How to Fly Fish Pocket Water - Benefits of Euro Nymphing Complex Currents - Code Breaker Angler

[@blueridgeflyguy9551]

Gilbert, amazing as always. I love the Modern Nymphing Masterclass and recommend it highly (believe it or not) to many of my friends that also euronymph with tenkara rods. The information is comprehensive AND digestable. I am an older angler and will not fish without my staff

[@GilbertRowley]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it, and glad to Masterclass is coming in useful for you and your friends! I love the idea of a wading staff, usually I have way too much gear to handle already so I usually don't bring one along, but it makes so much sense to use one. I'm sure a few more unintentional dips and I'll be carrying a staff as well ;-) Thanks again!

[@j.k.cascade2057]

Folks, this is not modern nymphing. This is a centurys old technique of worm fishing with a short fishing line tied to a bamboo rod.

[@williamklein6749]

@@GilbertRowley No matter what you do, age catches up to you in a couple of ways concerning fly fishing. Balance degrades and a fisher combats this with a staff. Eyesight degrades and this is combatted with better glasses/magnifiers along with a good tippet threader for size 20 and below. I'll be 80 next year and I still get on the water 100 days a year.

[@E-M-C]

Great video! For anyone watching, who is new to euro nymphing, or uninitiated, and thinking that these results are edited or unrealistic -- they are not! This catch rate and fishing success is absolutely achievable. I cannot recommend the Modern Nymphing Masterclass enough, as those videos are what I watched to initially learn these techniques and believe that the information is valuable to any angler looking to jump in to euro style nymphing.

[@GilbertRowley]

Thanks so much, and great feedback! This techniques changed my fly fishing experience as well. So much value in having a technique that allows you to find greater success and more joy on the water. I still love throwing dries and streamers, as I’m sure you do, but when catching fish is the goal, Euro Nymphing is hard to beat! Thanks again!

[@chriscolvin2640]

I am new to euro nymphing ,, just hard to get used to

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Fascinating that trout are holding and feeding in that current, and amazing that you can catch them. Cool vid.

[@GilbertRowley]

Thank you, it’s fun to find them in water that’s surprising! It’s a great technique for getting down quickly. Thanks for checking it out!

[@dawnfirephotography]

Great video! subscribed.

[@GilbertRowley]

@@dawnfirephotography hey thanks! Glad to hear you enjoyed the vid. Thanks for the sub 👊

[@benrudman3917]

Great video. Very informative. It flowed well. I really appreciate it. New watcher and new subscriber! -Ben from MD

[@GilbertRowley]

Awesome! Thanks Ben, glad you enjoyed it and found it useful 👊

[@robertoldham8]

Loved, loved, loved the video! Thank you so much!

[@GilbertRowley]

Thanks so much Rob! We are having a lot of fun with this format of video, instructive and entertaining is the goal. I appreciate it!

[@계곡과산천어]

6:49 really beautiful trout~

[@GilbertRowley]

Agreed, a very nice fish!

[@michaelkakaley5558]

My favorite type of water…so much fun!!!

[@GilbertRowley]

Me too! It’s so fun to pick it apart!

[@stevelithgow8693]

Easily some of the BEST content on Euro nymphing! Love it. Very detailed explanations. If there's one thing that might be helpful for those learning... Tippet size and bead size? Or did I miss that? Thanks Gilbert!

[@GilbertRowley]

Thanks Steve, glad to hear you are finding value in these videos! Awesome! I will try to talk a bit more about tippet and bead size in the future. Great suggestion!

[@moscaman559]

One thing that is really important when wading swift current is a wading staff and in some instances, studded boots….. safety first !

[@GilbertRowley]

Amen! I have studs on my boots or I would have been in big trouble. A wading staff is a great point, that changes things big time. Super helpful, thanks 👍

[@Makapo3791]

Wading staffs help immensely. A weird side note for people that find them awkward to pack around, if you can rig the holster to sit across the small of your back, it can be a lot more comfortable than banging against your leg. It also doesn't get caught on brush as much.

[@GilbertRowley]

@@Makapo3791 fantastic tip! Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to give that a shot.

[@bobmatuzak2263]

So informative. Thanks

[@GilbertRowley]

You bet! Glad you found it useful. Have a great day!

[@oldsmugglerflyfishing]

Excellent video!

[@GilbertRowley]

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it!

[@biznics]

So sweet! Absolutely love picking water apart like this with the euro rig - very very difficult to do with an indicator setup.

[@GilbertRowley]

So true, it’s crazy how accessible the fish become when using a Euro setup.

[@tapiopelkonen2981]

Reverse psychology worked: I liked and subscribed.

[@GilbertRowley]

Haha, awesome, thanks 👊

[@douglasmac108]

having fished these situations many times myself, I am confused by the post hook up techniques you are describing and practicing during the segment with the logjam ( 8 mins ). Fighting them back upstream against the current will always result in lost fish, as you demonstrated. Would it not make more sense to let them get downstream ( which in that situation is inevitable) and then simply give them downstream side pressure and steer them over to your side of the river and land them downstream ? With these smaller fish it would likely only be a few steps. Are you trying to keep your position and not have to move? I tend to fish in places that call for tiny flies and very light tippets, standing and wrangling fish back to where I am standing is never an option. Just curious.

[@GilbertRowley]

Thanks for the well thought out question. Undoubtedly in that situation I should have quickly taken a few steps downstream which I actually mention in the video. However, the river doesn't ease up for about the next 30-40 feet downstream. It's hard to tell in this clip, but that water is moving much quicker than it looks in the video. Could I have hoofed it through the currents below that spot to land the fish in calmer water, you bet and with very large fish that is oftentimes what happens. However, I don't agree that fighting fish upstream against the currents looses fish. This is rarely the case if you allow them to fight in the lower currents (think cross-section of the river) that are not traveling as fast as the upper currents. You are absolutely correct that if the fish ends up in the top third of the water column and you try to fight them upstream, it's not going to work out. They will either break off or pull out. BUT, keep in mind the currents in the bottom half of the river are much much slower. This is why you don't want to fight fish with a high rod tip when guiding them/fighting them as it raises them in the water column into the faster currents. If you can guide them upstream of you before you try to net them your landing percentage goes up drastically as you then are not pulling on the whole weight of the fish, and the fast upper currents (picture the classic high rod lift with the fish dangling downstream of the angler while he attempts to get the net underneath the fish... very ineffective and one of the best ways to lose fish). Landing fish upstream of your position allows the river to help you land the fish instead of fighting against you. Either moving your position by re-positioning yourslef downstream, or by fighting them back up above you can both work. Thanks!

[@louied6065]

Hi Gilbert! What hook hone do you recommend for small flies like 18 and smaller?

[@GilbertRowley]

I actually use the same hone for small flies and big flies alike tacticalflyfisher.com/products/tactical-fly-fisher-diamond-hook-sharpener-file?sca_ref=6033339.bFP70fhFSs It's nice because it's pretty cheap and gets the job done.

[@louied6065]

Thanks Gilbert!👍

[@GilbertRowley]

@@louied6065you bet, anytime!

[@PaulTenenbaum]

Wait a second. How can that stone fly you're holding at 11:10 be a size six? It barely covers the length of your fingernail. I don't get it.

[@GilbertRowley]

Dai-Riki 135 Curved scud hook. I promise it is... and it's deadly.

[@scottlong3453]

What rod and reel setup are you ysing if tou dont mind me asking

[@GilbertRowley]

I don’t mind at all. This is a 10’ 2wt Thomas & Thomas Contact rod, and a Lamson Litespeed reel.

[@scottlong3453]

Thanks so much 👍

[@johnmoore2522]

I'm.curious what size tippet you used in this fast water?

[@GilbertRowley]

4x- 5x usually. More Timor’s than not I use 5x to help my flies sink a little quicker. If it’s a really shaggy river I’ll go 4x to hopefully avoid losing flies that get snagged. I don’t think the fish mind either way, but there are advantages with both.

[@johnmoore2522]

Thanks. I wondered with the speed of the water and reduced clarity what you felt were your tippet options to avoid breaking off in that current.

[@sawdustfromscratch]

I have a 9' 6wt fly rod that was gifted to me that I've only ever used one time. Could I effectively use that rod to euro nymph?

[@GilbertRowley]

You bet! When I first started Euro nymphing I used a 9' 5wt for a couple of years. I caught tons and tons of fish with it. There are a few limitations such as limited reach since it's a bit shorter, arm fatigue since it's a bit heavier and you'll be high sticking a lot, and tippet protection since 6 wts are a lot stiffer than the 3 wts we fish most of the time now days when Euro nymphing. With all that said, I say go for it! You're going to love it and find it super effective!

[@Ei2iP]

In water link that, single nymph is a no brainer, having two nymphing in that current, they are just fighting each other. Try singly nymph, that is all I fish.

[@GilbertRowley]

I fish a single nymph quite often as well, but I still love my double nymph setup when I feel like the pockets are big enough to allow my nymphs to both drift in the same current seem. The double nymph becomes unproductive when they end up in different speeds of current, fighting against each other by being pulled in opposite directions. This can most certainly happen in pockets like these, but with a purposeful cast it’s still very possible to get both nymphs where they need to be. But yes, I agree complete with you, there are times when a single nymph is far more productive in complicated pockets 👍

[@j.k.cascade2057]

Folks, this is not modern nymphing. This is a centurys old technique of worm fishing with a short fishing line tied to a long bamboo rod. I remember 45 years a go my father buying an extremely soft 14 foot light weight (I think it was a 5 or 6 Wt.) fly rod that he would lob cast weighted nymphs and hold the rod high as the nymph drifted down stream. This was on the Madison in Montana. He related to me that was how as a kid he himself learned to fish on the Esopus River in NY State and referred to it as "meat fishing". Both the Esopus and Madison are full of pocket water rock gardens. I mean - did you really figure no one has ever though of this before ??? There's nothing modern here.

[@GilbertRowley]

Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us. It actually is pretty cool what you shared. Instead of explaining the differences between what you’re describing and what we’re doing I’d just like to say thanks for sharing what you know. There exists a multitude of differences between the two, but something tells me you’re not actually interested in knowing what’s going on here, but rather showing us what you already know. That’s great, Have a good day!

[@mikepeterson7092]

I’m still watching people cast a dry fly over and over with no fish rising, no strikes, no fish all day. I can’t tell you how triggered and offended I am that I can’t watch them catch a fish. I take my kids to the river to play in the water and feel sad for these people. Just throw a nymph on! Maybe a dry dropper! Then I click on Ol Reliable’s video here he catches a fish first cast.

[@GilbertRowley]

I agree, kids deserve a better show when watching angler on the river 😉