Nymphing rod

Brian50

Brian50

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Apr 20, 2015
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Do you really need a 10ft rod to tight line nymph fish or will a 9ft work is the 1ft make that much difference
 
Brian50 wrote:
Do you really need a 10ft rod to tight line nymph fish or will a 9ft work is the 1ft make that much difference
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No need to go out and buy a new rod, a 9ft rod will work just fine.

Give it a go and have some fun.
 
One huge advantage of the extra foot is high sticking over different currents/seams. If you're tight lining in tricky water you're going to drag your rig.

However, I nymph in the Catskills with a 905 BIIIX, so anything is possible.

Where are you primarily going to be using this rod? Do you ever use really big stone fly nymphs or something similar? What wt are you thinking?
 
Mainly fish big spring ,slate run ,little pine ,yellow breeches penns, little J
 
afishinado wrote:
Brian50 wrote:
Do you really need a 10ft rod to tight line nymph fish or will a 9ft work is the 1ft make that much difference
Click to expand...


No need to go out and buy a new rod, a 9ft rod will work just fine.

Give it a go and have some fun.
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Definitely agree.

As I said in another thread, back in the day most people had 7 1/2 ft fly rods, and we nymph fished with those, with no indicator.

So a 9 ft rod is plenty long enough.

Using a real long fly rod for nymph fishing does give you more control of the line to prevent drag etc.

But to some extent that is replacing skill and technique in line control with...just sticking a long pole out over the water. :)



 
Thank you everyone for your advice
 
9Ft will certainly be alright. but if you realize you tightlining/euro nymphing, you will definitely appreciate that extra 1ft or 2ft of reach of a longer rod. I have the new 10' 3 wt Orvis Recon and its awesome
 
I started tight tight lining with a 9ft rod, then decided I really enjoyed it so I bought a 10ft. The extra foot does help and is appreciated, but not completely necessary.
 
I started nymphing with a 9' rod and it worked just fine. However I have since moved on to a 10' 5 weight and a 10' 6" 4 weight. The extra length is helpful.
 
I started tight lining in the early '70's. There's no question that a 10' rod will allow more reach over varying currents; however, I must admit I've never seriously considered going beyond a 9' rod.
 
I feel like most people who try a 10 footer don't go back. I got one and within a few months 3 of my fishing buddies got one too. Like I said no one I know has switched back to a shorter rod.
 
ryansheehan wrote:
I feel like most people who try a 10 footer don't go back. I got one and within a few months 3 of my fishing buddies got one too. Like I said no one I know has switched back to a shorter rod.
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^ same here. After actually fishing the rod and seeing how well it works most FFers are convinced.

A 9 foot rod was pretty much the standard for a lot of years. Not that long ago a 10' rod or longer would be too heavy and clunky to fish. Now with the lighter materials used and higher modulus graphite used to make rods, a 10 foot rod can be a great caster.

But the longer reach for nymphing and the extra line lifted for mending dry flies is are just two advantages.

Don't forget with the same casting stroke the extra length of the rod increases the distance traveled with each stroke, making for a more efficient and easier overhead cast.

The same for roll casting, more line is lifted off the water to load the rod, making for an easier and longer roll cast.

But be sure to test cast the rod before buying because some longer foot rods are terrible casters. The right combination of taper and materials is needed to make a good casting and fishing rod.
 
Super expensive rod, but the Thomas and Thomas Contact nymphing rod is sweeter than a thong.
 
The biggest factor, to me, is versatility. How many fish nymphs, dries and streamers on a 10 footer? I don't want to carry more than one rod with me on the water and I need to be able to switch quickly. This is the reason my leaders are designed to present dries an well as nymphs.
 
OldLefty wrote:
The biggest factor, to me, is versatility. How many fish nymphs, dries and streamers on a 10 footer? I don't want to carry more than one rod with me on the water and I need to be able to switch quickly. This is the reason my leaders are designed to present dries an well as nymphs.
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I fish all of the above on a 10', and i also agree on leader versatility, I run a 16' leader for euro style nymphing - with transition - sighter - tippet sections off a tippet ring that can be removed and then replaced with a shorter tapered tippet section for dry flies
 
OldLefty wrote:
The biggest factor, to me, is versatility. How many fish nymphs, dries and streamers on a 10 footer? I don't want to carry more than one rod with me on the water and I need to be able to switch quickly. This is the reason my leaders are designed to present dries an well as nymphs.
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I do, almost every trip involves one rod and that is my 10 foot 4 weight most of the time.
 
OldLefty wrote:
The biggest factor, to me, is versatility. How many fish nymphs, dries and streamers on a 10 footer? I don't want to carry more than one rod with me on the water and I need to be able to switch quickly. This is the reason my leaders are designed to present dries an well as nymphs.
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If your are using loop-to-loop connection to attach your leader to your line you can have as many or few different leaders as you like and changes are pretty quick. Really only a minute or two longer at the absolute most. I do not try to force one leader to do everything and believe it to be well worth the time to fish with a leader set up exactly for the way I want to fish. Does it catch me more fish? I would like to think so, but I do know for sure that the small investment of time needed to get the leader set up specifically for the task at hand results in a more pleasant experience.

I understand the motivation behind keeping things simple. However, if you don't want to mess with special leaders and frequent tweaking and fine tuning of your rigging, I'm not sure this is the right discussion to be involved in.

Also, carrying multiple rods vs. frequent total re-rigs is a concept I flip flop on a lot. However, usually I choose one rod based on the way I expect to fish most of the time. However, when I intend to target specific spots with streamers. Rather than constantly switch out my nymphs or dries for a streamer rig, I lug around the extra rod and just set it aside on the bank nearby until I need it again.

Finally, a 10" 4wt is plenty versatile. If you have only fished a 9' rod, the extra foot will be a little different than you are used to, but with 4wt lines you will still be plenty able to fish as you normally would. With the explosion of tight line nymph techniques and the incredibly light weight of modern rods, I would not be surprised to see 10' rods rival the popularity of 9' rods in the near future.
 
+1

I fish dries, wets, nymphs and streamers with my 10' 4wt.

As far as leaders, I hand furl the leader butt and use knotted sections to step down to my tippet. I can change out my leader to fish dries, nymphs, wets or streamers very easily by adding or subtracting from the knotted section.

Too hard to explain or replicate, but it works for me.
 
Looks like I need a new rod. So what 10' rods are you all using.
 
I use the original helios and absolutely love it.
 
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