Long Rod recommendations For nymphing

[loose_shoes]

Loose shoes,
And there's nothing wrong with not fishing a bobber..
Probably catch more fish.

Nope. Nothing wrong with it. I just can't get used to it. It always feels clumsy to me. I don't like a 2-fly rig either. Same reason. I'll do it now and then but I've never warmed up to it. That's just me...

I tied into a really big trout (steelhead?) on the Trinity during my first outing with a Tenkara. I managed to work it in close but I didn't have a net and it shook loose when my hand came down to grab the fly. The Tenkara rods have a surprising amount of backbone. For most of the run-of-the-mill trout you typically come across the Tenkara is fine. I really like the reach of the long rod and the action that I can put on a soft hackle fly with it.

Tangling with a huge-y on the Truckee? Hmmmm…. Yeah, I'd go with something fatter.

[bigfly]

Loose, Good on ya. landing a steely on that stick.
Perfect for soft hackels though.

Bob, I haven't fished your rod yet, but like Dan and Doug said, the Sage and Greys 3wt feels like a 4, and the 4 like a 5wt. etc.
I've seen serious numbers of fish landed by these "new" techniques on the "Tuffy"....
These sticks are a break from the usual nymphing approach.
When everyone fishes the same way, the fish can't help but profile us.....
Best advise, keep them guessing.

Jim

[Dan LeCount]

Yea, the 11 foot 3 is in no way a real 3 weight. I usually throw a 4 or 5 weight line on it. I've landed fish and have had clients land fish in excess of 2 feet on it and haven't had any problems. I think fish over 30 inches would be a challenge, but definitely doable. At that point I think positioning, rod angle and tippet size would make a bigger difference then anything.

[Dan Harrison]

This is a great thread lots of good quality info on here on tight line tools. Even have three great guides chime in thanks Jim, Doug and Dan. As far as the original question i will give props to the Sage ESN 10ft 4wt. Been tight lining the Truckee with it for the past two seasons. Absolutly love that rod really light under 3oz and crisp but has a very sensitive tip for both strike detection and keeping the fish pinned.
Was listening to Ralph Cutter talk about his under water sessions and how he could see a number of trout take the fly and the fisherman above would be none the wiser. The indicator just didn't produce a tight enough connection to even notice a change above. This got my wheels turning. After reading Georges book I changed my whole approach to Nymphing. Didn't like using the indicator much anyway. It puts you more in touch with your flies, the river and the fish. Not really a numbers guy get skunked chasing steel all the time but it was impossible not to notice my numbers went way up using tight line nymphing. Have a lot to learn think i will try to make it to one of Doug O clinics. I know his Stonedaddy slightly modified was my go to anchor last summer.

[steveg137]

Yes thanks for all of the info - really helpful.

The desire to try a longer rod and tight lining was because I've been largely bobber fishing and know that in some situations I'm missing great (shallow) water and also because per Dan I'd seen and heard Ralph's insights around fish eating and spitting with zero notice on the line. Also reading the Dynamic Nymphing book, some great stuff in there.

I'm looking forward to experimenting this year, gotta keep learning eh!

[bigfly]

Up here fishing bobbers, we speculate that around 50% of the fish we have on, we never know we had on....
When fishing wild very-smart fish, their pick-up and drop becomes an art form........
And smart is pretty much all we have up here. (Except for the little-feller's....or clubbies...)
The closer your connection to fish, the better your percentage....
Many times euro style, the line is barely outside the rod's terminal guide....leader is mostly 10-15 ft. but can range up to 30ft.
And, like streamer fishing, we set by feel......you can close your eyes.......(except when casting...)
I find it a little more intense physically/mentally (fishing all day), but it beats constantly staring at a bobber.....

Jim