Thinking about a 10ft nympher?

[JGB]

Anybody nymph with a 10ft rod? Maybe a 4wt/3wt for typical trout situations where you might have used a 9ft 5wt/4wt before? Wading isn't as easy as it once was and am thinking another foot of rod might make up for my diminishing wading range. It should also add more mending control?



Am not sure of my usual technique...european, spanish, french, czech, or egyptian...probably a combination of them all, but I rarely use a bobicator and typically nymph with 7-10ft leader with two flies, often weighted. Am thinking of a typical fast(?) action trout rod, just longer and lighter. Don't necessarily want a rod specifically designed for any specific technique mentioned above - more of a "general" nympher?


Any ideas/comments/experience? Rods?



TIA, JGB

[PV_Premier]

My only comment - don’t stop at 10’. 10.5-11 is even better!

All my steelhead nymphing is with a 10’ rod (6wt z axis). I have a 10.5’ 4wt Echo Shadow II that I use for trout nymphing both bobber and euro. Helps so much with mending, high sticking, and hitting near bank seams with super stealth.

[EricO]

Me too PV,

I have a 10.5 ft Cortland 4 wt...soft tip so awesome for high sticking in summer, and it throws an indo
really well. Not a good dry fly rod, but the extra reach I can get out of it compared to 9 footer is pretty
impressive. The fighting butt is nice too.

I primarily use it on the Big T and other bigger rivers.

Eric

[cyama]

Yes you need a 10ft 4wt rod they are very versatile. If you are Euro Nymphing you need that extra foot for line control. They are like a 4.5 weight 9 footer. I also use mine for fishing dry flies out of a float tube and using a 5 wt Rio camolux for fishing mid level in lakes. I have a fairly inexpensive Orvis Access tip flex that was only $200 used.

[SST Flies]

I use a 10' 4wt Belauh about 90-percent of the time. I don't wade well now that I am in my mid-50's, but I find a way to position myself for a good drift! If I can't reach a spot I'll move on...

[E.Drucker]

Egyptian Nymphing is so hot right now!

[mogaru]

Egyptian Nymphing is so hot right now!

nooooo, you mean Euro nymphing.

[daveiam]

I have a 3wt & 4wt Helios 2 in 10-foot. Both with SA lines on them. They are favorites of mine. I really like the feel of the 3wt, but I have thrown dries tremendous distances with the four. Not a lot of nymphing yet, as that is why I purchased the 3. Loved it so much, I went right out and bought a four.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

50 years ago the average trout fly rod was an 8' #6 line 2 piece hollow tubular fiberglass.

The longer fiberglass 6 weights were 8'6".

9' fly rods started at size 8 line.


When graphite rods came out they finally could make a 9' #5 line fly rod.

Today with the newer, light composites they can make a 10' or longer trout rod.

9' #5 line in 4 piece is now the best selling fly rod in America.


For local fresh water fly fishing you need around 3 or 4 fly rods?

Fly rods are kind of like golf clubs......

"How many fly rods do you need." "Just one more."


I like an 8' #3 for small stream dry fly.

A 10' #3 would be great for light nymphing.

[Mitox]

Great idea! As a previous poster said don’t stop there. I nymph with a 10’ Fenwick Aetos and also an 11’6” switch rod and they give you more reach and line control.

[bigfly]

I think most of the years I fished a 9ft rod were nearly a waste of time....now that I wield an 11ftr.
Both rods I carry are 11ft. A 6wt switch and a 3wt ESN. They allow surgical drifts....with a dry or an Indy.
If you can relearn to mend that is........
Most are trained from dry fly fishing, to mend with their elbow down and flick it.......use that extra reach and get your elbow above your ear for best results. The fish will hate you.........

Jim

[Larry S]

Jim,
like this?
https://midcurrent.com/videos/how-to-overhand-or-roll-stack-mend/
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5ca0SsGNsQ
Best,
Larry S
Sun Diego

[JGB]

Thank you all for your responses, I'm now convinced that I can't live without a longer nympher...now to convince she-who-must-be-obeyed that I can't live without a longer nympher...(already have four 5wts for trout that I have convinced her I can't live without).

PVP- Have just started exploring these rods, I will test drive a few to get a feel for the length I might like. I will consider other lengths. What wt do you nymph for steelhead with?

EO- When you say your rod is not a good for throwing dry flys, do you mean the rod isn't, or the length isn't?

Cya - Thx, I will use your first sentence as a reference.

SST - My time is soon too, that's why I'm considering these rods.

ED - Sorry my spellcheck was off, it should have read Namibian nymphing...

M - See ED.

DJ - Another endorsement, thx!

BK - Thx for sharing your knowledge.

MTX - See M!

bf - Which/what do you use if bugs start popping?

LS - Thx for the links. I guess I've been around long enough that when I see these various techniques/methods presented on various media, I often think "Hey, I've been doing that for decades, why isn't it called the JGB method", or something like that. Better hire a better PR guy I guess!

Cheers, JGB

[EricO]

Hey JGB,

The rod is great, but the tip is very soft on my 10.5 footer....I prefer more of a
med-fast 9 footer for throwing dries. The soft tip on the Cortland is super for detecting
strikes while nymphing with or without indo.

I see it as a nymphing rod...which Cortland actually calls it the "Competition Nymph Rod."

Although I don't compete :)

Eric

[bigfly]

Larry, not like that............
My elbow is above my ear!
These guys never raised the arms at all. They show me that dry fly indoctrination....
And a stack mend on the T just makes it easy for the fish to pick up, and put down before you can set.
If you have a line too tight it drags, and too slack you can't set in time, there is a place in between that I live......
They are very suspicious shoppers. And, rightfully so........
The main deal....is don't move your fly or bobber when you mend.
Lifting high avoids that. As opposed to the elbow down flick.......

To answer the question about which rod I fish the dries on.........both rods......
The big stick is for big fish/far away, and the 3wt for smaller/closer fish...obviously.
I think a 4wt would be best....I was fought to a stand-off on the 3wt a while back.......I hate that.
So any fish over 20" should get more leverage.

Jim

[PV_Premier]

PVP- Have just started exploring these rods, I will test drive a few to get a feel for the length I might like. I will consider other lengths. What wt do you nymph for steelhead with?


As mentioned in my original post I use a 6wt, 10' Z-Axis for steelhead bobber fishing, I also use this on the Truckee when the water is big, but usually I stick with the 4wt 10.5' aforementioned rod since I am typically fishing the T at lower flows.

My Z axis has not gotten much love this season because I have been swinging big blue and green spey flies like it is going out of style. Since 80% of my SH fishing is on the Trinity, I really only need the 6wt...small water, modest sized fish...more versatile is a 7wt 10' for the variety of SH waters one will encounter throughout NCAL.

[Frank R. Pisciotta]

Thought I'd chip-in here...

I've been using 10' 4 and 5 weight rods, exclusively, on the Truckee river (Cali-side) for a minimum of a decade. Yes, I do have a 3 wt 11' Sage ESN; which I'll use occasionally. Personally, the latter 3wt rod, IMO, is a bit too soft for my liking; most especially when I want to quickly bring-in a decent trout 18"+ to the net regardless as to how much "butt-power" I can apply. I want to C&R a wild trout with the highest probability of its survival.

Below is an excerpt from my Truckee River Primer article that appeared in the February 2017 California Fly Fisher magazine:


"Although a 4-weight rod is an ideal tool fly fishing a high-mountain stream, that’s not true on the Truckee, especially from the spring to the fall, when the inevitable afternoon winds start blowing. Then a fast 6-weight has enough body to punch line out and is useful throughout the year when plying the bigger canyon waters down to the Nevada state line. A 5-weight rod is a reasonable compromise. In recent years, I’ve become enamored of single-handed 10-footers. They’re handy for mending, reaching out, and high-stick nymphing. Some regulars are using method-specific 11-foot “Euro” switch rods."


Frank R. Pisciotta
www.cyberfly.com
Last edited by Frank R. Pisciotta; Today at 11:30 AM.

[JGB]

Thx again for all your comments.

Some sources suggest that the 10ft 3wt/4wt specialty nymphing rods are for fishing with little or no fly line out the tip, just leader. If this is so, I get why the 3wt/4wt choice, but I don't know that I want such a soft tip as I intend to fish with fly line out my tip, sometimes as much as a rod length or two - plus leader. Should I be looking at the usual trout rods, just in a 10ft 4wt? Maybe not necessarily a nymphing rod, as they all seem to be tailored to a specific technique, but a more general rod as I tend to use a variety of techniques?

To add to what I stated earlier, I usually fish a floater upstream at a variety of distances, adjusting leader length and weight, no indicator. With fly line out the tip I do lots of roll casting, flop casting, pile casting, etc..., mending(the fly line) and some overhead. Because of the distance I fish at sometimes, I can't call it tight line nymphing, but I might call it direct line nymphing? I keep a tight and direct line from my rod index finger to my fly, allowing for currents and depth to dictate length/wt of my terminal set up. Rather than an indicator I will try to fish the line/leader loop connection as an indicator, mending my line to get the connection above the fly.

Thx, JGB

[Troutsource]

A 10' 7 wt. has been my go to rod for 7-8 years now. Sometimes the 7 wt. aspect is way more than I need, but I'm too lazy/cheap to buy other weights as well. The added length is great for nymphing, which is what I do 95% of the time: incredible mending, extra reach when high-sticking and longer casts. The only drawback is that the fish gains extra leverage (think of a longer lever vs. a shorter lever), making it easier for your arms to tire out. So make sure it has at least a small fighting butt to wedge against your gut for when you hook into a big one. I also have some switch rods but still prefer the 10' 7 wt. unless I'm swinging for steelhead.

[patches152]

i got set up on a 10' 3wt orvis recon for my nymphing rod, and also beginning to use it for some light streamer work. it's a pleasure to fish with, being one of the lightest nymphing rods on the market, and easy to balance.