Articles With the Tag . . . nymphing

Sometimes, trout eat nymphs on the drop — as the fly is falling or fluttering to the bottom. And when we recognize that, it’s time to make some adjustments to our rig, the presentation and even the water we choose to fish.

This video shows how I fish for trout when their focus for nymphs is out of the strike zone and above them. I cover tracking the flies, floating the sighter, longer casts, power curves, tuck casts, slack to the nymph, strike detection and more. And I walk through all of this while fishing through a favorite section of river.

. . . When the act of fishing becomes something I can really put my finger on to say “Here’s how they’re eating,” I can take that experience into the future, pulling it out to solve a mystery a decade later. The trout hit where they should and how they should, until it became nearly predictable. The casting felt effortless . . . and it felt like home. Anyone who thinks nymphing is inelegant or clunky has not fished this way.

A handful of strict competition rules have been passed on to the whole nymphing community. And maybe that’s not such a good thing.

There’s a lot to be done with this system — many different ways to fish, with presentations that go far beyond what is commonly shown and talked about. This is not Euro dry dropper. And we’re not fishing within the constraints of rules and regulations that stem from the competition scene.

Instead, by taking a broad look at what’s possible with a tight line dry dropper approach, fly choice, leader design, weight position and rigging methods all open up into a set of tactics that are more fun and lead to more trout at the end of the line.