# Euro nymph fishing the Provo River



## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Well I finally got out and gave Euro Style nymphing a try on a reliable hole on the Provo River. Caught some small browns but to have caught anything at all was a successful outing in my book. I'm excited to learn more because I can see why this is thought to be so effective. I missed a few fish just from inexperience!






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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

That reminds me a lot of the way I grew up fishing worms with a couple split shot and letting it bounce down the river bottom. Good old river bait fishin except the bait don't wiggle. Lots of fun.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

Nice tiddlers. Are you sure that is the way the seasoned euro nymphers do it? Is that the way Lance Egan does it? Is that what they call highsticking? I couldn't see the fly that well were you actually using a euro style nymph too?

Did you try a conventional nymph rig or cast a nice hopper to get a comparison on techniques?

And yes it does look a lot like the way we used to lob a gob of worm into the river and keep a "feel" for it on a tighter line until we felt the take.


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Yes euro style nymphs tied on jig hooks, no indicator, just “tight-line” or “high-stick” style, I have heard it called both by friends who do it regularly. 

And I’m sure I have quite a bit to learn before I look anything like a seasoned euronympher haha!

Didn’t run a hopper or “normal” nymph rig as I was trying to see what the euro style is all about, I do the rest of that stuff already.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

So when you do the rest of that stuff do you find you catch more or larger fish?


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Well seeing as the only time I have euro style nymphed was what you saw in the video, I can’t really say. After I learn the technique better I can try to answer that question.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

I guess what I'm asking is when you fish your standard techniques (Regular nymphing and dry flies) are you catching bigger fish than what you caught in the video? Or is that your typical catch on the middle Provo? Or do you think the new technique and fly is why you were catching the smaller fish?

So next trip you could try the euro style for an hour or so and then switch to a standard nymph rig and compare results. Then next time you go start with a standard rig and then switch to the euro and compare results.

If you do this long enough, you might be able to see a pattern and report on it. I know there are too many variables in fly fishing but I have learned from all my seasons to be leery of the so-called new techniques and new patterns as being all that more successful than stuff I've been doing for years.


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

I see what you are sayin but would disagree about this being a new technique. Been around for many years but is just now becoming popular with the average angler. This technique has been used for years by competitive fly fishing circuits. 

I can tell you from experience the hole I fished usually doesn’t give up big ones and I chose it that day knowing there was lots of little fish in the area that I could try to pick on. 

After some more time learning the technique I will give a more thorough assessment, because the next time I fish euro style will be at a hole that I know has some big ones and we will see if they are catchable with this style/flies. 

Like you said there are many variables in fly fishing but I can tell you without a doubt that this technique gets the flies in the strike zone faster and keeps it there longer. 

Flies in zone longer = more chances at a take. This is true no matter what technique you are using.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

So do you believe a floating fly is not in the strike zone?

Did you feel that by keeping the fly on a "tighter" line that it is possible to keep the fly from floating naturally?

Did you feel the take before seeing it?

Did you use the line as an indicator?

Did some of the fish take the fly as it was rising up (Leisenring Lift technique) or did the take it before the lift?


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

HighNDry said:


> So do you believe a floating fly is not in the strike zone? Not sure that dry fly fishing is relevant in a nymph fishing discussion.
> 
> Did you feel that by keeping the fly on a "tighter" line that it is possible to keep the fly from floating naturally? Less surface drag means the flies are moving at the speed of the underwater currents. Which is more natural.
> 
> ...


You sure have a lot of questions for me, someone who has only fished the technique once. Lance at FlyFishFood or Devin at Tactical Flyfisher have used the technique for many years and have been a wealth of knowledge and helped me understand how to do this. I would direct any serious question you have to someone of that skill level.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just trying to figure out for an article I'm doing if Euro Nymphing is a relatively "new" technique or if it is a new name for a technique that has been around for a considerable amount of time. Same with the Euro nymph fly patterns. 

Most of us are not familiar with the history, techniques, and fly patterns that have been used for a long time--nearly a hundred years. When you start reading back in the literature, you often find that all the "new" hype is just old stuff resurrected with different names so someone can claim prowess and expertise.


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Well again you should probably ask someone who has 10/20+ years of experience with the technique, not a beginner. From what I have read Team USA started to learn these techniques from the European teams in the 90’s. The Europeans have used them much longer than that, so the answer is no, it’s not new. Just new to the average American fly fisher.


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## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

I'm using a bunch of sources and information. The so-called Polish nymphs with the woven bodies are interesting. The tying technique might have been developed here in the U.S. And as has been mentioned early in this post, bait fishing techniques with tight line drift presentations have been employed for a long time by worm fishermen.

I think we will find that many of the nymph techniques used in fly fishing were used by bait fishermen and have been "converted" to the use with fly gear. Take the indicator--really just a small bobber.

All activities evolve and borrow and tweak. it's kind of fascinating to see over a period of time.


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Yeah only a fly fishing purist would call it an indicator. I call it a bobber, because it’s a bobber. Of course all fishing techniques are intertwined and come from years of tweaking and experimenting. 

So what it seems like to me is you have an issue with the word “new” being used to describe a technique. It’s 2018, there is nothing original, but we are always finding better ways to accomplish the same goal.


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