Euronymphing, high-sticking, or Tenkara?

With Mark Likos

Ihear a lot of discussion about ‘the best’ technique or method to use in the pursuit of trout. I listen to it all and try everything. I even built a custom euro-nymphing rig that I use for high-stick nymphing and I own a couple of tenkara rods. My favorite fishing is in the northern California freestone streams where each of these rigs serves me well, depending on the particular conditions at the time. I’m not sure we need to define which method is best. We all have our favorite techniques. Personally I like to understand what each method entails. Euro nymphing is a method/system of fly fishing that not only attempts to present a fly in the most natural way but also to get the fly down near the bottom where more fish are feeding. Competition Fly Lines are now available for that purpose. They are typically ultra-thin to help eliminate fly line to leader sag when the fly line is outside the end of the rod. Some Euro enthusiasts don’t use a fly line at all and simply run a very long 25’ or more butt section of leader.

Why is fly-line/leader sag a concern? Keeping the fly-line off the water (inside the rod-tip) with only the tippet in the water, is typically the procedural protocol. The goal is to achieve a direct slack-free connection to your fly. The lighter/thinner your fly-line/ leader, the less sag and the better your line-tofly connection. That promotes better strike detection. Remember: Sag = Drag, Drag = Strike Killer. The more sag there is in the leader system the more time the fish has to reject your fly BEFORE you can detect a strike and set the hook. The more sag-free the line, the moredirect the connection, the more likely you will detect the strike. The challenge in minimizing line sag by minimizing line mass is that the less mass the more difficult it is to cast. The answer hinges on finding a combination of mass (fly line & leader thickness i.e. mass) and resultant stiffness so that you can still cast and present the fly(s) well. The range of butt section seems to be in the 12# to 20# area. Less than 12# is typically too thin/light to roll the fly over, while greater than 20# is too thick/stiff and contributes to sag.

A basic Euro-nymphing rig for the beginning Euro-nympher

IF you are using an ultra-thin competition Euro Fly Line, the leader starts with 10’ to 12’ of 20# Maxima Chameleon, the butt section. (IF NOT using an ultra-thin competition line, double or triple the length of this initial butt section that will keep this section completely inside your rod guides). Beyond the butt section, is 3’ of 12# transition line, terminating

THE IRIDEUS - DECEMBER 2019 with a tippet ring. Then there is 18” to 22” of .012” multi-color line (replacing a conventional indicator) terminating with another tippet ring. Then 1.5’ to 6’ of 4X to 7X tippet (depending on depth and speed of stream) to the first fly, then 24” to 28” for each additional fly. Euro rigs typically don’t use any additional weight (international completion rules don’t allow added weight OR western style floating indicators), so NO split shot. Euro style nymph-flies will typically have additional wire-weight wound/tied into their interior to help get them to sink faster.

Short Line High Sticking

As in Euro style fly fishing, High-Sticking pursues the same goal; presenting a fly in the most natural way and getting the fly down fast to where more fish are feeding. In high sticking your nymph rig frequently has some added weight. You keep your casts short, typically no more than twice your rod length, with rod tip high, keeping the fly line (and leader) off the water entirely with the rod tip following directly at/over the drifting fly. Raise and lower the rod tip as needed to maintain the desired depth as the submerged fly(s) drifts by. With the fly line and leader OFF the water there is little line left to cause the strike-killing-sag mentioned in the Euro style method above.

This method presents a more natural drifting fly as there is little to no line-drag to distort the fly’s drift. Additionally, this approach maintains a near direct connection to the fly so you feel the initial ‘tug’ that will alert you to set the hook before the fish can reject your fly. When fishing deeper, faster water it may be more difficult to get your fly down the water column fast enough to produce best results. So, add some split shot 6” to 8” above the fly in these conditions to help get your nymph down faster. Floating indicators are seldom used in High-Sticking, as you are close enough with the shorter line for a near direct connection to your fly, but if you are more comfortable using one, do so as conditions demand.

Tenkara

This Japanese style of mountain stream fly fishing has been practiced in Japan for 500-600 years but was largely unknown in the United States until 2009. Characteristically, Tenkara rods are longer ‘fixed line’ fly rods, frequently to 15’ using a fly line as long as the rod. There is no reel. Early Tenkara rods were made from bamboo while modern rods are typically made from high modulus graphite that telescope to collapse making them very compact in the field.

Tenkara rigs, with their longer lengths and softer tips, maintain strong butt sections lending themselves very well to the type of

Luong Tam demonstrating Tenkara fishing on one of his custom built rods.

Kirston Koths Demonstrating High Stick Nymphing