now I’m thinking, that maybe if I tie a similar practice fly, and add a long orange yarn tail to it, then maybe it will help me see the fly…

I’m also currently in the process of tying a lot of new heavy Nymphs, to use for my fishing. I’m tying them with heavy tungsten beads and extra lead free wire, to make them heavy and sink well.

Regarding whether Euro Nymphing is fly fishing or not, I won’t be the judge of that… To me, this is simply an extra tool in my toolbox, to use when the Trout aren’t eating dries.
And yes, judging from the vast amount of US made videos on the subject available on YouTube, this seems to be a really, really popular style of fishing in North America.

Now I just can’t wait until we get to May, so I can get on the river and try this out on some Trout!!!

Cheers
Bendix

[Paul Arden]

Hi Bendix, you could try “splash pans”. Although you are the first person who I’ve ever heard practise this casting – I think that’s great by the way!

If you go to a gardening shop and look for the biggest plant pot base plates you can find. I found some that were about 2 feet in diameter. Fill them with some water and they make a satisfying plop when the fly lands.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Plant-Saucer ... 1695671970

Cheers, Paul