Long Rod recommendations For nymphing

[Bill Markwood]

I have a Cabelas CZN 10' 3wt and I like it. It casts well, mends line well and can be had for a reasonable price. I have mine set up with a 3wt line.

[drdan]

The 10' 4wt definitely can handle indi rigs with split as well no problem. The guides however are a bit small which is by design to decrease the likelihood of line falling back toward the reel when you have the tip up. This may effect casting distance a bit. It mends line fantastically due to the length...

As far as 10' vs. 11', for most applications at <30', I think the 10' is a better rod. It is lighter and has less swing weight. It is more pleasant to use all day. The 11' CZN feels significantly heavier and I think it will be a better rod for larger waters walk wading. I'm thinking it will be great on the Yuba. Once you get out to 11', you might think about going to a switch rod be able to use spey casting techniques... If you are going really long, you might want to spend the money to go higher end i.e. Sage One, Orvis H2 as you will more likely feel the weight savings. But then you are talking $$$

[steveg137]

great, thanks!

10 foot it is, plan to get switch rod separately.

cheers

[Dan LeCount]

One thing with 1 hand nymph rods is, as they get longer they usually get more power in the butt and usually softer in the tip. Consequently an 11' #3 fishes more like a 4 or 5 and an 11' #4 fishes more like a 5 or even a 6 as far as lifting and fighting power.(but its easier/quicker to apply the power in the butt of a shorter rod). Compared to your standard 9 footers, a 10foot #4 is more like a #5 and a 10' #5 is more like a #6 and generally a bit stiffer then its closest 11' counterpart. Its not always like that, but its usually the case. I tend to like the 11 foot 3 in case I hit up a tailwater, the tip is softer with 5 or 6x, but it can still go to the Truckee and sling 4 or 5 BBs of lead. If you're strictly fishing big water, a 10 or 11' #4 or a 10' #5 might be more ideal.

but like I said in the beginning, support a local fly shop, test out some rods and develop your own opinion and theories. (and no, Cabelas is not a fly shop, its an outdoor store that happens to have a few fly rods in it)
After youve tested some rods, you may find you have an opinion totally different then what the posters have said here.

[Dan LeCount]

Instead of bobbers, I make and use the coiled mono "sighters" that George Daniel discusses in his book.

I haven't converted to those yet, but watching a few of the team USA guys use them a few years back was intriguing. Those french style slinkies can be pretty versatile. You can high stick with them like a regular amnesia sighter like people have been using for years, or you can grease them up with a bunch of thick mucilin and use them like an indicator and use a slack line presentation. Then you can wipe the grease off and go back to high stick. Pretty deadly for covering water, especially since competition rules don't allow attachments (standard indicators.)

After a while, you see a lot of competition tactics are loopholes around competition rules. You cant use split shot, so instead you make a worm fly with 20 wraps of .030 lead for the underbody. You cant use an indicator so instead you coil up some colored mono 50 times and set the shape, then you cover it in grease so it can float up an anchor. You can't use flies with molded lead heads,(standard jigs) so instead you slide tungsten tear drops and tungsten beads onto jig hooks.

I got into "euro" nymphing about 10 years ago, and after a while, realized it was pretty much a modified version of the traditional shortlining highstick people had been doing in the west(especially Nor-Cal and southern Oregon) for over 50 years. Guys like Ted Fay and Ted Towendolly were doing this before almost all the euro comp guys were born. That's just how you covered the water when modern indicators weren't an option. It was a deadly method but most of the few practitioners faded away, then a new generation comes a long and its an entirely new style of fishing. The biggest difference I've seen is the leader make up and the advent of longer lightweight graphite fly rods. Other then that, it's a reinvention of an old technique.

damn, sry about the rant

dont know where that came from

[Darian]

Geez Dan, that was a rant???

[Jet]

Joey has the 10' 3wt Grey's Streamflex and it is a very versatile rod. It can handle 3-5wt lines with no problem and it feels like a 9' rod in hand. Not sure going to 11' would be as versatile. I think the Streamflex are awesome rods for the $$.

Good Luck

Jet

[Jet]

When we bought that rod it was recommended to use the 4wt SA Nymph line on it.

Jet

[Doug O]

George Daniel emailed me a few months ago and wanted to do a "Nymphing Clinic" with me on the Truckee River. We decided to do the clinic on August 9th , 2014. We are planning on only 10 students for the clinic. As most of you know , he is one of the top authorities in the world on short line nymphing. His book" Dynamic Nymphing" is outstanding. Anyone interested in attending this clinic give me a call at (775) 722-2267. I will have more info on the event soon on my web site http://truckeeriverflyfishing.com
On January 18th & 19th Matt " Gilligan " Koles and I will be holding a "Winter Nymphing Tactics" clinic on the Truckee Rv. Check out our web sites for more info. http://gilligansguideservice.com/blog/ Take a look at our video https://vimeo.com/76393568

My rods of choice are a Greys 10ft 4wt. or a Hardy Zenith 10ft. 5wt. The 10 foot rods have better leverage when fighting a BIG fish. We use the Greys rods in our clinics.

[NCL]

I have followed this thread with much interest due to wanting to learn more about this technique. How does the Grey's Streamflex rod stack up against the Sage ESN?