Podcast

[DUBBN]

I wear tri-focals. Still whether it be euro, mono, high stick or bobber, i can always see the leader as it enters the water. 5 feet of sighter, 3 backing barrels add up to interference for me. Crutches for those that can not actually nymph fish.
Where the leader enters the water, as long as there is minimal slack, seperates true fishers.

If you do not have a Softhackle , Spider, or Flymph on your rig for at least half the day, you have put yourself at huge disadvantage.

This is my opinion.

[plvankampen]

5 feet of sighter, 3 backing barrels add up to interference for me. Crutches for those that can not actually nymph fish.
Where the leader enters the water, as long as there is minimal slack, seperates true fishers.

Based on your statement above, I have developed a short list of people who 'can not actually nymph fish'
* Devin Olsen
* George Daniel
* Dave Rothrock
* Jonathan White
* Domenick Swentosky

Ha ha ha , no, but seriously, I agree with you that 90% of the game is maintaining minimal slack, controlling the drift and casting accurately enough to anticipate where your line/leader will land.

If sighters are a crutch, what's next? Real anglers don't use polaroid glasses because they are a crutch? Real anglers don't wear hats because it's a crutch? None of these things do the fishing for you so I'm not sure how they are considered crutches. You might could argue that using a bobber is a crutch, but now you'll need to eliminate the great midge anglers of our time - starting with Pat Dorsey and Ed Koch.

As Dom likes to put it, lead shot is the original sin in nymphing. So arguing about sighters and leader length is only productive if we are discussing - not judging. As I like to say at work, the proof is in the pudding. Assuming a person isn't a 'true fisher' based on anything more than what they can do on the river is a bit ill advised. You'll pass up on an opportunity to learn from others who may know a thing or two as well

But, I guess people have their opinions and I've also found they change as often as light conditions do on the river - so, to each his own

[plvankampen]

Many ways to skin this cat, I'm seeing.... my interest comes in because I inevitably feel like catching trout on the bottom has been more luck than skill for me. I've got some mono staring at me, so I'll give it a shot with what I've gut on hand and proceed from there.

Thanks gents!

Yep. My rig changes all the time. At the end of the day it's always about getting a good drift and being able to detect a strike. Whatever floats your boat

[DUBBN]

5 feet of sighter, 3 backing barrels add up to interference for me. Crutches for those that can not actually nymph fish.
Where the leader enters the water, as long as there is minimal slack, seperates true fishers.

Based on your statement above, I have developed a short list of people who 'can not actually nymph fish'
* Devin Olsen
* George Daniel
* Dave Rothrock
* Jonathan White
* Domenick Swentosky

I am happy for you that you are impressed with the fishermen you listed. I do read and apply some of their techniques, but they seriously do not impress me in the least.

Use as many backing barrels and sighters as you want, I still consider it lazy

[tworod]

The mono-rig is nothing new. I used it exclusively until I was about 14 over 50 years ago. Give either of these a try. They are deadly!

[plvankampen]

I am happy for you that you are impressed with the fishermen you listed. I do read and apply some of their techniques, but they seriously do not impress me in the least.

Use as many backing barrels and sighters as you want, I still consider it lazy

I didn't say I was impressed with these people. I was pointing out the absurdity of the statement you made concerning people that do these things not being 'true fishers.' (whatever that means?)

Anyway, I don't like to argue with people who resort to misrepresenting my statements and making personal assertions to make their point so I will be bowing out.

[plvankampen]

The mono-rig is nothing new. I used it exclusively until I was about 14 over 50 years ago.

Ha ha ha ... right on!

[DUBBN]

I have been watching this YouTube channel. Very entertaining.

https://youtu.be/sWfKB9Q4kME?si=w7vhaLifg-Jayac8

[chugbug]

Got a chance to watch that last one over a cup of coffee, takes all the rough edges off, doesn't it. I'm more pasttimey than athlethleticky about fly fishing, just me, so it's right up my alley, tone, style, pace, of a really nice day on the water. Nothing so brand new or startling to learn, lots of solidifying what I already think I know, which is good sustenance for an aging dog. Thanks for adding that. Poetry in motion.

There's a nice segment in there about the swing, which I thought particularly well said, and I liked the minor change in fly pattern at the end, and the personalities.

And I did unfortunately really enjoy the sound the narrator's reel made as he peeled out some fly line. I assume that was a fancy pants reel. I don't go near that. Like sugar to a diabetic, that refined purr. (Fortunately for me, though, nothing compares to the feel, sights and sounds of the fish itself on the take.)

[Mike62]

Curious, how often do you guys use the mono-rig versus the fly line? Do you switch from one to the other on the same rod, same day, or bring two different rods, or different days different rigs? Do you continue to use a traditional fly line, and when do you prefer that if so? I've read the trout itten stuff and Daniels, but have never (yet) taken the leap... creature of habit...

I've been using a 'mono-rig' for years now. I use Cortland black/white 12lb sighter material as my butt (Spanish) OR a tapered 20/15/12 of Chameleon. One little trick I do employ is to add 3 backing barrels to the terminating end / sighter. I like to mix up orange, white and yellow for the backing barrels, but white is usally the best. For a sighter I have come to love the tri-color sighters from Cortland. With three backing barrels and a tri-color sighter it is tough to not find your sighter. I don't leave any tags and keep the blood knots to a minimum as much as possible.

I definitely still use fly line. For fishing freestones I like to use #3 Cortland Spring Creek or Rio 3D SHS. Of course, I've been on trips where I never have fly line out of my guides, but I also am still a big fan of high-sticking - especially when I'm not fishing weighted nymphs or when I'm swapping back and forth. And, of course, I love fishing flymphs, wets and soft hackles so I'm definitely going to have some fly line.

While I'm not much for rig keepers (they encourage the use of beat up tippet) I do store my 'euro' leaders on them. That's two rigs - one tapered and one uniform.

My advice is to always go with a rig that is easy to modify quickly. And, unless I'm fishing a large river and all day, I never bring two rods on the river. Good grief people, are we going to do costume changes next?

I've found that I will not re-rig if it takes me off the water for more than about 5 minutes or requires me to find a place to 'spread out.' I'm sure I'm not alone there. That means, no reel or spool changes unless it's lunch time or nap time. That also means I should be able to swap between tight line and classic techniques standing in a run.

I would highly recommend checking out Dave Rothrock's approach to nymphing. I'm gradually finding myself going his way. He uses a rather short leader and unweighted nymphs. He has some great videos online, but I would start with his blogs. https://www.therantingangler.com/2022/0 ... shing.html

I use the mono-rig, never. To me, and this is just me, I might as well be spin fishing if I'm using that method. ...and Dom Swentosky irritates the livin' shite out of me. Probably more than Ben over at 'Huge Fisherman' does. Definitely more than the Huge guy. At least the Huge guy has a ...sort of, self-deprecating sense of humor. Swentosky seems to think his every utterance is Pulitzer worthy.

...then again, I could be projecting here.