Need advice on tight line nymph rods/rigging

[ryanv829]

Looking to pick up a longer rod to be used primarily for tight line nymphing on the Truckee/LT. Torn between a 10' 4 weight and an 11' 3 weight. Probably Redington Hydrogen. Would love to hear opinions on which would give me more of an advantage for these rivers.

I'm also really confused by all the different ways to rig for tight line or "euro nymphing". It seems the most versatile option would be to load my reel with WF floating line so that I have the option to indicator nymph at distance, or to tie on a long mono leader to high stick. If i went this route, would you suggest overlining the rod at all with these longer rods? And would having fly line sagging in the guides while high sticking be as big of a problem as some make it sound?

The other option would be to use a thin fly line like Rio's Euro nymph line. I'm not sure how this is intended to be used exactly, but I assume since it has an orange indicator tip, the fly line takes the place of a long mono leader and the orange tip acts as a sighter hovering just above the surface of the water. Would I then simply loop straight level tippet to the orange tip, tie on my flies and be good to go? Or would you need some type of thicker mono butt section to come before the tippet to prevent the thin tippet from cutting into the coated loop on the fly line?

[Woodman]

I would take a look at the Echo Shadow II as an option as well.

My understanding of the purpose of the euro nymph line is that its light weight when you are holding line off the water results in a more direct connection to your flies because it does not sag down as much as a WF line will. It's not the sagging in the guides that is the problem. Also, it doesn't mitigate the need to use an appropriate nymphing leader.


For high stick nymphing at short distances, it doesn't really matter what line you use, since very little of it will be outside your rod tip. Overlining the rod defeats the purpose when you have a longer line (more sag).

A cheap, but serviceable alternative to the euro nymph line is to wind a WF line on your reel backwards...

[PV_Premier]

My perspective as someone new to the tightline game.

1) get a lesson. it's harder than it looks, IMO. that, or i'm an idiot. either is possible.

2) As Woodman mentions, the echo shadow II is an able competitor to the hydrogen. Both are good rods. So are cortland competition nymph rods, which are in the same price bracket.

2a) buy used in case you don't like the technique or can't get the hang of it. nothing depreciates faster than a fly rod.

3) the 11' 3wt hydrogen is a noodle. I was going to buy one, but bought a 4wt 10'6" Echo Shadow II

4) you're going to want a 4wt if you intend to fish Truckee, McCloud, Pit...where there are bigger fish and heavier flows are common. You might be able to get by with a 3wt, but I think the 4wt will make you feel more confident in the rods ability.

5) in most cases you will have a very long leader and not much if any line at all out of the tip. I'm not real familiar with the Rio ESN fly line, but a long tapered and properly built leader will not be substituted for by a generic orange tip "sighter" on the end of your line. IMO, the line is more to fill the reel than anything. Hell, just use a coated shooting line if you are going to dedicate a reel or a spool to the cause. I'm just using a WF5F on my rod, but who knows, maybe that is why I am sucking with it so far LOL.

[cdevine]

I have a 10FT ESN Sage 4wt. I use it on the Truckee, Pit, Upper Sac, EW, Mccloud. I will say this. I wouldn't go any lighter on the truckee. I've had plenty of rainbows/browns that said see you later and a 3wt wouldn't give you enough in the butt even if you had that leverage.

I wouldn't overcomplicate it either. There are plenty of videos, books, etc on the subject and a few of the guides up in Truckee do clinics etc. (that is where I learned). I typically carry a bobber rod and the ESN on the T because its effective in certain water but not all as you know.

Agree on fly line. Don't think it matters much because really if you are doing it right there isn't any out of the last guide. (or very little)

I've heard good things about the ECHO.

As a general comment I don't think I will buy another 9FT rod though for bigger rivers like the ones above. I really like 10FT rods now.

[VinnySteel]

I too am fairly new to the ESN game. Only been doing it for a year or so but here’s my two cents....

I agree Cdevine that type of fly line doesn’t matter. I would suggest that if you have a welded loop on the end of your fly line that you cut it off and tie your leader on with a nice tight little nail knot. That big loop to loop connection can really cause problems when it’s sliding in and out of your guides all the time. I think this is the main reason most guys run a crazy long leader section, so that they can have a long straight section run through all of their guides and extend out the rod tip. My personal set up is about 16 ft of 15lb maxima chameleon, 2 ft 12 lb suffix elite to 18” 2x rio sighter material, tippet ring and then my tippet to my flies. I initially tried a shorter butt section of 8-10 ft but I found that even the nail knot sliding in and out of my guides was annoying. I fish a 10ft 4wt Cortland Competition and have landed a couple 20” on it with no problem.

[JasonB]

So, admittedly I am pretty limited in my knowledge of all the various methods and tackle for tight line nymphing, but it sounds like you haven’t really decided on a particular approach? Perhaps you have already played around a lot more than I am thinking, but if you haven’t don’t overlook the simple approach first. Just take out your normal trout rod (really anywhere between 8-11’ can work for some water, and not for other water), tie a nice long leader ending with 2x or 3x with a big stonefly or attractor, then run a smaller dropper with 4x right off the bend of the first hook.

Keep your casts short and easily controlled, keep the line tight and straight with the grain of current, and set quick! If you’re already past this level ignore; but if you haven’t spent some time on “simple tight line line “ presentations I would spend time there and let your discoveries and limitations help guide your choice on equipment for more dedicated tight line systems.

Just a thought, tight lines!
JB

[ryanv829]

Thanks for the responses. I understand the fly line doesnt really come into play while tight lining. The only reason I'm concerned with which weight of fly line to buy is because I hate carrying two rods with me and I'm sure I'll use the rod for throwing dries and indicator rigs from time to time. I have heard a 10' 4 weight fishes more like a 5 weight so my thinking is that a wf5f line would be a good fit.

[Woodman]

As a general comment I don't think I will buy another 9FT rod though for bigger rivers like the ones above. I really like 10FT rods now.

Agreed. I have a 10 foot six weight and a 10 foot four weight I've fished over the last year. Such a treat to be able to pickup and control more line.

[Woodman]

I have heard a 10' 4 weight fishes more like a 5 weight so my thinking is that a wf5f line would be a good fit.

I'd cast different lines and see what you like, but wouldn't jump to overlining just because it's a ten footer. I recently picked up a TFO BVK 4 weight in a ten footer and it casts like a dream with a WF-4-F. I'm actually thinking a DT-4-F may even be a better choice.

[drdan]

Check out Domenick Swentosky’s Troutbitten website. It is a fantastic source of information on tight line technique. He has a specific article on rod choice. He is now an advocate for using a general all-around rod. https://troutbitten.com/2017/10/15/f...neral-fly-rod/

I have a variety of rods in my arsenal including the Sage ESN 1103 - a fantastic tight line rod. I have enjoyed using tight line but sometimes it isn’t the best technique for the water in front of you. This is the premise behind the excellent book Dynamic Nymphing by George Daniel. Check that out - it’s a great primer. Have fun!