Today, I tried to wean myself off the bobber.....

[jaredoconnor]

to say it "barely works" is a disservice to those of us who actually can do it well

I meant in comparison to the no-fly-line approach. 2ft of 4wt fly line weighs more than 10ft of 15lb mono and you can't really argue with physics of that.

just saying that it's not the one and only way to catch a helluva a lot of fish

I don't think anyone here is claiming that it is, but I didn't read the whole thread.

it's great to have multiple clubs in the bag, not just a putter.

Again, I don't think anyone here is claiming that euro/contact/whatever is the be-all of fly fishing. However, many are discovering it for the first time and they want to focus on this fun new thing they are learning.

 

[msteudel]

Everyone has tight-lined with their normal gear. However, it barely works and is reserved pretty much just for pocket water; you have to have the fish pretty much right under the rod tip, because the fly line is so heavy. To say all this euro/contact nymphing stuff is slightly more effective is a huge understatement; it extends your range by an order of magnitude.

I think you are missing out on a whole technique of nymphing by thinking this. Frank Sawyer is one of the well known guys that was doing the long line nymphing. The Czech team (and Im sure other european teams) were also doing long line upstream/downstream nymphing with fly lines on the water, no indicator.

 

[jaredoconnor]

I think you are missing out on a whole technique of nymphing by thinking this. Frank Sawyer is one of the well known guys that was doing the long line nymphing. The Czech team (and Im sure other european teams) were also doing long line upstream/downstream nymphing with fly lines on the water, no indicator.

That's exactly how I was taught to nymph, when I was a kid. I don't think indicators had caught on back then or at least no one I knew used them. Regardless, I don't think anyone refers to that as tight-lining. Back then, people just called it "nymphing", but I heard it referred to as "naked nymphing" after indicators became prevalent.

Perhaps we are all talking about different things. When I say "tight-lining", I mean having all fly line off the water and being tight to the fly. If you have fly line on the water, the line is not tight to the fly. Hence, it's not "tight-lining".

I'm aware that there are other ways to fish a nymph. However, in the quoted post, I was only talking about tight-lining.

 

[Steve Saville]

You know you can fish dries without a hatch? Trout “lookup” in Most clear water conditions. Work on aerial mends and great presentations.

Oh, I know that. I was merely using that as a talking point. Most of the fish I've caught on dries have come up for the fly. Most of us love to see the fish smacking a bunch of flies when there is a hatch however.

 

[Squamishpoacher]

"Strike Indicators. We call 'em Strike Indicators. And we use 'em with rods. Poles is fer telephone wires "

 

[BC33]

It's all been done before, or at least variations.

I am no fan of competitive fly fishing. But I understand the value of the innovations.....these guys/gals fish in really difficult conditions. The fine tuning of some of this shit is worth playing around with, imo......that said, as always, it's fishin.....do it how u want, and be happy ur not at work!

 

[Irafly]

Oh, I am glad he did....but only if BC33 took @Irafly off ignore.

This could get fun fast .

Nah, unfortunately I really like what he had to say on the topic, so the fireworks would be low.

 

[Clarkman]

that's why they call it fishin'.....

 

[Irafly]

Most of the fish I've caught on dries have come up for the fly.

Versus down for the fly? Just messing, because I started imagining a Henry’s Fork double PHD bow jumping out of the water to inspect both sides of the fly before deciding to come down on it mouth agape ready to chomp.

 

[Phil Fravel]

Personally. I love seeing the Corkie go under water. There will be times when you can see a fish keyed in on your fly. And do a count down. 5 ,4,3,2 1. Corkie goes down fish on.

 

[Steve Saville]

Versus down for the fly? Just messing, because I started imagining a Henry’s Fork double PHD bow jumping out of the water to inspect both sides of the fly before deciding to come down on it mouth agape ready to chomp.

I will admit one thing. I have never fished Montana or Idaho that much but have always wanted to go more. We had a trip scheduled for September but of course everything last year got canceled. I'm a year older now but still want to do it.

 

[nwbobber]

Versus down for the fly? Just messing, because I started imagining a Henry’s Fork double PHD bow jumping out of the water to inspect both sides of the fly before deciding to come down on it mouth agape ready to chomp.

The first largemouth bass I ever caught did an aerial approach to my hula popper. The fish and the popper were about the same size. It was cool, and if I could always catch fish that way, I definitely would.