Fishing a Drop Shot Nymph Rig- Tips and Tricks to Catch More Trout

In this video I go into depth covering a unique way to nymph fish. If you spend any of your fly fishing time nymphing, this is definitely a rig and video you should check out!

[@HalfInsaneOutdoorGuy]

I have been fishing the Provo river in Utah all spring and now into summer, every week. Upwards of 100 hours. Dry flies 95% of the time. 8 fish to show for that time. Today a guy showed me this rig, and in 5 hours I caught 30 fish! Freaking awesome way to fish!

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

Check out my video on fishing small dry flies. That was shot on the middle Provo and it should be prime time here in around 3-4 weeks!

[@edwardekers]

Thanks for the time you put in making this video. I look forward to taking your advise next time out

[@kenjaynrs7107]

Great description of a productive technique!

[@john.a8334]

Very nice information. You did a great job explaining how to fish it like a pro. I have been doing it wrong for 25years. I will definitely try this and hope to catch more fish.

[@donsabo957]

One of the best instructional videos that I have ever seen. Thank you👍👍

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

Thanks! In hindsight I could have made it a little more concise, but I'll work on that moving forward.

[@noelslater822]

Loved this vid! Better than anything I've seen yet on this setup! Very informative and helpful! Thank you for putting this together! Definitely subbed & Liked!

[@wyomingtrout5581]

I was first introduced to this rig in 2003 on the Bow River in Alberta, a long time ago. It was early in Sept around labor day and the Bow was full of weeds. Our guide rigged us up with a 9 ft straight mono leader of 8lb test and two droppers. An unweighted bow river bugger or leech for the top dropper and a red worm on the bottom. He wrapped flat red mono around a sz 10 curved scud hook and a BB shot 12 inches from the bottom fly. He showed how to water load when wading and how to do a standard back and forward cast when fishing from a boat. The runs on the Bow average at least a football field length and the bottom is all gravel and cobble. As you stated in your video, this is ideal water and bottom structure for this rig. We cleaned up on big rainbow and browns even though the river water very weedy. The thin diameter leader and unweighted flies seldom collected weeds if we game tight and recast before the dangle allowed the rig to plane up to the surface where all the weeds were floating. I even tried it on smaller western WY river like the Greys River and it worked in certain sections that contained the above mentioned water types and bottom structure. Some good advice is do not try it in the wrong water types, you will quickly get frustrated. Not sure why I stopped using this rig. Thanks for the reminder since I now live close to the lower Henry's Fork and South Fork of the Snake where it should excel.

[@robertolmstead7685]

Good job Morgan, I've been using the same rig for euronymphing, not using weighted flies but midges and scuds. It's the bomb. With a sighter (instead of a bobber) it can be used for pocket water and fishing close to (within 25 feet). I make up my droppers in advance. (a la Kelly Galloup) They are 6" long with a perfection loop at one end. I tie knots in my tippet at appropriate levels which will act as a stop for the dropper when threaded about the main line. It is able to swivel around the main line which really helps avoid tangles. Sinkers at the end of the line means no lost flies, just lost sinkers in the event of a hang up which can't be loosed.

[@SlowEarl1]

Nice presentation! Thank You!

[@mikesoffes9207]

Thanks bro. Very well described. I believe I will now catch some fish. Good job.

[@bronsonbills4358]

Thanks for the video and tips!

[@DanielDeVries-cd4pe]

Great tutorial. I’m new to fly fishing. Haven’t seen this setup yet, will definitely try it my next time out. Thanks!

[@johnelm7653]

I like that can’t wait to try it

[@jeremyl.3593]

Morgan, thanks brotha! I really appreciated this video especially your ability to explain it so clearly. I just found you for the first time and subscribed 🤙👊!

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

Thanks!

[@saylor150]

Great instruction, thank you

[@sigurdurmarolafsson4183]

Great video. I have been doing a similar thing but I did my " bottom weights " by putting ( different amounts of ) coneheads on a large scud hook. It is amazing how often they are eaten "as snails".

[@johndorsey2617]

Suuuuper helpful

[@jonhart-dj7fn]

really cool.. i watched listened learned very cool tutorial ty liked subscribed

[@scod3908]

me: cut line with nippers, put waste in my pocket youtube professional: cut line with teeth, spit it into the river

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

That's a good call and I'm glad you called me out on it. I really shouldn't do that and will make it a point to not. Truly, thank you. I'm not offended by that at all and appreciate that you're trying to keep our wild outside places clean. HOWEVER, I am highly offended that you called me a youtube professional 🤣. Definitely not that. I WAS a full time professional guide for 8 years and am planning on coming back to it. I guess I started KZbin videos because I was bored? I don't know, we all make bad decisions.

[@edwardbaca9297]

I've been using this method for a couple of years now. It is super effective. I have been using 7.5' tapered leader to attach my tag lines to. Thanks to this video I am going to change that up to the shortened tapered leader with a direct tippet connection.

[@soundbwoikilla764]

I also use 7.5' taper leaders but keep 30-36" of the butt section before tying on my tippet ring. I use this set up on my 7', 7.5' and 8' rods, works great and I never have to change out the butt section (which means I rarely have to break out a new 7.5' leader)

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I think it just helps achieve depth quicker and gets your fly in the zone earlier in the drift. Hopefully it helps!

[@jrcll7856]

you can also fish this rig without the bobber, and at the tippet ring tie in 6ft of sighter material and fish it tight line style

[@shad3128]

I actually used to make a similar nymph setup just out of being bored and trying different things for nymphing. I would just cut a foot of heavy mono like 6lb and do a foot or two onto my fly line, then Indicator and then a 3 way swivel and light tippet to the flies. Worked way better than the regular setup everyone always shows lol this was a great video dude.

[@morgannowels228]

Swivels=not fly fishing 😂. Jokes. Thanks man! I appreciate it!

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

Thanks! I've used swivels as well, but since I'm fly fishing I have to use "tippet rings" and "strike indicators." 🤣

[@FishfearmeStudios]

Nice post. Been a while.

[@soundbwoikilla764]

Bro, excellent leader set up and explanation. I've been using the butt section leader/tippet ring set up for the last couple of years after trial and error. I don't know why more people don't try it. A couple of my observations: I usually keep 30-36" of the butt section (depending on my rod length) because that will include a slight taper which helps in leader turn-over. If you only keep 20" or so, according to most taper leader formulas, this 20" is still level or the same diameter and you might as well just use 20-25lb mono test (which just saves some $ and I've done this as well). Also, with a longer butt section, I'm able to easily convert the nymph rig to a dry fly leader by attaching a 3-4' section to the tippet ring. You can either attach the original leader piece that you cut off (! 😁) or tie up a taper section. I don't find any problems with the tippet ring on my dry fly leader (but I can only speak to shorter rods as I fish 7-8' rods mostly). I use the same leader set up with the tag end + dropper as you describe but I use a heavy nymph point fly and unweighted nymph on a 10-15" dropper. I was getting hung up too much using the dropper rig in pocket water (which you point out in the comments is not good for pocket water). I do miss takes on the unweighted dropper but I find if I adjust it between 10-15" and don't go above 15" or so, I reduce the missed takes significantly. New sub!

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

Thanks for the sub! Thats a great idea to make it more versatile. I'm unfortunately a terrible gear hoarder and just carry a dry fly rod as well, rigged up and ready to go. I'll have to give yours a shot when I decide to not bring mountains of gear with me.

[@brianlarue5072]

Cool video one of numerous rigs I’ve used the last 30 years. This rig reminds me of pig and jig fishing for bass as you crawl a jig along the bottom or twitch vertically. When setting up a rig like this, I’ve always counted on a bead head fly on the bottom vs using weight. I hate using huge indicators like this white one and prefer smallest possible or just watch the floating line and feel. Crazy how much our fly world is adopting from mainstream fishing. Give me a rising fish and I’ll switch to a dry anytime.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

Dry fly fish are where its at. It's just an easy rig to catch good numbers.

[@ericw6081]

You should buy a polarizer for your lens, and highlight the indicator so we can see it better. Just a suggestion 🙏

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

That's a great idea. This was shot on a gopro- do you know if they have polarizers for them?

[@Kodaboii]

Great video! Very informal and to the point! This the lower Provo?

[@morgannowels228]

Yes

[@HalfInsaneOutdoorGuy]

Lobbing it is more accurate to say than casting…if you try to “regular” cast it, that split shot can, and will break your rod tip off.

[@PaulTenenbaum]

Ok, so this is a great rig and I've used it with lots of success. I like to use it especially when fishing two small flies, like size 20 midges, a larva on the bottom and an emerger on top. But you mentioned it's not all that great for pocket water. So, which type of rig would suit pocket water best? Does it have to be a euro nymph setup, or is there a better indicator rig for those types of conditions as well?

[@russellogden8071]

So what is your recommended set up for pocket water glides and ripples

[@martinhodell8465]

Funny how the advice is always to change the weight, rather than indicator adjustment. It is possible to have enough weight but not enough tippet length so that you aren't hitting bottom. It's generally best to use as little weight as possible, all things equal.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I agree to use as little weight as possible. In this rig there is no adjusting the indicator, as the purpose of the rig is for the weight and the indicator to be tight to one another. It is possible to not have enough space between the indicator and weight if you were at an extreme depth, but with how I set my version up, you'd have to be in water over 9 feet deep.

[@Rickky1971]

My problem starting fly fishing was most dudes were "Fuckfaces" rude like they were golfing! I actually learned everything from your vids and others. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@charlesatwell8548]

Thinking that's cuz they too didn't know what they were doing, so had no "advise" to give 🤔

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

Hey, just because my video was helpful doesn't mean I'm not a "f**kface." My father calls me that all the time 🤣. I'm glad you liked it.

[@alexargyros7186]

This is a very clear explanation of bounce nymphing. Thank you. Could you tell me what you would do if you were planning on fishing pocket water? Would you use your rig without the bobber, or would you choose a standard Euro rig?

[@Kodaboii]

If it were me I’d use a dropper rig or indicator with yarn so you don’t spook the fish.

[@morgannowels228]

In pocket water I would use a euro nymph rig for sure! This rig is awful at that. I’ll probably do a euro video soon. Lance Egan and Devin Olson’s dynamic nymphing videos are great on that subject. I’d definitely check those out.

[@HalfInsaneOutdoorGuy]

apparently I watched this 6 months ago....I do not remember hah. but I do remember that this rig lead me to start Euro Nymphing. This rig while very good, is boring as hell! you're just watching a bobber bonk along! and seeing takes is extremely hard! Unless you feel it, it's a surprise when a fish is on your rig almost every time.

[@mikepeterson8032]

I don't think you're doing it correctly, sir. I've caught many brown trout in the 20"class using this method and trust me, it is anything but boring!

[@lyndonfish6229]

What is the point of using a bobber if the weight is getting to the bottom and running along the bottom? Or are you sort of matching the placement of the bobber so that the weight is just suspended from the bottom, held up by the bobber.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

No, the weights should definitely be dragging on the bottom. The point is to have the rig tight with the bobber and weights fighting one another. With no bobber, the weights would just anchor on the bottom. With a bobber up top getting pushed by the faster water near the surface you'll get enough pull to keep the weights moving just slightly- giving you the "bounce" you see the bobber do. Its a constant back and forth between the bobber and weights fighting one another.

[@slickwilly4613]

How does he adjust for depth

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I don't adjust for depth too much. Generally for drastic changes in depth I just adjust the weight. If it snags a bunch, lighten it up. If it never bounces, add more. For the most part though the rig will get tight regardless of depth. The only thing that changes is the angle that the leader runs down the river, which doesn't seem to affect the effectiveness.

[@connorerhardt1767]

If your fishing in shallower water like 2-4 feet would you still run a 6-7 foot tippet section? I would imagine it would be dragging the weight sideways if its too long.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I do leave it the same length. Since it's getting tight no matter the depth, it will just have a much flatter angle as it goes through skinny water. It doesn't seem to affect the fish too much. It actually excels great in 2-4 foot deep long riffles that are uniform.

[@nicolasbinette2919]

Awesome video thanks! Could I directly replace the tapered leader part, the metal ring and the 6 foot tipppet with just a 7-8 foot tippet, then the surgeon's knot and the nymph?

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

It would be difficult to attach straight tippet to the end of the fly line. It also helps with casting to have a thicker butt section.

[@dmcortho]

Thanks for the details of the bounce rig. What is the reason for a bobber instead of a yarn indicator etc.? Is it because a yarn indicator doesn't bounce like a bobber so the bites are more difficult to detect?

[@shad3128]

Mostly based on how heavy the fly is underneath, color reference for your eyes, and type of water you are fishing. I.e yarn is good for slower, calm and clear water as opposed to an air infused bobber that's usually larger and could have a ripple or splash on landing from your cast, and so forth

[@morgannowels228]

A yarn indicator will simply sink with the amount of weight you’ll need to fish a bounce rig effectively. The yarn will end up waterlogged and will be less responsive. You’ll end up with a sink chunk of yarn that isn’t very responsive.

[@jrcll7856]

so how far down your tippet, from the tippet ring are you tying in your first tag ?

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

Its roughly six to six and a half feet from the tippet ring to my first tag.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

About 6 to 6 and a half feet.

[@squatchy69]

This guy's rig gets you pretty close to good. But here are a couple things that will make it miles better. Get an 8' or 9' leader to 3-4x. Depending on the size of fish you will be catching. Don't tie your bobber so close to your floating lines tip. You don't have any room to mend without disturbing the bobber. If you have 6-8' of distance to your indicator. You can make really big mends without disturbing your bobber. And there's no reason to line your fish with the floating line being so close to the indicator that your flies ride pretty close to underneath the bobber. That would put down all the fish where I fish. In CO we have some of the most educated fish in the world. They get fished on every day of the year by tons of guys from first light till dark. All the above things I say you should not do will put the fish down. Secondly, those foam bobbers are crap. You will miss tons of takes because those bobbers are so insensitive you won't register the slight takes at all. I make my own black yarn indicators. You can see them on any day and will never struggle to see them under any circumstances. Plus. Sometimes, the fish come up and hit them hard. This would indicate they think they are stoneflies, cicadas, crickets, etc. So, at least if they are not attacking them. They won't think it's a line setup. More importantly. Most nympher's could catch way more fish if they added one more split-shot. This means they would find themselves in the feeding zone now. The feeding zone always runs slower than the surface speed. The yarn will always tell you whether you are deep enough or not. If it just floats calmly down the water surface. It's a good bet you are not in the zone. This is important now, so listen up. When you do get into the zone, something happens at your indicator. It has slowed down and is not traveling as fast as the surface. So. That means you will notice that it has stopped riding calmly on top of the water. Rather. It looks like it is shivering just a tiny bit. Now think of how the water parts when passing a rock in the river. It runs to both sides of the rock and goes faster. It will do the same to the yarn indicator. It will shimmy/shake/shiver/convulse. Whatever term you want to use. But when you see that happening. Because the water is floating fast past it on each side. You now know you are in the slower feeding zone. So, to summarize. The longer leader above your indicator, will turn it over easier. You will learn to mend like crazy. And never even bother the indicator. You will know if you are deep enough. And you will notice way more takes.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I appreciate your feedback. We can all learn something new in this sport, which is what makes it great. You do have the smartest fish in the world. When I lived there and fished Cheeseman and Deckers a bunch this rig definitely didn't work on them. Or did it in spades? 🧐

[@squatchy69]

@@morgannowelsfishing5673 Hey brother. I wasn't trying to disrespect you. We all do things a bit differently, like you said. I appreciate your hard work. I've never made a video, but I have heard from others that you guys spend hours editing on half an hour of stuff. Thank you for that. Most of the time, when I'm fishing the canyon. Or up on the Taylor and The Pan. You can't even use an indicator. But usually, when you are sight fishing, you can follow where you think your flies are going. And watch for the fish's white part of the lips on the inside of their mouth. So we can watch them eat. And set the hook that way. Keep up the great work, friend. if you ever plan to come out this way. Hit me up. The rivers are so damn crowded. And the fishermen have zero respect anymore, it seems. So I mostly fish still water these days. Even when it's crowded. People can't just slide in right next to you at 10 A>M> When you were there before the first light. It's about as crazy as fishing the Great Lakes tribs during the runs.

[@Jdub970]

What size tippet rings were the ones in the video?

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

In the video I was using 2mm. Any size will work though.

[@rickgames1669]

Are missing an eye on your butt section of your rod? Enjoyed the video.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

Not that I know of 🤣. Thanks for watching!

[@scotthill9648]

How in the world are you placing, let alone tying a 2mm tippet ring onto a leader butt section ??? Good trick

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I will admit that I have much more practice at tying knots than most, so really it comes down to having tied millions of knots. The best trick is to make sure you have a clean cut on the butt section so it will fit and then gripping the ring with hemostats. Then its making sure the knot is well lubricated and pulling hard on the hemostats.

[@Thee_Man_of_Steel]

Seems like everybody has their way of setting up rigs and everybody else is wrong. I think the only way to really find out what is effective is to try a few rig setups and see what works on the water in your area you're fishing. At least that's the way I am perceiving it since most people are from different areas of the country and everybody says their methods are right and everybody else is incorrect, and don't do that.. I'm not saying you're wrong, but everybody else is... ;) Where in UT are you fishing? I'm on the middle Provo generally. Headed up to Island Park for Henry's Fork on the Snake soon, and plan to do the Green up by Flaming Gorge soon as well.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I've worked with tons of different guides that all fish the rig with their own variations and I agree, it is funny how we all think our way is THE ONLY WAY, yet we all catch fish. 🤣. I was on the Lower Provo in that video but fished extensively on the Middle as well. Now I'm based out of TN and plan on getting the channel back up, but its probably going to take a very warm-water left hand turn. There will still be trout videos, there's just a lot less of it here.

[@tomfisher3117]

Rousey video. Why didn’t he just wait until midnight to record?

[@billyblaze3472]

great video just found your channel. Get rid of the annoying music.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I'll be starting on new videos soon. I agree, the music needs to go.

[@dcwang321]

Great video. As long as I have enjoyed fly fishing I can't imagine having to guide new fishermen and the frustration. Hope you can retire for it soon. I subbed for that.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I did retire from it. Had a few years off. But then I remembered Tom Brady came back and won another Super Bowl and I took that as inspiration. I'll be setting up my own outfitter based in Nashville, TN shortly.

[@HalfInsaneOutdoorGuy]

dont use a leader!! that is so expensive! just use 15-30 lb fluro line. you can get 150 yards of it for the same price as one 7 foot tapered leader.

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I often do just that. Sometimes I have an old beat up leader laying around and just use that butt section though.

[@johnelm7653]

Where are you fishing

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

That was on the Provo River

[@mattheav8er]

K?

[@kegoogle3767]

CANT SEE ANYTHING IN THIS VIDEO YOUR IN THE SHADOW USELES VIDEO JUST A VIEWER. WHAT DO I KNOW RIGHT.

[@squatchy69]

Do you even know what a rowlcast is it's not a role cast that your teaching these people that's just a lob

[@morgannowelsfishing5673]

I do know what a rollcast is. I agree this is not an actual roll cast, but a variation of one often reffered to as a water load. A roll-cast is when you leave line on the water in front of you, bring the rod tip back slowly so as to leave an anchor point on the water (to do this PROPERLY the anchor point should be to the side and slightly in front of the caster) and form what is referred to as a "d-loop. This is called a "d-loop" because the rod and the line form an uppercase letter D. Then you execute a standard forward stroke and the mass of the fly line in the d-loop sufficiently "loads" the rod, allowing the transfer of energy down the line which will result in picking up any line that was left on the water and the line shooting forward.

[@johnwardenski4199]

Poor lighting

[@richardvanvoris3496]

too much talk, not enough show. " Show he don't tell me"