Small stream euro nymphing rod

[John Killinger]

Anyone have any suggestions for a small stream euro nymphing rod? Yesterday I went to a nice mountain stream and used my 5wt 8'6" avid and it worked allright, just a little overkill for small wild fish. There is no way the 10' 3wt would have worked, I sure like the action better in that one .

I know someone who bulids fly rods and I know I could get a 2/3 wt in a shorter length, just not sure what a good length would be for long lining in the shallow riffles. Had a 6' 3/4 wt bulit but I know that's too short.

[Nick Naclerio]

John,

I Euro nymphed small mountain creeks a bunch last year and have done it this year already to. For me it depends on whats a small creek. When I fish 20-30ft rivers I use my 11ft 5wt. When I fish 10ft wide creeks I use either my 7'6'' 3wt or my 9ft 4wt. This year I've been using my 9ft 4wt since I'm in love with that rod and use it every chance I get. The next thing I do different for little creeks is change my leader. I use a 9ft 5x leader cut down to about 5ft then tie in my sighter and add my tippet. I've found you don't need a huge leader since most of the time you can hide on the bank anyway and its nice to have a leader that will actually roll cast. As long as your leader below the sighter is straight tippet you'll get great strike detection.

I should mention though that my buddy Chris uses his 10' 3wt Streamflex on the same 10ft wide creek I fish.

[John Killinger]

How does your buddy do that without getting pissed and caught on trees?  I would think the 7.5' length wouldn't work for long leader tactics.

How comes your not out fishing? It's a beautiful day. I have domestic work to do.

[Nick Naclerio]

How does he do it without getting pissed? I have no idea.

The 7'6'' rod really is to short for long leader nymphing but thats kinda what I was getting at. For small mountain streams I feel long leaders aren't required and if your in a place where you could make a longer "cast" you can always use a bit of fly line. When I fish mountain streams I either go directly upstream and being that mountain stream have very high gradient you can almost stand on the fish or I hide behind stream side cover but either way I'm usually close to the fish.

Small low gradient limestones are a totally different thing.

Got family stuff to do today but I'll be out tomorrow and with any luck most people will have family stuff to do tomorrow.

[Jeremy Allan]

I have an old 8.5 4wt glx that I use just for this purpose. It's got enough power to throw heavier rigs on smaller streams and has a soft tip that won't bounce off those smaller trout.

[Todd Oishi]

I Czech Nymph my local streams with a 7' - 10" 2-weight Sage TXL fly rod. I personally find it to be the ideal rod for smaller stream (and trout) fishing. As previously mentioned; I can effortlessly adapt/convert this same rod into a 9' - 10" length when a longer reach and presentation is required.

I should also add that I prefer to fish with two flies rather than three when targeting smaller streams. The anchor fly tends to move around as conditions dictate the need for change...

[John Killinger]

Todd,
           Do you use the euro method with a sighter and no strike  indicator? Just wondering how it works with that short length fly rod. How long is your leader?

[Todd Oishi]

John,

I fish both with and without sighters, but I generally try to keep one (of varying lengths and coil sizes) on my leader while nymphing. Although they can be very effective, I never use conventional strike indicators (just my personal choice), as I am constantly trying to perfect and hone my nymphing skills. The sighters work fine whether the rod is fished as a short stick or in its fully extended form. There are times that I break it down even further and fish the upper sections, while strategically tucking the butt section and reel into the front of my waders...

As for my leader, it varies with the technique as well as the depth and size of the water that I am targeting (I frequently change it on-the-fly) and as the conditions dictate, but I'd have to say that a leader length of 7 to 9 feet is fairly standard for the majority of my small stream fishing.

Hope this helps!
Todd