Nice to see someone giving back all his knowledge and skills to beginners just getting into this wonderful sport and style of fishing! Really shows your generosity and unselfishness to teaching newcomers from avoiding common mistakes! I’m not a beginner but still enjoy watching this informative series! As a fly fisherman, one should never stop adjusting and learning new techniques, because in the end we all want to be out there and be effective! Great job and series!
Thanks! I really appreciate this comment...especially from someone who is experienced. You're right.. There is always something to learn and to be honest I learn just as much back from people who comment and give suggestions! It's a huge benefit of having a platform like this! :) Together we grow.
I loved it! A beginner here, and the detailed spec’s, coupled with reasoning made perfect sense to me. Now I can’t wait to obtain my materials to build my starting leader. I’ll be ready for the next video in the series. Thank you so much!
As a beginner your video series is absolutely one of the best sources of information I have found. The material is comprehensive, and very well presented and explained. I just received leader material in the mail today to begin to create my own setup based on your formulas and recommendations.. Thanks
I have been euro nymphing for just under 2 years and have also been making my own flys and leaders. I just came across your videos and wish I had seen them when I started. I have learned some of what you covered through trial and error but found your videos very helpful. Thank you! Your sections on hook setting and handling trout were excellent and I will follow them in the future. Also, the section on building leaders was very helpful. I have been building tapered leaders per formulas I read about on the internet and other videos. I have run into the problem with knots catching on the eyelets you mentioned and also the line sag from the heavy butt section. I'm going to build some micro leaders per your video and can't wait to try them! Thank you doing these videos and sharing your knowledge!
I'm happy to hear the videos are helping. I really like the lighter lines on my leader... I feel like I have pretty good feel with a lighter leader even at distance.
Really thanks!!! ….. from Italy!!!! Finally the first video I find out that let me know how to start!!! Thanks a lot. Clear, precise and “easy”. Now just need to start and go in to the water!!!! Good job!!!
Thanks to White Dog & Mr. Spinner. You are doing a great job with Euro nymph series !! I'm a 34 yr. fly fisher (79 !) & excited as kid about euro nymphing ! Put too many flys in trees...& wasted time w/ drys, when NO rise.... better late than never ?!
I appreciate your ideas about leaders. Way back when, I learned to attach multiple leader sections to taper them down. The knots of choice was the blood knot. When I forced myself to learn all the fly fishing knots I learned the blood knot, double and triple surgeons knots and of course the clinch knot. I like your recommended leaders for beginners.
Thanks! I think where you start and where you end up with leaders will be different as you mature as an angler. And what one person likes another may not. At the end of the day what ever works for each angler is what is right :)
Hey Bryan..! Thank you for the most comprehensive series on euro nymphing on UA-cam. It’s super informative even for someone like me who has been doing it for years before they even called it that…( shows my age …!😂) I will add tho it’s a great idea to practice all your knots at home… (watching White Dog videos of course..!😄). It’s frustrating to be fumbling with knots on the river when they’re biting. Tight lines
Thank you! And yes! Practicing knots is definitely a good idea! My main leaders is tied and ready to go but the tippet section knots I do many times a day on the river.
Thank you for these videos. I'm a spey guy and love the swing but sometimes you don't hook up like a euro fisher so I'm trying to learn euro nymphing and i appreciate your channel showing everything you need to know about it!!
Very informative! Thank you! On a side note, I just started tying 3 weeks ago and have been using your videos for the euro fly patterns and I caught my first trout on my own fly on a size 14 walts worm with the orange hot spot. Thank you for the guidance! I was fishing in a not so famous river in Central Hamilton county in the Adirondacks where there aren’t lots of trout so it felt pretty damn good. I’m up that way almost every weekend as I have a second home in Indian Lake so if you’re ever looking for a fishing partner for a day, hit me up. Love your videos man.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! That's what it's all about! Congrats on the first fish on a fly you tied! :) I still remember mine! I also love the Indian Lake area! My wife and I will be looking for a second home in about 10 years or so. Indian Lake is pretty close for us. My family has a place in Old Forge so we go through Indian Lake regularly to get there... in fact I'll be driving through there tomorrow :)
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany enjoy all the time you get up there. I know I do. Best experiences I can imagine for my 3 kids. Hopefully they’ll love it as much as I do. I’ll be waiting for the next video
Thank you so much! I have been trying to get information on this rig and other sites are either incomplete or short on important information or the rigs are overly complicated. You pretty much covered everything I needed to know and clarified a lot of things I either did not know or misunderstood. Can't wait to give it a try.
Glad it helped! I definitely go with a much lighter leader these days. I'm using 8lb maxima on a mono rig for the most part now. I've also gone to only 2 sections of sighter to make up about 3' total. Less knots this way.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Thanks for the update on your current Euro fishing techniques. It will give me something to look forward to as I gain experience. For now, as a rank beginner, I am starting out with a heavier rig like you suggested, and maybe in a year or two hopefully I can graduate to a micro rig. I really enjoy your video's !
Series has been great support for self learner like me! Little difficulties with american units in leader construction, these can be found from internet with european units so I can adapt my process 😀😀 Time to continue to vol. 3! Greetings from finland!
Awesome! I love that we connect with people all over the world! The same conversion has to be done when we talk the size of beads... they measure them in both inches and milimeters lol. It always confuses me. Good luck with your fly fishing adventures!
This is extremely helpful! Been nymphing for a little while. But this answered questions I didn't even know how to articulate. Thanks much, Kindest regards, Ben Candler, NC
I've said it once ill say it again I love you videos I love how much I've learned about euro nymphing and how I've tripled or quadrupled the amount of fish I bring to the net every outing. Thank you and again I want a White Dog hat!
That's awesome! I'm so glad to hear it has helped you! I'm working on figuring out the merch thing. Probably gonna revise the logo, work on redoing the website with a store and try to get it going before the holidays... I hope I can get it all done. I've never actually sold merch before... I just use it in giveaways. I have so many things in the hopper with the channel and I do it all on my own lol.
@@paulconte4234 It will really stay the same but be cleaned up. There is way too much detail in the logo to be used well on web and merch...etc. It just doesn't come out well. It was hand drawn back in the 80's and not made for how it is used today. I want to keep it mostly the same though... just make it more simple and clean.
I got into your channel while I was trying to figure out how fish Lakers through the ice in Maine with my garmin striker 4, but I was surprised to find that you also make great fly fishing videos. I really dig your content and this euro series is perfectly timed because I just bought a euro rod. Keep up the good work , your videos are absolutely killer.
Hi. I am a very experienced fly fisher and usually am bored as hell watching videos. Yours are very good. Thorough, in succinct order, very informative, and right to the point. Thanks for that. I must admit. I bought a Euro Rod and have just been slow to want to switch over. In Colorado, we nymph some of the toughest waters with the smartest fish in the world. Tons of tailwater fishing on tiny flies. Most time, our smallest flies on always on 6x and occasionally on 7x. The right size tippet-to-fly size comparison is ultimately important. So that the tiny flies can float/react properly as they drift/tumble through the water. You don't want a 20 tied to a logging chain. Or, more to the point of my question. You also don't want it weighted so heavily that it doesn't travel correctly. Trust me, in my water that will put the fish off on some of the trampled tailwaters. So here's my cause for hesitancy. Two-fold issues. I know you understand what I wrote above. But the same thought travels through all the scenarios when I think about the Euro style. I could use a heavy point and tie the tiny bug on with no lead. And so that makes me want to consider drop-shotting over Euro. And even more, if you consider, I can float a really long drift with an indicator. And. If you use yarn indicators. If you're good at it. I can also tell when my bogs are in the slow zone on the bottom. Because when the indicator will shutter a bit because the faster top water will rush by the struggling indicated. Therefore I know when I'm deep enough without relying on touching the bottom all the time using Euro methods. And then lastly, because the right indicator setup can show me the faintest, most delicate takes in the world. I wonder if you can register that barely perceivable take with the mono rigs? Thanks for working os hard to give back to the community. I just ran across your channel today, and I think it's one of the very best lesson-style fly fishing channels on UA-cam.
Thank you so much for your comment! I find I typically don't have to fish really tiny flies in my waters but I have had a lot of people comment that they do in their neck of the woods. I think a lot would depend on water conditions but if a bigger/heavier point fly would seem unusual to the fish I would recommend trying to dropshot! It's funny... as I was reading your situation I was starting to think dropshot and then that's exactly what you said. 😂 Great minds think alike. I'm sure you've also already explored this but Perdigons will allow you to get down deeper more easily. Keep that profile small, pack in a bit of weight and keep the tippet light and that is probably the best option outside of the dropshot. In that situation I would avoid too much tension on the line and instead watch your sighter for indications of a take. Those perdigons are so small profile that they have almost no resistance in the water so any tension will raise them up in the water column and potentially affect the drift. Best of luck!!!
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany hi and thank you for answering my question I appreciate that. It's really fun when you get in the zone and I know you mentioned in one of your videos and I just had to laugh because I completely knew what you meant. When you get in the zone and you can catch tons of fish and you're not even really sure why you or how you recognize the take in other words sometimes it even amazes ourselves that we're catching fish almost through telepathy or something because you're on a higher plane and and you can just register the takes even though they're so subtle you don't know for sure why you knew it was a take. I guess that happens after you become experienced enough that you're not distracted with but you better things that you could be distracted with. Again thank you so much for your hard work it's obvious that you love our Sport and I just appreciate people like you so much
Excellent quality video production and a valuable resource for both beginner and intermediate fly fishers. My Euro nymph leaders are very similar to yours with one exception - mine have an overall lighter breaking strain. In Ontario, many of our trout rivers have "single barbless hook" regulations which means we can only use one fly, no droppers. As a consequence we are casting less terminal weight with only one fly vs. a point/dropper setup. As an additional complication, our stonefly hatches are not significant, so many of our flies are small, which again makes for less weight on the end of the leader. With a more heavy duty leader (the way I started) I could quickly get into a situation where the leader was dominating the fly and the rig starts to get difficult to cast. Initially my leaders had 20 lb. Chameleon butt and 14 lb. hi-vis sighters. With less weight on the end, that thicker leader could get clumsy at times. So these days I go with 8 lb. sighters on the end of a 12 lb. Chameleon butt section. It's also a good slow water rig as it lets me use less weight on the fly. For the same reason, my tippet is almost always 6X Fluorocarbon to allow the single fly to get down quickly. I agree 100% on your points about knots in the butt section and sighter leaving tags on. I started out by tapering the butt section of my leader and ditched that idea pretty quickly. Not only are those sighter tags a tangle waiting to happen, they're also great algae/debris collectors. My channel - hooked4lifeca
I totally agree with everything you say and that is my experience as well! I'm lucky that I do get to use 2 flies in my rivers. When I salmon or steelhead fish I'm limited to 1 fly in which case I tie really heavy flies.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany I just got done watching the whole series from start to finish and i gotta say, I 100% recommend this series to someone just getting into euro nymphing / fly fishing, It was so informative and simple.
Great content! So many different opinions about leader but I guess it comes down to work what's best for you and experimentation. I'm a beginner and use neon wax to adjust sighter length. No trimming tippet needed just wax on wax off at different depths. Unbelievable how well that stuff shows up.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany not as much trout fishing unfortunately with my area having absolutely no rain and all the trout are in survival mode so i’ve been focusing more on carp and smallmouth bass and saltwater fish on the fly!
Yeah... I wanted to do something big when we hit 10K. JP Ross fly rods are sweet and they're custom so it will be White Dog branded! Figured it was a perfect match!
Great series and a lot of well thought opinions. So 2 or 3 videos in, I’m convinced to try out esn. But, here I am on the west coast that has little euro typical terrain with our narrow but fast often canyonbound creeks full of boulders OR huge and wide rivers that collect that massive rainfall. Both yr series and others in UK show fairly similar rivers And like sized trout. East coast is closer in terrain if one believes in the continental drift. Have u fished in the west coast Rockies or similar. And what rod would u suggest for the steelheads and coho that do make their way up the large wide rivers and the small rocky rivers. And those are the smaller fish. I’ve seen comments about #3 rod taking on “larger” rainbow; however they usually never mention the area or weight of the fish. Would u also do a #3 or go up to #4 or even further up to #8 that most people use around here in two-handed form. Since you are taking suggestions, how about putting together something that contrasts the various regions with their natural terrain and aquatic life that demand/suggest certain differences in styles and equipment. Thanks for the time and effort. Great indeed.
First of all, I love your idea! I just need experience in different parts of the country and to be honest, I've never fished outside the northeast. I have plans to do a ton of explore as my wife and I get closer to retirement one day but I will 100% keep your suggestion in mind because I think it is great! I do think you can use euro nymphing on many types of waters. Those small, bouldery streams are a little different but good for nymphing. Bigger waters are more difficult because you won't have a ton of reach. I love Euro on small to medium side streams ivers. For steelhead or coho I would not use a 3 or 4 weight. I have used 7wt and 8wt switch rods for steelhead, chinook and coho salmon. However, I think the newer euro specific 6wt rods from T&T and Diamondback are perfect for the steelhead and cohos. I'm currently working on getting one myself for steelhead but they're incredibly difficult to get. I think that will be the next explosion in rod making. 5 years ago, there weren't many people making euro rods. Now they're everywhere. I think it will be the same for the heavier euro rods.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany BC Trout are either sea run steelies or stocked in lakes. Some of the latter make it to creeks but they’re hard to come by. Despite a a lot of returning cohos - hundreds jumping around as they hit the fresh water - the spey / skagit anglers have a tricky time of it. The guys trolling from their boats seem more productive and not even 200 ft away. The rivers are very clear but the sea is dark and murky so flashers are often used on those downriggers. Further up river, the common rig is salmon roe usually throw from a spinning, baitcasting or centerpin reel. And usually if not always a float for both indicating and depth purposes. I’ll give the switch rod a try since those are more readily available here. I hope yr right about the #6 weight; those two are out of stock. Go west.
Hi & thanks, just started watching this series, it’s awesome & very helpful thanks, now looking to purchase a Euro Nymphing rod & reel , checked your website, but did not see any options 🤷🏻♂️. Thanks Again
Great video. I tie my own leaders as well. I hate amnesia though. I use catfish whisker hunter line, it's thinner, slicker and more supple and you can see it from space. A lot of beginners have problems with their tag fly wrapping up or twisting, this is caused by three things, the first is the weight of the flies the second is the length of the tag and third poor casting technique. The tag fly should be lighter than the point fly. The tag length should not exceed 6” and should not be more than 12" to 18". As for casting it takes practice, don't false cast, it's a short cast with a roll and a slight haul. Quick tip, don't spend $2 or more on tungsten flies. You can tie them for $0.18 a fly. Quick tip two, if you don't feel the rocks and your flies bumping the bottom you aren't using heavy enough flies. I was taught euro nymphing by a team USA member. I love the technique and I almost always carry two rods. It's a pain sometimes but I have doubled my fish count. I usually run a dry first then a nymph through the same water. Hate the wind? Put on a heavier fly and lower your rod and "drag" your rod ahead of the flies, you will find that happy medium where you are not actually dragging your flies. You want to keep the line just shy of tight. Again great advice. I wish I had this resource when I started so many years ago. Remember to practice good stream etiquette. There are more people than ever on the water. Too many fly by night guides teaching their clients bad habits. Respect your fellow fisherman, respect your water and please don't ever pick up a fish in a towel to take a picture of it. If possible leave the fish in the net, they are never as big as you think they are.
Thank You! Volume 3 is recorded but I'm trying to get out some actual fishing videos before I complete volume 3. It will definitely be sometime in Sept.
Absolutely the best instruction yet! I fisg bigger water, Deschutes River in Oregon, and going to try 6' 5X tippet, 2-3" 1X Sighter, and 12' Maxima Chamelon. Sometimes the wading here is very hard and I need to cast a little farther but don't want the knot between flyline and Maxima going thru the rod guides. My rod is 10'. There are so many leader formulas it is confusing. I want to keep the flyline inside the guides, except when a 18" Redside takes everything across the river! Any thoughts? Thanks, George I can't believe I didn't figure in the 10' length of rod
Thank you! I'm starting to go longer and longer on that mainline section. The knot drives me nuts when it is in my rod guides... which is pretty much every single cast. I also will be trying a new way of tying the flyline to my leader which should help a lot. I'll do a video of that when I have it down well.
Awesome video! Thank you for this video and this whole series! I am just getting into Euro nymphing and find this very resourceful! So on the leader Suffix Elite Hi-Vis Yellow only comes in 20lb and I don't see 15lb so you use 20lb as part of your sighter?
I don’t see the sighter well so I take a foam pinch indicator, yellow or Orange and Put a drop of crazy glue then place it in the center of the sighter. I have found this to be a big plus, especially in detecting strikes.
Love the series! I do have a question. I am in the process of putting together a euro set up and I am amazed at how much fluro tippet cost compared to just a regular spool of fluro line. Do you or have you used regular fluro line in place of fluro tippet? I do understand the tippet is made to be thinner/stronger. In reality I am just looking to see if I can even save some money and pick up a big spool of fluro line which will last me a long time compared to getting to 5x tippet.
I'm pretty sure you were the person who messaged me about this and we already discussed... but you can use fluorocarbon line instead of tippet. It might not be quite as strong and possibly thicker but it can save money as tippet is expensive.
Do you use thinner leader and sighter in high wind? I find the wind pushing my leader upstream sometimes and wish the leader was thinner and caught the wind less.
I know exactly what you mean! I HATE wind when I'm fishing! I do not alter my setup for wind though as my leader works well in most conditions. Thinner line could definitely help and if you are comfortable with it I would go more micro leader anyway. I am really liking it. When I have to deal with wind I may use heavier flies and angle my rod into the wind and help direct the fly downstream. So instead of keeping a straight up and down between my rod tip and flies I'll have my rod tip downstream of the flies and leading them a bit which doesn't allow the wind to catch the line as much. Also, if the wind is really bad I may lay the line right on the water and float the sighter. It won't allow for long drifts in some cases but more accurate ones when dealing with bad wind conditions.
For the butt section I run a 12ft knotless tapered leader...makes casting the rig easier...what advantage do you get by running a straight 15lb chameleon mono to your slighter?
I typically use a longer leader these days as more of a mono rig (and lighter than the 15# line). Tying it myself gives me the control of doing it exactly the way I want (much longer than 12 feet).
The knots that low in my leader don't end up in my rod guides at all. At the time of this video, I liked doing the 1 foot sections so if I had to submerge my sighter section on a deeper drift I would know exactly how far under it was. And I visually liked the breakup of colors that way so it was easier to see in all conditions.
Honestly I have so much going on in life that I'm probably not making it to the Salmon River this year. :( It is definitely something I want to do though!
Grey lenses dull the colors and block out a lot of light. The copper or amber colored lenses allow more light through and actually create better colors. Those lenses really make the color pop which makes is much easier to see your sighter!
Do you have backing on your reel and a "fly line" that you are attaching the leader you are building to. I don't completely understand. Could you explain what you use starting with an empty reel
Sure! I have a couple setups I use so I'll describe the 2 main setups. Setup 1 (using a fly line). Starting with an empty reel I attach 20lb backing to the reel with an arbor knot (slip knot that cinches down on the spool). I'll try to fill the reel but leave enough space for the remaining lines depending on my setup. - If I use use a fly line it will usually have a loop connection on it. So I'll tie a surgeons loop at the end of the backing that is big enough that the entire spool fly fly line can go through it. I'll do a loop to loop connection (passing the spool of fly line through the loop on the backing). Leave the fly line on the spool because if you try to do a loop to loop with the fly line laid out you will usually end in a big mess! - I typically use a braided core euro fly line. You can tie right to the built in loop but it typically isn't a smooth connection through the rod guides. So I cut off the welded loop and tie my own "Micro Loop" on the fly line. Check out this video for how I do that. ua-cam.com/video/SK14yTfem1A/v-deo.html - I then tie my leader setup to the micro loop as described in this video. My current set up is more of a micro leader (8# Maxima to 10# sighter to tippet ring and then my tippet. Setup 2 (mono rig). - Backing as described above. - No fly line - I tie a long section of Maxima Chameleon directly to the braid using a Double Uni Knot. I currently use a micro leader so my Maxima Chameleon is a full small spool (27 yards) of 8#. Then I tie my sighter sections, tippet ring and then tippet. Hope that helps!
Question: in vol 2, fishing a small stream maybe 20 ft wide slower moving would you alter the formula that you did in the video. Question 2: would 10 lb maxima chameleon work instead of the 12 lb?
Right now my leader formula is a little different that I have in this video. The only real change is that I'm using a very long section of the main line section (about 30 feet of 12# Maxima). Everything else is the same (except the connection of fly line to leader and that video will be out soon). I love my leader setup but I think everyone has to adapt for what feels right for them. My leader formula doesn't change despite being on different types of water. My tippet section may change though (maybe shorter and lighter for smaller, slower water). If you feel good with 10# maxima then go for it.
Most of the time, the fish I caught are healthy trouts of 15" and above and take several yards of line once hooked. To avoid having the loop to loop connection inside the guides I just use an Airflo Euro Nymp Line connected to a bi colour furled Euro Sighter (very visible) with a Tippet Ring. Then I add 5 to 6 ft of 4X Fluorocarbon Tippet. In this rig, all the knots are out of the guides. Based on your comments, I now understand that this rig is a little heavy but worked fine so far. I am very affraid of having knots inside the guides of the rod . I understand that I could be compromising some distance but ,at the same time, this rig is very easy to cast. Am I over reacting to the knot issue? Any alternate suggestion?
I'm going to be exploring a few methods for attaching the leader to the fly line that I think completely resolve the loop to loop issue. I'll be redoing all of my setups that way this spring. They are called the splice method or super glue method I believe... but they involve using thread like tying a fly and they supposedly glide through the guides without issue. I honestly have not had an issue with the loop to loop on fish but it drives me nuts when casting! I think most knots are an issue when casting. I do a lot of stripping of my line when casting in certain situations. The more knots the more frustrating it is. At the end of the day you have to use what feels right for you. Try various methods and see what you like best. This year I'm going lighter on my lines and using a splice method for fly line to leader.
My questions are these: I have the expensive Rio Euro Fly Line but it seems to be acting as nothing but backing and staying on the reel. Since this is "close in" fishing for the most part, with 12 foot mono leader, 4 feet of sighter, another 4 foot plus of tippet, what is it needed for? Basically I just have the Momo running from the top of my rod. Wouldn't I be better off just using a regular butt section leader (say a rio 7.5 or 9 feet leader that some of the tapered part has been cut away from use) of about 5-6 feet to the sighter then to tippet and thus using my fly line more outside of my rod? Thank you, love the vids.
I have the same expensive Rio Euro Line... and honestly you don't even need it. In my next versions of my leaders I think I'm going to use a longer mono section and almost for get about the fly line. I wouldn't personally do the Rio Leader just because straight mono would be less expensive.. but you could use the heavier tapered section as that would help turn flies over. I just personally like a longer section of main line that a tapered leader would be too short for. Right now I use 12' of mono for the main line and I'm thinking of almost doubling it to avoid the leader to fly line knot that frustrates me when it routinely gets stuck in the guides.
I've heard of people doing it but one of the reasons to use high vis mono is it is stiffer which makes for easier casting of the flies. I have never tried it though... so if you try it, let me know what you think.
A quick question. Do you find one color of polarized lenses highlights the sighter more than the others? I've been using the brown ones as I feel I can see into the water better with them but am wondering if the dark green lenses or perhaps the yellow ones (under certain conditions) may alllow you to see the sighter better.
I use Smith Optics with Chroma Pop Copper lenses most of the time and I find they really make the colors of the sighter pop! They are far better than grey lenses. The green and blue lenses are supposed to be good for bright winter conditions but I haven't tried them yet to know how the colors pop with them but I really like the Chroma Pop lenses from Smith. smithoptics.pxf.io/kjYn9x
Why can’t I tie my leader directly to my backing? Why do I need a euro fly line? If I wanted to cast further why would I not just extend my leader orvis tactical 30’? Not sure how I can tight line nymph if I cast too far??
You don’t need a euro line at all. You would do a mono rig essentially. The only drawback to a mono rig is it is a little harder to hold in your hand and the thinner line may slip through a gap in the reel if you don’t have a full frame reel. In terms of casting further.. the further you cast the less feel you’ll have in the flies. So you’ll want to watch your sighter closely.
I see you mention Rio's Shorty in the gear link below. Give that it's 20 ft in length would a 12 ft leader be about right. Or could I go shorter, say 9 ft. Also, I would think a version of this leader would also be good for swinging/drifting wets as well since direct contact is also necessary. Any thoughts?
The shorty is a section of fly line that is like a Euro fly line. It can help turn a regular setup into a Euro setup. The leader length is not affected by the shorty though. I would still maintain the longer leader.
You are looking for the smallest profile and the least amount of weight as possible. You could use a micro swivel if you wanted but they're still bigger than a tippet ring.
Hi man! I'm looking to try euro nymph out this season, actually thanks to your video. I've been studying them for a while now. I just can't get couple things: what's the difference between untampered leader/tippet and just regular fluoro/nylon? Except the price obviously :-/ Tbh I've been feather weight jigging and spinning for 4-5 years with extra light and short rods (0.2-2.5 g 5ish feet rods) and i really can feel anything through my 4-5 lbs fluoro. Can it really make that big of a difference? I'm sorry in advance for wasting your time in case this is an extra dumb question but really can't understand this
Also sorry for commenting such an old video, but I guess it's the right place to do it in case anyone watching is as dumb as me 😁 thanks and greetings from Italy
No problem... I see all comments that come through and try to answer as many as I can. Some people will argue that good tippet will have better strength and be thinner than regular line... but I know people who use regular line and it works for them.
If you're using a mono rig as long as that mono is the size you would want for the main line on your leader then you can tie that mono straight to your sighter material... I use the double uni knot for it. From there the leader would be the same as I described or however you want to tie it. My mono rig is mono to sighter material to tippet ring to tippet.
I have a 9' 5 weight that was the first rod I bought.I like it but I bought a Sage 3 wt 10'6" with a nymphing line for nymphing. Can I swap out the reel with another 3 wt reel with a weight forward line to throw dry flies with that rod?
You sure can! I don't do it but I know plenty of people who do and they really like it. Another thing you can do is use your typical 3wt line (not euro line) and then use a Euro Nymph Shorty which adds 20 feet of euro line to your regular fly line... but not sure which is easier at the end of the day.
Thanks for the hard work and putting this together, but I have to say you take relatively straightforward concepts and spend an enormous amount of time explaining them beyond what I think is necessary for comprehension. I found other videos that were much more to the point and clear. Again, you don’t have to agree. Just provide feedback, and it’s only one person‘s opinion.
I sometimes have that same opinion actually. Many people like that style of teaching and repetition and have said my videos are the best teaching tools on the topic, but I am working on keeping things shorter. I also used to put out long videos (30+ minutes) that covered multiple topics. I did a poll on the channel and the majority of people still want that style but I think it can get to be too much sometimes. I get incredible feedback on the long videos but at the same time some topics get hidden inside them. My strategy working forward is to stick to a topic and cover it effectively and concisely. In fact the first one of that style is coming out this Sunday. It makes it way easier to produce videos more often if they are not 30+ minutes and when recording them I can focus on preparing for one thing and keeping them concise. When doing the long form multiple video series there are so many topics to cover in a day of filming it is impossible to prepare and be able to keep that as concise as I want.
Can you look at the camera once in a while like you’re actually talking to us? You don’t need tag ends on your sighter because you are using heavy gauge line. A nail knot is easy to tie using a simple nail knot tool. And if you finish your knots with Knotsense you will make them easier to pass through the guides. Have a look at Max Catch euro rods, they are fantastic value for money, they have extra large snake guides ( some are titanium coated to make them very hard wearing) to allow knots to pass through with Less friction and last but not least they are around $100 for a 11ft 2wt euro rod!
I genuinely don't think i have witnessed something so simple made so complicated! tapered leader 12ft - 30lb to 4lb joined to a split ring! 4" sighter to 2nd split ring! off the split ring 4ft fluro to point fly 18" to 24" up to dropper! job done! In my limited 35+ yrs experience fish will come out of nowhere and hit ur fly if its attractive they will bang it! they couldn't give a fuck about the make up of a leader! the last 5ft is what matters i.e. sighter leader, dropper! and you dont need to taper a leader with nymphs only dry fly's! IMO
Check out our full EURO NYMPHING SERIES here: ua-cam.com/play/PLuLwf7ym7i7bre38GWqk0pXZggydq3Z5m.html
Nice to see someone giving back all his knowledge and skills to beginners just getting into this wonderful sport and style of fishing! Really shows your generosity and unselfishness to teaching newcomers from avoiding common mistakes! I’m not a beginner but still enjoy watching this informative series! As a fly fisherman, one should never stop adjusting and learning new techniques, because in the end we all want to be out there and be effective! Great job and series!
Thanks! I really appreciate this comment...especially from someone who is experienced. You're right.. There is always something to learn and to be honest I learn just as much back from people who comment and give suggestions! It's a huge benefit of having a platform like this! :) Together we grow.
He is an excellent teacher!
Most helpful video I’ve come across. Doesn’t skip over anything. I needed this.👍🏻👍🏻
Awesome! I'm glad you found my euro nymphing series and are enjoying it!
I loved it! A beginner here, and the detailed spec’s, coupled with reasoning made perfect sense to me. Now I can’t wait to obtain my materials to build my starting leader. I’ll be ready for the next video in the series. Thank you so much!
That's great to hear! Next video is more on rigging the multiple flies and more about tying your own flies. Then we're on the water!
The most comprehensive video on Euro Nymphing. Thanks a lot.
Thank you!!!
Crikey, you really are the best teacher of ESN techniques. This series will be shared with all my fishing friends.
Thank you! And thanks for sharing with your friends!
As a beginner your video series is absolutely one of the best sources of information I have found. The material is comprehensive, and very well presented and explained. I just received leader material in the mail today to begin to create my own setup based on your formulas and recommendations.. Thanks
Thank you so much! I'm happy it is helping people! Good luck!
Been looking forward to episode 2 all week!! You are an amazing teacher and my favourite Euro Nymphing fly fisherman to learn from.
Keep it up!!
Wow! Thank you so much! :)
I have been euro nymphing for just under 2 years and have also been making my own flys and leaders. I just came across your videos and wish I had seen them when I started. I have learned some of what you covered through trial and error but found your videos very helpful. Thank you! Your sections on hook setting and handling trout were excellent and I will follow them in the future. Also, the section on building leaders was very helpful. I have been building tapered leaders per formulas I read about on the internet and other videos. I have run into the problem with knots catching on the eyelets you mentioned and also the line sag from the heavy butt section. I'm going to build some micro leaders per your video and can't wait to try them! Thank you doing these videos and sharing your knowledge!
I'm happy to hear the videos are helping. I really like the lighter lines on my leader... I feel like I have pretty good feel with a lighter leader even at distance.
Really thanks!!! ….. from Italy!!!! Finally the first video I find out that let me know how to start!!! Thanks a lot. Clear, precise and “easy”. Now just need to start and go in to the water!!!! Good job!!!
I'm glad the videos are helpful. I have the entire playlist of the beginners series here! ua-cam.com/play/PLuLwf7ym7i7bre38GWqk0pXZggydq3Z5m.html
Can’t wait for the next video in this series!
Thanks Deb! I am working on Volume 3 now!
Thanks to White Dog & Mr. Spinner. You are doing a great job with Euro nymph series !! I'm a 34 yr. fly fisher (79 !) & excited as kid about euro nymphing ! Put too many flys in trees...& wasted time w/ drys, when NO rise.... better late than never ?!
I LOVE this!!! You're only as old as you feel :) Hope you get out there and have some fun with Euro! :)
No time is wasted if spent fishing ;D
Beginner here finally the breakdown video I've been looking for. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
You put together a very thorough series. Thank You.
Glad you like the series!
I appreciate your ideas about leaders. Way back when, I learned to attach multiple leader sections to taper them down. The knots of choice was the blood knot. When I forced myself to learn all the fly fishing knots I learned the blood knot, double and triple surgeons knots and of course the clinch knot. I like your recommended leaders for beginners.
Thanks! I think where you start and where you end up with leaders will be different as you mature as an angler. And what one person likes another may not. At the end of the day what ever works for each angler is what is right :)
Hey Bryan..! Thank you for the most comprehensive series on euro nymphing on UA-cam. It’s super informative even for someone like me who has been doing it for years before they even called it that…( shows my age …!😂) I will add tho it’s a great idea to practice all your knots at home… (watching White Dog videos of course..!😄). It’s frustrating to be fumbling with knots on the river when they’re biting. Tight lines
Thank you! And yes! Practicing knots is definitely a good idea! My main leaders is tied and ready to go but the tippet section knots I do many times a day on the river.
Thank you for these videos. I'm a spey guy and love the swing but sometimes you don't hook up like a euro fisher so I'm trying to learn euro nymphing and i appreciate your channel showing everything you need to know about it!!
That's awesome! I'm glad they're helping!
Very informative! Thank you! On a side note, I just started tying 3 weeks ago and have been using your videos for the euro fly patterns and I caught my first trout on my own fly on a size 14 walts worm with the orange hot spot. Thank you for the guidance! I was fishing in a not so famous river in Central Hamilton county in the Adirondacks where there aren’t lots of trout so it felt pretty damn good. I’m up that way almost every weekend as I have a second home in Indian Lake so if you’re ever looking for a fishing partner for a day, hit me up. Love your videos man.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! That's what it's all about! Congrats on the first fish on a fly you tied! :) I still remember mine! I also love the Indian Lake area! My wife and I will be looking for a second home in about 10 years or so. Indian Lake is pretty close for us. My family has a place in Old Forge so we go through Indian Lake regularly to get there... in fact I'll be driving through there tomorrow :)
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany enjoy all the time you get up there. I know I do. Best experiences I can imagine for my 3 kids. Hopefully they’ll love it as much as I do. I’ll be waiting for the next video
Thank you so much! I have been trying to get information on this rig and other sites are either incomplete or short on important information or the rigs are overly complicated. You pretty much covered everything I needed to know and clarified a lot of things I either did not know or misunderstood. Can't wait to give it a try.
Glad it helped! I definitely go with a much lighter leader these days. I'm using 8lb maxima on a mono rig for the most part now. I've also gone to only 2 sections of sighter to make up about 3' total. Less knots this way.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Thanks for the update on your current Euro fishing techniques. It will give me something to look forward to as I gain experience. For now, as a rank beginner, I am starting out with a heavier rig like you suggested, and maybe in a year or two hopefully I can graduate to a micro rig. I really enjoy your video's !
Very good explanation on the difference in the leaders, sighters etc. Looking forward to the next one. Thanks
Thank you!!!
Alright, well that cleared some things up for me! I enjoyed some of the finer points you made. Looking forward to vol. 3!
Glad you're enjoying the series! 😊 There's still lots more there for you too! 😀
Series has been great support for self learner like me! Little difficulties with american units in leader construction, these can be found from internet with european units so I can adapt my process 😀😀 Time to continue to vol. 3!
Greetings from finland!
Awesome! I love that we connect with people all over the world! The same conversion has to be done when we talk the size of beads... they measure them in both inches and milimeters lol. It always confuses me. Good luck with your fly fishing adventures!
Thank you again I am really enjoying this style fishing Who can not love a 30+ trout outing
The fish...
LOL... that's the truth!
This is extremely helpful! Been nymphing for a little while. But this answered questions I didn't even know how to articulate.
Thanks much, Kindest regards,
Ben
Candler, NC
Hope you enjoy the whole series!
One word. Solid. Great advice. Go with what works best for YOU.
Thank you! Everyone has their own perspective and experiences. In the end it has to feel right for you!
Really helpful. I’m an experienced fly fisherman, but want to try out euronymphing an your videos are a great help.
Perfect! That's why I created the series! Glad you are enjoying it!
I've said it once ill say it again I love you videos I love how much I've learned about euro nymphing and how I've tripled or quadrupled the amount of fish I bring to the net every outing. Thank you and again I want a White Dog hat!
That's awesome! I'm so glad to hear it has helped you! I'm working on figuring out the merch thing. Probably gonna revise the logo, work on redoing the website with a store and try to get it going before the holidays... I hope I can get it all done. I've never actually sold merch before... I just use it in giveaways. I have so many things in the hopper with the channel and I do it all on my own lol.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany don't change the logo!
@@paulconte4234 It will really stay the same but be cleaned up. There is way too much detail in the logo to be used well on web and merch...etc. It just doesn't come out well. It was hand drawn back in the 80's and not made for how it is used today. I want to keep it mostly the same though... just make it more simple and clean.
I got into your channel while I was trying to figure out how fish Lakers through the ice in Maine with my garmin striker 4, but I was surprised to find that you also make great fly fishing videos. I really dig your content and this euro series is perfectly timed because I just bought a euro rod. Keep up the good work , your videos are absolutely killer.
That's awesome! Thank you! I find both jigging lakers and euro nymphing to be exciting ways to fish!
This one is better than the lat one. Love it.
Hi. I am a very experienced fly fisher and usually am bored as hell watching videos. Yours are very good. Thorough, in succinct order, very informative, and right to the point. Thanks for that. I must admit. I bought a Euro Rod and have just been slow to want to switch over. In Colorado, we nymph some of the toughest waters with the smartest fish in the world. Tons of tailwater fishing on tiny flies. Most time, our smallest flies on always on 6x and occasionally on 7x. The right size tippet-to-fly size comparison is ultimately important. So that the tiny flies can float/react properly as they drift/tumble through the water. You don't want a 20 tied to a logging chain. Or, more to the point of my question. You also don't want it weighted so heavily that it doesn't travel correctly. Trust me, in my water that will put the fish off on some of the trampled tailwaters.
So here's my cause for hesitancy. Two-fold issues. I know you understand what I wrote above. But the same thought travels through all the scenarios when I think about the Euro style. I could use a heavy point and tie the tiny bug on with no lead. And so that makes me want to consider drop-shotting over Euro. And even more, if you consider, I can float a really long drift with an indicator. And. If you use yarn indicators. If you're good at it. I can also tell when my bogs are in the slow zone on the bottom. Because when the indicator will shutter a bit because the faster top water will rush by the struggling indicated. Therefore I know when I'm deep enough without relying on touching the bottom all the time using Euro methods. And then lastly, because the right indicator setup can show me the faintest, most delicate takes in the world. I wonder if you can register that barely perceivable take with the mono rigs?
Thanks for working os hard to give back to the community. I just ran across your channel today, and I think it's one of the very best lesson-style fly fishing channels on UA-cam.
Thank you so much for your comment! I find I typically don't have to fish really tiny flies in my waters but I have had a lot of people comment that they do in their neck of the woods. I think a lot would depend on water conditions but if a bigger/heavier point fly would seem unusual to the fish I would recommend trying to dropshot! It's funny... as I was reading your situation I was starting to think dropshot and then that's exactly what you said. 😂 Great minds think alike. I'm sure you've also already explored this but Perdigons will allow you to get down deeper more easily. Keep that profile small, pack in a bit of weight and keep the tippet light and that is probably the best option outside of the dropshot. In that situation I would avoid too much tension on the line and instead watch your sighter for indications of a take. Those perdigons are so small profile that they have almost no resistance in the water so any tension will raise them up in the water column and potentially affect the drift. Best of luck!!!
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany hi and thank you for answering my question I appreciate that. It's really fun when you get in the zone and I know you mentioned in one of your videos and I just had to laugh because I completely knew what you meant. When you get in the zone and you can catch tons of fish and you're not even really sure why you or how you recognize the take in other words sometimes it even amazes ourselves that we're catching fish almost through telepathy or something because you're on a higher plane and and you can just register the takes even though they're so subtle you don't know for sure why you knew it was a take. I guess that happens after you become experienced enough that you're not distracted with but you better things that you could be distracted with. Again thank you so much for your hard work it's obvious that you love our Sport and I just appreciate people like you so much
Just started watching these videos and they are great 👍 I can't believe how much I have learned from them, keep up the great work!
That's awesome! That is exactly whey I am doing the series.
Another superb video.
Excellent!
Very good, again.
Thank you.
Great series. Learning a lot.
That's great! That's why it is there!
Great information as always and you always break it down beautifully for beginners.
Thanks Jason! :)
Wonderful production!
Glad you like it!
Late for class but I am here. Thank you
Haha! Better late than never!
Great content. Very helpful. Very well done. Thank you for sharing this.
You're very welcome! :)
Another superb video
Great video
Thanks!
Excellent quality video production and a valuable resource for both beginner and intermediate fly fishers.
My Euro nymph leaders are very similar to yours with one exception - mine have an overall lighter breaking strain. In Ontario, many of our trout rivers have "single barbless hook" regulations which means we can only use one fly, no droppers. As a consequence we are casting less terminal weight with only one fly vs. a point/dropper setup. As an additional complication, our stonefly hatches are not significant, so many of our flies are small, which again makes for less weight on the end of the leader.
With a more heavy duty leader (the way I started) I could quickly get into a situation where the leader was dominating the fly and the rig starts to get difficult to cast. Initially my leaders had 20 lb. Chameleon butt and 14 lb. hi-vis sighters. With less weight on the end, that thicker leader could get clumsy at times. So these days I go with 8 lb. sighters on the end of a 12 lb. Chameleon butt section. It's also a good slow water rig as it lets me use less weight on the fly. For the same reason, my tippet is almost always 6X Fluorocarbon to allow the single fly to get down quickly.
I agree 100% on your points about knots in the butt section and sighter leaving tags on. I started out by tapering the butt section of my leader and ditched that idea pretty quickly. Not only are those sighter tags a tangle waiting to happen, they're also great algae/debris collectors.
My channel - hooked4lifeca
I totally agree with everything you say and that is my experience as well! I'm lucky that I do get to use 2 flies in my rivers. When I salmon or steelhead fish I'm limited to 1 fly in which case I tie really heavy flies.
Excellent video Brian.
Thanks Gary!
Thanks for sharing this.
My pleasure!
Thank you this makes more sense to me
Good! Hope it was helpful!
This video really helped me learn more about euro nymphing
Awesome! That's why I made the series! Hope the rest of the series is helpful for you too!
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany I just got done watching the whole series from start to finish and i gotta say, I 100% recommend this series to someone just getting into euro nymphing / fly fishing, It was so informative and simple.
@@Lemurs Thank you! And I appreciate you recommending to people you know
Love the information on the hero MP
Thanks!
🙌🏻🙌🏻 superb channel you’ve made it more understandable learning a lot keep them come Dog 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼
Thanks Dog! 😂 😀
Great video. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
Great content! So many different opinions about leader but I guess it comes down to work what's best for you and experimentation. I'm a beginner and use neon wax to adjust sighter length. No trimming tippet needed just wax on wax off at different depths. Unbelievable how well that stuff shows up.
I have some of the Skafars Wax as well. It definitely works.
Great video.love the information!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
GREAT INFO
Thank you! Glad you like.
that was one smooth intro. great educational content!
Thank you Jet! Been fishing much? Catch anything with the flies?
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany not as much trout fishing unfortunately with my area having absolutely no rain and all the trout are in survival mode so i’ve been focusing more on carp and smallmouth bass and saltwater fish on the fly!
Thanks for the hard work! Def gunna be trying to win the rod haha.
Yeah... I wanted to do something big when we hit 10K. JP Ross fly rods are sweet and they're custom so it will be White Dog branded! Figured it was a perfect match!
Good job!
Thanks!
Great series and a lot of well thought opinions. So 2 or 3 videos in, I’m convinced to try out esn. But, here I am on the west coast that has little euro typical terrain with our narrow but fast often canyonbound creeks full of boulders OR huge and wide rivers that collect that massive rainfall. Both yr series and others in UK show fairly similar rivers And like sized trout. East coast is closer in terrain if one believes in the continental drift. Have u fished in the west coast Rockies or similar. And what rod would u suggest for the steelheads and coho that do make their way up the large wide rivers and the small rocky rivers. And those are the smaller fish. I’ve seen comments about #3 rod taking on “larger” rainbow; however they usually never mention the area or weight of the fish. Would u also do a #3 or go up to #4 or even further up to #8 that most people use around here in two-handed form. Since you are taking suggestions, how about putting together something that contrasts the various regions with their natural terrain and aquatic life that demand/suggest certain differences in styles and equipment. Thanks for the time and effort. Great indeed.
First of all, I love your idea! I just need experience in different parts of the country and to be honest, I've never fished outside the northeast. I have plans to do a ton of explore as my wife and I get closer to retirement one day but I will 100% keep your suggestion in mind because I think it is great! I do think you can use euro nymphing on many types of waters. Those small, bouldery streams are a little different but good for nymphing. Bigger waters are more difficult because you won't have a ton of reach. I love Euro on small to medium side streams
ivers.
For steelhead or coho I would not use a 3 or 4 weight. I have used 7wt and 8wt switch rods for steelhead, chinook and coho salmon. However, I think the newer euro specific 6wt rods from T&T and Diamondback are perfect for the steelhead and cohos. I'm currently working on getting one myself for steelhead but they're incredibly difficult to get. I think that will be the next explosion in rod making. 5 years ago, there weren't many people making euro rods. Now they're everywhere. I think it will be the same for the heavier euro rods.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany BC Trout are either sea run steelies or stocked in lakes. Some of the latter make it to creeks but they’re hard to come by. Despite a a lot of returning cohos - hundreds jumping around as they hit the fresh water - the spey / skagit anglers have a tricky time of it. The guys trolling from their boats seem more productive and not even 200 ft away. The rivers are very clear but the sea is dark and murky so flashers are often used on those downriggers. Further up river, the common rig is salmon roe usually throw from a spinning, baitcasting or centerpin reel. And usually if not always a float for both indicating and depth purposes.
I’ll give the switch rod a try since those are more readily available here. I hope yr right about the #6 weight; those two are out of stock. Go west.
Long time wait
Hi & thanks, just started watching this series, it’s awesome & very helpful thanks, now looking to purchase a Euro Nymphing rod & reel , checked your website, but did not see any options 🤷🏻♂️. Thanks Again
Yeah... I don't actually sell anything. Will have some merch this year but nothing to fish with :)
Great video. I tie my own leaders as well. I hate amnesia though. I use catfish whisker hunter line, it's thinner, slicker and more supple and you can see it from space. A lot of beginners have problems with their tag fly wrapping up or twisting, this is caused by three things, the first is the weight of the flies the second is the length of the tag and third poor casting technique. The tag fly should be lighter than the point fly. The tag length should not exceed 6” and should not be more than 12" to 18". As for casting it takes practice, don't false cast, it's a short cast with a roll and a slight haul. Quick tip, don't spend $2 or more on tungsten flies. You can tie them for $0.18 a fly. Quick tip two, if you don't feel the rocks and your flies bumping the bottom you aren't using heavy enough flies. I was taught euro nymphing by a team USA member. I love the technique and I almost always carry two rods. It's a pain sometimes but I have doubled my fish count. I usually run a dry first then a nymph through the same water. Hate the wind? Put on a heavier fly and lower your rod and "drag" your rod ahead of the flies, you will find that happy medium where you are not actually dragging your flies. You want to keep the line just shy of tight. Again great advice. I wish I had this resource when I started so many years ago. Remember to practice good stream etiquette. There are more people than ever on the water. Too many fly by night guides teaching their clients bad habits. Respect your fellow fisherman, respect your water and please don't ever pick up a fish in a towel to take a picture of it. If possible leave the fish in the net, they are never as big as you think they are.
Great Comment and Great Advice all around!
This is a great series thank you. When will volume 3 come out? You are very generous producing all of this.
Thank You! Volume 3 is recorded but I'm trying to get out some actual fishing videos before I complete volume 3. It will definitely be sometime in Sept.
Absolutely the best instruction yet! I fisg bigger water, Deschutes River in Oregon, and going to try 6' 5X tippet, 2-3" 1X Sighter, and 12' Maxima Chamelon. Sometimes the wading here is very hard and I need to cast a little farther but don't want the knot between flyline and Maxima going thru the rod guides. My rod is 10'. There are so many leader formulas it is confusing. I want to keep the flyline inside the guides, except when a 18" Redside takes everything across the river! Any thoughts? Thanks, George I can't believe I didn't figure in the 10' length of rod
Thank you! I'm starting to go longer and longer on that mainline section. The knot drives me nuts when it is in my rod guides... which is pretty much every single cast. I also will be trying a new way of tying the flyline to my leader which should help a lot. I'll do a video of that when I have it down well.
Awesome video! Thank you for this video and this whole series! I am just getting into Euro nymphing and find this very resourceful! So on the leader Suffix Elite Hi-Vis Yellow only comes in 20lb and I don't see 15lb so you use 20lb as part of your sighter?
No...I use 12lb actually. Try this link. amzn.to/49uruG3
I don’t see the sighter well so I take a foam pinch indicator, yellow or Orange and Put a drop of crazy glue then place it in the center of the sighter. I have found this to be a big plus, especially in detecting strikes.
Whatever works for each person is the right thing to do for them! So far I can see my sighter but who knows what the future holds as I get older.
Bryan great work...I've learned so much from your content!!! How much longer for volume 3??
I started editing Volume 3 last night. I have a long way to go so I don't want to make any guarantees but soon! Likely next week.
Love the series! I do have a question. I am in the process of putting together a euro set up and I am amazed at how much fluro tippet cost compared to just a regular spool of fluro line. Do you or have you used regular fluro line in place of fluro tippet? I do understand the tippet is made to be thinner/stronger. In reality I am just looking to see if I can even save some money and pick up a big spool of fluro line which will last me a long time compared to getting to 5x tippet.
I'm pretty sure you were the person who messaged me about this and we already discussed... but you can use fluorocarbon line instead of tippet. It might not be quite as strong and possibly thicker but it can save money as tippet is expensive.
Thanks for another excellent video! Is the "Uni-Uni" knot the same as a "blood knot"?
You're welcome! 🙂 They are different knots. I've always like the Uni-Uni... simple to tied and a fairly small knot.
Do you use thinner leader and sighter in high wind? I find the wind pushing my leader upstream sometimes and wish the leader was thinner and caught the wind less.
I know exactly what you mean! I HATE wind when I'm fishing! I do not alter my setup for wind though as my leader works well in most conditions. Thinner line could definitely help and if you are comfortable with it I would go more micro leader anyway. I am really liking it. When I have to deal with wind I may use heavier flies and angle my rod into the wind and help direct the fly downstream. So instead of keeping a straight up and down between my rod tip and flies I'll have my rod tip downstream of the flies and leading them a bit which doesn't allow the wind to catch the line as much. Also, if the wind is really bad I may lay the line right on the water and float the sighter. It won't allow for long drifts in some cases but more accurate ones when dealing with bad wind conditions.
For the butt section I run a 12ft knotless tapered leader...makes casting the rig easier...what advantage do you get by running a straight 15lb chameleon mono to your slighter?
I typically use a longer leader these days as more of a mono rig (and lighter than the 15# line). Tying it myself gives me the control of doing it exactly the way I want (much longer than 12 feet).
whats the purpose or advantage to have 4 chamelon sections instead of 2 color sections with lesser knot-interruptions ?
The knots that low in my leader don't end up in my rod guides at all. At the time of this video, I liked doing the 1 foot sections so if I had to submerge my sighter section on a deeper drift I would know exactly how far under it was. And I visually liked the breakup of colors that way so it was easier to see in all conditions.
Thanks for the videos.
I know that you are busy with the beginner series. Did you decide to do a How to Salmon River Steelhead video?
Honestly I have so much going on in life that I'm probably not making it to the Salmon River this year. :( It is definitely something I want to do though!
just a question, you mentioned amber or copper coloured polarized glasses. Is it a subjective thing or a reason for it?
Grey lenses dull the colors and block out a lot of light. The copper or amber colored lenses allow more light through and actually create better colors. Those lenses really make the color pop which makes is much easier to see your sighter!
I may have missed it somewhere, but do you put backing on your fly reel?
I do! The backing provides a base for the reel and makes it so you gather more line with each turn of the reel.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Thank you Sir!
Could you do a video on what your salmon/steel head set is Equipment, techniques, flies etc Thank you in advance
Yes I can! In fact I already did! 😀 ua-cam.com/video/UHTWkr0L1Nw/v-deo.html
Do you have backing on your reel and a "fly line" that you are attaching the leader you are building to. I don't completely understand. Could you explain what you use starting with an empty reel
Sure! I have a couple setups I use so I'll describe the 2 main setups.
Setup 1 (using a fly line). Starting with an empty reel I attach 20lb backing to the reel with an arbor knot (slip knot that cinches down on the spool). I'll try to fill the reel but leave enough space for the remaining lines depending on my setup.
- If I use use a fly line it will usually have a loop connection on it. So I'll tie a surgeons loop at the end of the backing that is big enough that the entire spool fly fly line can go through it. I'll do a loop to loop connection (passing the spool of fly line through the loop on the backing). Leave the fly line on the spool because if you try to do a loop to loop with the fly line laid out you will usually end in a big mess!
- I typically use a braided core euro fly line. You can tie right to the built in loop but it typically isn't a smooth connection through the rod guides. So I cut off the welded loop and tie my own "Micro Loop" on the fly line. Check out this video for how I do that. ua-cam.com/video/SK14yTfem1A/v-deo.html
- I then tie my leader setup to the micro loop as described in this video. My current set up is more of a micro leader (8# Maxima to 10# sighter to tippet ring and then my tippet.
Setup 2 (mono rig).
- Backing as described above.
- No fly line - I tie a long section of Maxima Chameleon directly to the braid using a Double Uni Knot. I currently use a micro leader so my Maxima Chameleon is a full small spool (27 yards) of 8#. Then I tie my sighter sections, tippet ring and then tippet.
Hope that helps!
Yes it did Thank you. These how to videos are awesome! @@WhiteDogTrailCompany
How can i build my euro nymphing leader for my steelhead fly rod ? Thank you !
This video is my closest I have for salmon and steelhead setup with details of my leader. ua-cam.com/video/UHTWkr0L1Nw/v-deo.html
Question: in vol 2, fishing a small stream maybe 20 ft wide slower moving would you alter the formula that you did in the video.
Question 2: would 10 lb maxima chameleon work instead of the 12 lb?
Right now my leader formula is a little different that I have in this video. The only real change is that I'm using a very long section of the main line section (about 30 feet of 12# Maxima). Everything else is the same (except the connection of fly line to leader and that video will be out soon). I love my leader setup but I think everyone has to adapt for what feels right for them. My leader formula doesn't change despite being on different types of water. My tippet section may change though (maybe shorter and lighter for smaller, slower water). If you feel good with 10# maxima then go for it.
Most of the time, the fish I caught are healthy trouts of 15" and above and take several yards of line once hooked. To avoid having the loop to loop connection inside the guides I just use an Airflo Euro Nymp Line connected to a bi colour furled Euro Sighter (very visible) with a Tippet Ring. Then I add 5 to 6 ft of 4X Fluorocarbon Tippet. In this rig, all the knots are out of the guides. Based on your comments, I now understand that this rig is a little heavy but worked fine so far. I am very affraid of having knots inside the guides of the rod . I understand that I could be compromising some distance but ,at the same time, this rig is very easy to cast. Am I over reacting to the knot issue? Any alternate suggestion?
I'm going to be exploring a few methods for attaching the leader to the fly line that I think completely resolve the loop to loop issue. I'll be redoing all of my setups that way this spring. They are called the splice method or super glue method I believe... but they involve using thread like tying a fly and they supposedly glide through the guides without issue. I honestly have not had an issue with the loop to loop on fish but it drives me nuts when casting! I think most knots are an issue when casting. I do a lot of stripping of my line when casting in certain situations. The more knots the more frustrating it is. At the end of the day you have to use what feels right for you. Try various methods and see what you like best. This year I'm going lighter on my lines and using a splice method for fly line to leader.
My questions are these: I have the expensive Rio Euro Fly Line but it seems to be acting as nothing but backing and staying on the reel. Since this is "close in" fishing for the most part, with 12 foot mono leader, 4 feet of sighter, another 4 foot plus of tippet, what is it needed for? Basically I just have the Momo running from the top of my rod. Wouldn't I be better off just using a regular butt section leader (say a rio 7.5 or 9 feet leader that some of the tapered part has been cut away from use) of about 5-6 feet to the sighter then to tippet and thus using my fly line more outside of my rod? Thank you, love the vids.
I have the same expensive Rio Euro Line... and honestly you don't even need it. In my next versions of my leaders I think I'm going to use a longer mono section and almost for get about the fly line. I wouldn't personally do the Rio Leader just because straight mono would be less expensive.. but you could use the heavier tapered section as that would help turn flies over. I just personally like a longer section of main line that a tapered leader would be too short for. Right now I use 12' of mono for the main line and I'm thinking of almost doubling it to avoid the leader to fly line knot that frustrates me when it routinely gets stuck in the guides.
Is it a good idea to make the hi-vis section out of braided line?
I've heard of people doing it but one of the reasons to use high vis mono is it is stiffer which makes for easier casting of the flies. I have never tried it though... so if you try it, let me know what you think.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany thank you for your opinion regarding this! 😁
A quick question. Do you find one color of polarized lenses highlights the sighter more than the others? I've been using the brown ones as I feel I can see into the water better with them but am wondering if the dark green lenses or perhaps the yellow ones (under certain conditions) may alllow you to see the sighter better.
I use Smith Optics with Chroma Pop Copper lenses most of the time and I find they really make the colors of the sighter pop! They are far better than grey lenses. The green and blue lenses are supposed to be good for bright winter conditions but I haven't tried them yet to know how the colors pop with them but I really like the Chroma Pop lenses from Smith. smithoptics.pxf.io/kjYn9x
Why can’t I tie my leader directly to my backing? Why do I need a euro fly line? If I wanted to cast further why would I not just extend my leader orvis tactical 30’? Not sure how I can tight line nymph if I cast too far??
You don’t need a euro line at all. You would do a mono rig essentially. The only drawback to a mono rig is it is a little harder to hold in your hand and the thinner line may slip through a gap in the reel if you don’t have a full frame reel. In terms of casting further.. the further you cast the less feel you’ll have in the flies. So you’ll want to watch your sighter closely.
I see you mention Rio's Shorty in the gear link below. Give that it's 20 ft in length would a 12 ft leader be about right. Or could I go shorter, say 9 ft. Also, I would think a version of this leader would also be good for swinging/drifting wets as well since direct contact is also necessary. Any thoughts?
The shorty is a section of fly line that is like a Euro fly line. It can help turn a regular setup into a Euro setup. The leader length is not affected by the shorty though. I would still maintain the longer leader.
Pardon me if this has already been addressed...any reason not to use a micro swivel instead of a tippet ring?
Thanks you for the good vids!
You are looking for the smallest profile and the least amount of weight as possible. You could use a micro swivel if you wanted but they're still bigger than a tippet ring.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Thank you
How far apart do you recommend keeping the flies
I go over that in Volume 3 but generally about 18" between flies. Sometimes is gets shorter as you replace flies.
Hi man! I'm looking to try euro nymph out this season, actually thanks to your video. I've been studying them for a while now. I just can't get couple things: what's the difference between untampered leader/tippet and just regular fluoro/nylon? Except the price obviously :-/
Tbh I've been feather weight jigging and spinning for 4-5 years with extra light and short rods (0.2-2.5 g 5ish feet rods) and i really can feel anything through my 4-5 lbs fluoro. Can it really make that big of a difference? I'm sorry in advance for wasting your time in case this is an extra dumb question but really can't understand this
Also sorry for commenting such an old video, but I guess it's the right place to do it in case anyone watching is as dumb as me 😁 thanks and greetings from Italy
No problem... I see all comments that come through and try to answer as many as I can. Some people will argue that good tippet will have better strength and be thinner than regular line... but I know people who use regular line and it works for them.
How would I set up a leader on mono rig? Do you go your mono to maxima to sighter to tippet? Or just mono to sighter to tippet
If you're using a mono rig as long as that mono is the size you would want for the main line on your leader then you can tie that mono straight to your sighter material... I use the double uni knot for it. From there the leader would be the same as I described or however you want to tie it. My mono rig is mono to sighter material to tippet ring to tippet.
Your the man thank you I really appreciate it
So you can’t handle a fly rod ..?
When doing the tippet how the hell do I add a 2nd fly dropper lol
I have a 9' 5 weight that was the first rod I bought.I like it but I bought a Sage 3 wt 10'6" with a nymphing line for nymphing. Can I swap out the reel with another 3 wt reel with a weight forward line to throw dry flies with that rod?
You sure can! I don't do it but I know plenty of people who do and they really like it. Another thing you can do is use your typical 3wt line (not euro line) and then use a Euro Nymph Shorty which adds 20 feet of euro line to your regular fly line... but not sure which is easier at the end of the day.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Already have the Euro reel so I'd just switch reels. Thanks for your help
Thanks for the hard work and putting this together, but I have to say you take relatively straightforward concepts and spend an enormous amount of time explaining them beyond what I think is necessary for comprehension. I found other videos that were much more to the point and clear. Again, you don’t have to agree. Just provide feedback, and it’s only one person‘s opinion.
I sometimes have that same opinion actually. Many people like that style of teaching and repetition and have said my videos are the best teaching tools on the topic, but I am working on keeping things shorter. I also used to put out long videos (30+ minutes) that covered multiple topics. I did a poll on the channel and the majority of people still want that style but I think it can get to be too much sometimes. I get incredible feedback on the long videos but at the same time some topics get hidden inside them. My strategy working forward is to stick to a topic and cover it effectively and concisely. In fact the first one of that style is coming out this Sunday. It makes it way easier to produce videos more often if they are not 30+ minutes and when recording them I can focus on preparing for one thing and keeping them concise. When doing the long form multiple video series there are so many topics to cover in a day of filming it is impossible to prepare and be able to keep that as concise as I want.
Great video but, I was hoping you would walk through the construction of a leader and build one on camera.
I may do that at some point but I have a lot of other stuff to cover. This video was mostly about formulas and why I do certain things.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Fair enough! I would find it helpful. Just to see how it all goes together. Thanks for all the Euro videos, they are great!
Can you look at the camera once in a while like you’re actually talking to us?
You don’t need tag ends on your sighter because you are using heavy gauge line.
A nail knot is easy to tie using a simple nail knot tool. And if you finish your knots with Knotsense you will make them easier to pass through the guides.
Have a look at Max Catch euro rods, they are fantastic value for money, they have extra large snake guides ( some are titanium coated to make them very hard wearing) to allow knots to pass through with
Less friction and last but not least they are around $100 for a 11ft 2wt euro rod!
I genuinely don't think i have witnessed something so simple made so complicated! tapered leader 12ft - 30lb to 4lb joined to a split ring! 4" sighter to 2nd split ring! off the split ring 4ft fluro to point fly 18" to 24" up to dropper! job done! In my limited 35+ yrs experience fish will come out of nowhere and hit ur fly if its attractive they will bang it! they couldn't give a fuck about the make up of a leader! the last 5ft is what matters i.e. sighter leader, dropper! and you dont need to taper a leader with nymphs only dry fly's! IMO
Europeans invented it Americans perfected it
don't believe this constitutes a micro leader. I think its also problematic to taper your euro leaders.