i just use a mono rig when contact nymphing. perfection loop to fly line with 20 feet of 15 pound mono bloodknot to a leader 2 times the length your rod of 10 pound mono blood knot to 2x sighter uni knotted to a 2mm tippet ring. run your tippet and dropper set up of the tippet ring. deadly as a drop shot system in flowing water but also able to present unweighted nymphs in tiny clear backcountry creeks. the actual fly line never comes of my reel. imo using the fly line it sags too much and you loose contact with the nymphs. i grew up fishing lead shot and salmon eggs for trout in the eastern sierra nevada so it was a natural adaption i made to overcome spooky fish in small clear water with my fly line. i found out that its actually practical for me and convenient as i fish big rivers, small backcountry creeks and lakes all on the same trip. often on the same day. on backcountry trips i only bring 1 3wt fly rod. this system detaches easily so i am able to nymph in the mornings/afternoons then detach the mono rig to use my wf flyline for dry flies in the evening or indicator fishing when needed.
I do something similar with my reels and often fish the same rod and swap out the spools. I'm going to try the mono setup. I bet it works pretty well cutting through the water. Drop shot would work here, but it's technically illegal to do when targeting trout, but I know plenty of guides that do it. Either way, thanks for the excellent write up and explanation!
I'm glad it helped! I plan on doing a video, soon, for the most universal setup using a 3WT and 5WT rod and a 5WT reel with two spools. Hopefully it will be out in the next few weeks, but I've got to get some fish in the next, first 😁
This balance is key stuff is BS. Heavier reels to 'balance' a long/heavy tipped rod add to total weight which you will then wave around and sometimes hold out and up. Tenkara rods don't even have a reel yet are handled fine by their users. IF you prefer the feel of a 'balanced' rig enough that it is important to you, fine. Personally I am almost indifferent to 'balance' at the usual recommended balance point and often prefer the feel of relative tip heaviness when my hand is farther back on the grip.
I hear where you're coming from and I think most of that fatigue that gets blamed on balance is actually the loading characteristics of the rod. Comfort is key and a larger heavier reel isn't as necessary anymore with nymphing specific rods made to cast weighted nymphs on a monofilament line.
I made this video as an introduction to someone that might be buying their second rod as a 3wt for Euronymphing. The idea is they can use the same reel from their 5wt and set it up with the ability to go back and forth between rods or even switch to dries on the 3wt if they wanted. A French leader makes it difficult to change over. I agree mono to the reel makes the best setup, but I do that by having separate spools for the same reel for different techniques. I will cover this in a video in the future, but this was an answer to a direct question from a channel member on how they can get into Euronymphing using a reel they already have. I appreciate the input and thanks for watching!
i just use a mono rig when contact nymphing. perfection loop to fly line with 20 feet of 15 pound mono bloodknot to a leader 2 times the length your rod of 10 pound mono blood knot to 2x sighter uni knotted to a 2mm tippet ring. run your tippet and dropper set up of the tippet ring. deadly as a drop shot system in flowing water but also able to present unweighted nymphs in tiny clear backcountry creeks. the actual fly line never comes of my reel.
imo using the fly line it sags too much and you loose contact with the nymphs. i grew up fishing lead shot and salmon eggs for trout in the eastern sierra nevada so it was a natural adaption i made to overcome spooky fish in small clear water with my fly line. i found out that its actually practical for me and convenient as i fish big rivers, small backcountry creeks and lakes all on the same trip. often on the same day. on backcountry trips i only bring 1 3wt fly rod. this system detaches easily so i am able to nymph in the mornings/afternoons then detach the mono rig to use my wf flyline for dry flies in the evening or indicator fishing when needed.
I do something similar with my reels and often fish the same rod and swap out the spools. I'm going to try the mono setup. I bet it works pretty well cutting through the water. Drop shot would work here, but it's technically illegal to do when targeting trout, but I know plenty of guides that do it. Either way, thanks for the excellent write up and explanation!
Dang! All the info I needed! Thanks Road and Reel! Going to look into getting this set up!
I'm glad it helped! I plan on doing a video, soon, for the most universal setup using a 3WT and 5WT rod and a 5WT reel with two spools. Hopefully it will be out in the next few weeks, but I've got to get some fish in the next, first 😁
Love the info
This balance is key stuff is BS. Heavier reels to 'balance' a long/heavy tipped rod add to total weight which you will then wave around and sometimes hold out and up. Tenkara rods don't even have a reel yet are handled fine by their users. IF you prefer the feel of a 'balanced' rig enough that it is important to you, fine. Personally I am almost indifferent to 'balance' at the usual recommended balance point and often prefer the feel of relative tip heaviness when my hand is farther back on the grip.
I hear where you're coming from and I think most of that fatigue that gets blamed on balance is actually the loading characteristics of the rod. Comfort is key and a larger heavier reel isn't as necessary anymore with nymphing specific rods made to cast weighted nymphs on a monofilament line.
why not just make it simple with a french leader.... instead of using fly line which creates SAG!.....
I made this video as an introduction to someone that might be buying their second rod as a 3wt for Euronymphing. The idea is they can use the same reel from their 5wt and set it up with the ability to go back and forth between rods or even switch to dries on the 3wt if they wanted. A French leader makes it difficult to change over. I agree mono to the reel makes the best setup, but I do that by having separate spools for the same reel for different techniques. I will cover this in a video in the future, but this was an answer to a direct question from a channel member on how they can get into Euronymphing using a reel they already have. I appreciate the input and thanks for watching!