I just read that back and may not have been crystal clear, when I say I want to switch from one system to the other I want to switch from fishing in one way to fishing in another possibly on the same drift certainly without changing any of my kit. Thanks again John
Absolutely brilliant Howard. Every time I watch one of your videos I learn so much. Any chance on doing a video on the way the weather affects fishing, wind direction, temperature, etc etc for both still waters and rivers because it’s the one thing we all have to adapt to every time we venture out?
Thank you so much for putting this out! I've been watching old Oliver Edwards videos trying to learn some of the older techniques. RU-vid is full of new stuff, but its hard to find information like this. You are really good at explaining it too, I totally understand what you are saying and can get going with this right away. This sounds like this should be a good technique for upstream wet flies as well, would you tweak the technique in any way? Awesome stuff, greatly appreciate it!
Great video, I really like this type of method when I am fishing narrow streams. Fishing Euro methods directly upstream (the kind of drift where you are facing nearly directly upriver) can be quite awkward. They have to be short with a lot of line management and rod tip raising.
Definitely giving this a go looks like a lovely way of picking up a few fish, had I great day on the river last weekend adapting your bung method from this month's t&s for the river. Thankyou. Where's the best place to follow you to find out what your up too? Aka what magazines, videos, podcasts and such you are in?
Excellent tip! For spooky fish in a situation like this, do we need to be careful of laying the fly line over the fish? And can we use this technique for fishing across current? Or would it be affected too much by the currents? Thank you
Hi Howard. I've just discovered your videos which have been incredibly helpful! All of my local rivers are usually quite shallow and I think this technique will work really well. But just to make sure I've got this right: if, say, the river is 30 cm deep, does the tippet on the end if the indicator = 30cm. In other words, does the tippet = depth of water or do you add a bit more tippet length?
Gold dust. Thanks, Howard. I've been flyfishing for 40 years, yet I learn loads from your videos. Also, can you tell me what daylight lamp you are using there?
Looking forward to trying this, my favoured method is duo,i do like using euro nymphing styles but get bored with it,thank you for sharing, how do you kink your sighter?
I fish rivers such as the Clyde, Annan and Tweed. The long flat and relatively shallow pools on each of these rivers I have found very difficult to fish. I have generally avoided them unless fish are rising or I have given it a half hearted go with the Duo. Upstream nymph, with the leader system yiu describe sounds perfect. What flies are you generally fishing here? Sawyers pt nymphs, that kind of thing? Cheers G.
Hi Howard, how do create the kink in the coulred mono section? Thanks for posting this video. It's certainly food for thought. Kind Regards Mike Robinson
Another extremely informative video. Thank you. Could you tell me if you're ever tempted to use a coiled sighter (Curly-Q) rather than the slightly wavy sighter you use?
Fantastic Info Howard, and thanks for sharing- I would really love to see some of the Imitative patterns you use when the fish are pressured-I tied some of your "Incredi-Larva" and "Juicy Shrimp" flies, but I'm sure you've moved on from those flies now? All the best mate
Cheers - I still use those flies a lot , Mark bowler made the names up as I generally don’t get into the naming flies deal as there’s little that’s truly “new” . I will add a few more tying videos later .
Thanks Howard, your explanations are great in all your videos. Work on that book, OK? I'm very intrigued by the prospects of fishing further away with this method, as compared to EN. A question -- how deep can you go with the upstream nymph, assuming a fairly quick, even flow? And compared to a floating indicator, what difference might you expect in terms of the faster surface current's effect, via the greased sighter, on the nymphs below? Thank you for any insight.
You can get very deep by dropping a load of slack in the line as the nymph lands, use a tuck cast. Or you can cast into the head of plunge pools to use the water pressure to get it down.
Hi Howard. Really enjoying this series of videos. Thanks for posting. On a side issue, would you mind sharing the make / model of the light that is over your tying bench. I've been looking for something similar and it looks the business. Thanks in advance. Andy
I keep coming back to this video because it's so good. Thanks again. My latest question: if you're going to nymph upstream, why use a sighter at all? Why not fish the traditional way, using a floating fly line as your "sighter?" Do you find advantages to using the sighter even though a fly line would suspend heavier nymphs, everything being equal?
Yes you can do that of course, but as this method for me is more suited to longer drift window/ smaller fly approach I prefer the better indication/ lower resistance to movement of a distressed sighter, over the heavier fly line tip .
Hi Howard fantastic vid and really like the technique, just a question you said you use a needle knot for the leader to fly line and a Tippet Ring and the end of the two hi vis mono sections. But What knot do you use to connect the 2 pieces of Hi vis mono. Cheers
Hi Howard, congrats for the video. I would like to try the technique you described in a river here in Italy, which has the characteristics you indicated. Here are my questions: if the indicator is about 60cm long, the length of the level tippet should be about 3 mt, right? What diameter do you recommend for the level tippet? Thank you so much and congratulations again!
Hi Francesco . You can vary the length of the level tippet to suit the water / size of river / depth . I generally use it as short as practical to get the fly down based on the weight of the flies . Often it is around 2-3m . Diameter depends on water clarity / how pressured the fish , I use 0.12 - 0.08 the most , usually 0.12-0.10.
Hi Howard and first of all thank you for a great series of videos. When traditional upstream mymphing a lot of people talk about using a tucked cast. Do you do this or do you employ another technique to get the nymph to depth without loosing bites detection until the slack is taken out?All the best and stay safe Andrzej
Hi Andrzej , Any kind of tuck cast usually creates some slack in the leader , generally I’m using the upstream nymph method where I can rely on a longer drift window to gain enough depth . You could make a tuck cast if the situation your fishing in needs it . Thanks Hc
@@howardcrostonflyfisher9227 thanks for taking the time out to reply. I started using thinner lines last year to get the nymph down quicker when euro nymphing and was amazed by the fact I would have to drop tungsten bead size as I would start catching the bottom more, even on a rising river. So when trying traditional upstream nymphing I am guessing lighter lines and longer drifts are the way to go and only use tuck cast when the on the drift length is limited. Thanks for the advice and stay safely Andrzej
Good day. First, I would like to thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. This is great information. I have a question: does brass beads play any role in Euro nymphing. If so which water conditions or which rig set up. Thank you. Mike.
Question about orientation of the upstream cast. When fishing shallow, clear, heavily pressured water to spooky fish do you allow the fly line to drift over the fish, or are you "quartering" your upstream cast to mitigate the fly line spooking the fish? Thanks again for such great content.
Stephen quartering upstream normally, but the line drifting over them doesn’t normally spook them as much as the impact of the fly / heavier fly lines landing .
This may be a bit far afield but suppose you are pleasure fishing and you know there are possiblities of dry fly fishing, water that is best spanish nymphed and water that you could use this upstream method. Are you carrying multiple rods while you travel upstream, or perhaps multiple spools set up with different lines (ie 3/4 weight fly line for upstream and dry fly and Euro fly line for a level Spanish leader) or do you just decide what style you want to fish before you leave the car. If you do carry multiple rods are you fishing with one stuffed in waders or leaving on the bank. Thanks. Ignore please if too off topic.
Thomas Holtmann so as with a lot of things it really depends on a lot of factors. Size of the river and how well you can cover it with a shorter rod , predominant water type and what you “feel like “ fishing . I often take 2 rods ,one dry one nymph and carry one of them on a belt holder. If I’m out for a short evening session in good weather I may just take my dry rod . Occasionally I will take my Greys Streamflex + 3# it’s a good compromise for both and can be fished 9.6ft or 10ft .
Really enjoyed these videos Howard - even my wife commented that your explanations were very clear and uncomplicated . Having said that , could you just clear up the lengths of the thick coloured nylon . Is each length 30 cm , making 60 cm for the two or do the two pieces together add up to 30cm ? Must say that I've enjoyed hearing your , once , very familiar accent having been schooled in Wigan in the sixties .
@@howardcrostonflyfisher9227 Many thanks for the swift and clear reply . I always lack the confidence and control to use the no fly line European style . This appeals more .
Hey Howard I live on the San Juan in NM where suspension nymphing sends to be the only way to go to catch the large, highly pressured trout. Do you believe this method had any advantage over a light yarn indicator? Also, I am loving this channel. Do you have a book out or anything of that sort? Thank you
Hi Drew , I haven’t fished the San Juan but it is on the list . From what I’ve read and watched about the river it’s hard to say if there would be any “advantage “ over a light suspension device , but I’m sure it would still work . Before I started to specialise in competition fishing with all the associated rules (many of them pretty pointless) I used to be a big fan of fishing tiny Midge pupa / micro nymphs with short 1/4” -1/2” sections of core less fly line threaded onto the leader and held by the knots . Outside of comp rules that was my preferred method of upstream light Nymph fishing . I’m currently working on a book but it’s slow going . Thanks for the comments.
@@howardcrostonflyfisher9227 In your pre-comp days, when you used to fish diminutive midges with little pieces of fly line as indicators, how did you get your flies down to the fish? Did you use split shot? If so, where on the tippet did the split shot go (i.e., in relation to your nymphs)?
Hi howard, thankyou for your vids there great im learning so much from them, would you be able to do a video of this on a river. I fish the river tweed and there is long sections of that water type you are talking about, slow sections or relative the same depth with the odd pocket of deep water. These sections you cant euro nymph effectively, this style would be great. thanks and tight lines
Hi Howard, I’m a bit late to the party but I found this extremely useful so thank you. I wondered if you thought it would be acceptable to have a section of leader between the end of the flyline and the coloured indicator section? I was imagining a scenario where I wanted to switch from a floating indicator section to something a bit closer to tight lining and I was thinking that the flyline its self would just be too heavy so a bit of a transitional section might be easier to hold off the water? Obviously a four or five weight line is going to sag in the guides and not work nearly as well as a dedicated euro nymph set up… Any thoughts that you might have on this would be much appreciated, obviously I still want to be able to cast at a reasonable distance if possible. All the best John
Hi John , I understand what your getting at but I would be careful as often in trying to make a more “versatile “ set up you end up sacrificing the major advantages of both methods.
@@howardcrostonflyfisher9227 that’s a very fair comment and I could just have another rod set up instead couldn’t I. I’m sure you will tell me otherwise that isn’t the transition from flyline to indicator to tippet still a bit abrupt? I’m just thinking about how visible that fly line is in the fishes view? Genuinely looking for your thoughts, not to argue the toss. All the best John
@@johnrensten The transition is abrupt on purpose , the higher diameter fly line / coloured section of heavy mono is relatively easy to float , the thin level tippet is easy to sink with less weight and any interference with the drifting nymph ( ie a take) is very quickly transmitted to the fly line tip . Any built in taper off the end of the fly line adds drag both to the sinking flies (meaning more weight may be needed ) and also interferes with take detection . The upstream nymph rig works extremely well in certain water types, but I would never fish it in any scenario Where I wanted to elevate the rod and directly control the fly . There are much better set ups for that. You can use a tapered butt section / coloured sighter and grease it heavily to “float the sighter” and still use it elevated to “Euro nymph” as your suggesting and it does work but the reality is with that set up when you elevate you need to overweight the files to offset sag , when you float the sighter at range you are similarly limited in the opposite way - the taper + floated sighter can’t “carry “ as much weight over a longer drift window . A tapered butt + indicator mono was how many of us fished “Euro style” in competition 10-15 years ago before we started to use more refined, thin , level leaders for fishing anything elevated .
@@howardcrostonflyfisher9227 thank you again for all the info, I will stick with the set up as you suggest and this sounds like just the thing I need for fishing the lower test. All the best John
mikebriggs1973 Hi - Sorry , I picked them up in a tackle shop in Asia - it’s a carp fishing line that’s used for some strange kind of float fishing . You can get white and black from Cortland and pink and yellow from Rio .
Howard, I believe you, but I have a question. When you are traditional nymphing and casting straight upstream, it seems as though you are "lining" the trout. Is that less scary than heavy split shot and flies dropping on them? I usually only use traditional nymphing methods in off color or very riffled water, where euro nymphing also works. In other words, I have been avoiding shallow, smooth water. : ) Thanks for the video.
I guess it depends on a number of factors including the situation your fishing in . Like all methods it’s not a perfect fix for everything, there’s a chance of lining fish in very skinny water so you’d need to decide if it’s the right method for the particular situation your in . I’ve used it to deadly effect in a lot of fairly thin water situations over the years but generally with light fly lines and a very careful approach. You can also angle slightly across stream and by careful mending manage drift and keep good enough contact .
@@howardcrostonflyfisher9227 Thanks for the reply. I'm going to try it in clear, shallow, smooth water instead of avoiding it. I definitely understand the concept because I started nymph fishing in the 1970s before indicators and euro nymphing were a thing. Some fly line was always on the water, and we would use the end of the fly line as the strike indicator. You have refined that technique with your 3 weight line, sighter, and thinner leader. Thanks again.
Really great videos. Thanks for putting the time in. If I might ask, what diameter mono are you using for the indicator section that comes off your fly line?
I grease the tip of the line and the distressed nylon attached to the tip of the line . I don’t add any additional indication- the rest of the leader to the flies is fine - level tippet , any taper interferes with sink rate and take detection.
@@howardcrostonflyfisher9227 Thank you. Had a great Zoom presentation last Sat with one of your comrades. David Arcay. I’ve taken up fly fishing 2 years ago and much to learn.
@Jonathon Roberts don’t fish as heavy a nymph and rely on longer drift window to achieve depth. It works exceptionally well in the right circumstances.
@Jonathon Roberts The whole point is that Euro style leaders typically rely on a relatively short drift window to achieve depth , and by default often require a heavier fly to gain that depth and equally a closer approach . Upstream nymph fishing with a long line does not require overly heavy flies as it relays on longer drift window to gain depth . I use relatively light fly lines in the 2# /3# range and occasionally a level nymph line in windless conditions. I won 4 back to back southern rivers qualifiers the first two by a very large margin whilst most struggled fishing European style contact nymphing , mainly due to the fact the overly heavy nymphs used by most where spooking the fish on impact - my long line approach with lighter flies ( sometimes angled slightly across stream ) did not, obviously your free to disagree with my logic however I’m quite happy that it’s a very useful and massively under used technique.
Hi Howard, please will you tell me which hi-vis mono you use for the indicator? I was looking at line in the tackle shop today, on the spool it all looks very bright but when I unroll a single strand nothing was really visible.
TheFiatars You need to find an opaque,solid colour mono , not a translucent one . In lower diameters there’s lots of choices- Rio /Hanak /Cortland etc - in larger diameters for attaching to the end of the fly line I use a Korean carp fishing line I found but can’t tell you the name as I can’t read it !. You should be able to overcome it by using an acrylic paint marker as mentioned in my other video.
@@howardcrostonflyfisher9227 just ordered 'I Create' set of six neon coloured acrylic pens off the bay. Can do an update when they arrive if anyone reads this.
@@howardcrostonflyfisher9227 Hi Howard, paint arrived Friday but only managed to get out today. Was six colours in the box so mono was lit up like a rainbow, I fished the tea coloured water of the river Derwent at Ebchester. The blue stood out in particular but must admit it all wore off halfway through fishing and I left the pens at home. I tied on a 60cm length of 15lb painted chameleon, to 90cm of 3lb fluoro, I found that the energy had nowhere to dissipate and the fly line was pinging back and coiling up a couple inches below the tippet. Should I have used a longer length of 15lb? N.b. I was deliberately high pooled by a guy that watched me tackle up and get in at the footbridge, he used dry dropper method, when we got back to our vehicles he had caught two grayling, I caught eight grayling and four trout so I must thank you for this!! And also thank you for any advice you can give on the coiling issue.
Stressing it against a hard edge , nipping it into an “elbow” with a pair of fine nose pliers or boiling / freezing around a former all work . If it starts to straighten in use fretting it with your finger nail can also work .
I've had many hundred fish days setting my sighter line at about ten feet bombing cast upriver 5 to ten ten rod length fishing rig doing a slackline drift still keeping site on the indicator line it's a thousand times more lethal than a tight line drift. The river fish are way more aggressive do you have more room to fix errors. It's amazing how many people overfish and overthink trout fishing.
If the water is approx. 4ft deep, slow clear, even, would you use let’s say 12ft long tapered leader and 4ft fine tippet for easier casting, or would you still go with 12ft leveled tippet?
spidx1337 if I was sight nymph fishing in very clear water I would use a tapered leader and a long level tippet . For this style (using the end of the fly line to indicate ) I would use level tippet and no Taper , I can cast accurately enough with level tippet to fish effectively and with practice a very useful side benefit of this set up is that the tippet does not fully turn over giving you a “window” of “free drop” that allows lighter flies to sink quickly before the surface current starts to “pull” the fly line requiring a mend . I also like the angle / hinge created between the fine level tippet and the end of the fly line / coloured indicator as I can use a generally shorter tippet to increase take detection.
