I have a few questions regarding nymphing on river for wild fish, i have seen the numerous threads on Nymphing but none seem to answer my questions so i was wondering if you guys could help me out like you have in the past, i have sent loads of PM's to members on here about nymphing but im still stuck so here goes,

What is a tapered leader used for and why? my rver is not very big in general 20-25ft wide or around that in most areas and the fast flowing pools are not very deep most under 6ft so would i need a tapered leader and if so what size and in what breaking strain?


I have just started to tie freshwater shrimp patterns and was wondering what size is the best arounder? and another question on tying them, what is the best material to use for the covering on the back(Shell) of the fly i have seen people use Waspi and various other ones but im stuck when it comes to this???


Thanks and sorry for this list of questions it just im abit thick


Cheers

Niall

Hi Niall,

A tapered leader is going to be useful in that you are going to have an easier time casting and will get a more natural drift to your nymphs.

Now as to length and breaking strain we're going to need more information. What length rod are you using and what size nymphs? I'm assuming you're using a floating line? This size river sounds like a great candidate for French nymphing but depending on the clarity of the water you could either be sight nymphing or using a N.Z. rig so that's also going to be a factor. If you can fill in some of these blanks I'm sure that a bunch of folks will be able to contribute to this thread.

Take care

Terry

__________________
"He either fears his fate too much,
Or his desserts are small,
Who dares not put it to the touch,
To win or lose it all!"

The size of the rod i will be using will be a 7ft 3# with a floating line, but for nymphs i will be using anything from size 12's right down to 16's and possibly 18's all will be weighted with either a gold bead or lead underbody and also some flies like the PTN's will be tied with copper wire,


The clarity of the water on my local water isnt to good as it is mostly peaty but i can usually stock the trout during the summer months through my polaroids,


Thanks for the help Terry,

Hi Niall,personally i find it better not to use tapered leaders when nymphing,i generally use straight through mono,its best not to go to light with the breaking strain as you will be snagging up a few times i find .15 perfect works for me,
Regarding the shell on your shrimps then all kinds of material can be used from raffia,latex from gloves old cassette tapes or simply just buy nymph skin,as for the best size the river you are fishing will tell you the answer to that have a look under the rocks and stones and match the size,you will also need to get the weight right and decide if you are going to use it as a sacraficial nymph to get your dropper nymphs down or just use it on its own,in both cases you need to get it down fast and tripping the bottom,
hope this helps a little for you

cheers Paul

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Wanted spare spool for ionica 3/4/5

Also spool for BBS11 titanium prefered but would consider black

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the info and help,


So you use straigh through mono from braided loop till the flies, have you got a preffered brand? i have been told about stroft and was thinking of purchasing it in the 3lb strain would this be ok or would i need to go lower?

Well i think i will be fishing 2-3 nymphs on my cast heaviest being on the point and then i may fish a klinkhammer or similar on the top as an indicator like NZ style to start out with so i can idenify strikes,

I will have a look the next time im down the river to see the sizes of nymhs and bring a few home to try and immatate them and match the sizes as closely as i can,


Thanks again for the help i appreciate it very much!

Hi Niall;

Sounds like you're sight nymphing which is my preference when the dries don't work so here's my opinion for what it's worth. I'ld get a three or four foot furled leader and then use a straight or two part ( say two feet of .14 and two feet of .12) tippet to reach a total of seven or eight feet, see nine feet if the trout are being difficult. For the size twelve down to fourteen I think Paul is on the money with .16 or .15 but as you move into a size 16 or 18 fly you are probably going to have to go down to .12 or .10 to get a natural drift. The only way I would go lighter would be if I was fishing for small six to maximum eight inch trout

Of course that's my opinion and worth exactly what you paid for it!

Take care

Terry

__________________
"He either fears his fate too much,
Or his desserts are small,
Who dares not put it to the touch,
To win or lose it all!"

Yep especially on a 7ft rod,the brand of mono isnt really important but i use preston innovations .15,but i also use maver genisis extreme .16 and at a fiver for 150mtrs its a bargain and it comes on a small spool so it fits on my landyard,
i cant help you with the indicator side of things as i prefer to track my flies back to me lifting into any stops,jerks or twitches,you will be suprised just how adept you become at spotting takes after doing it this way for a while,

Glad to of help Paul

__________________
Wanted spare spool for ionica 3/4/5

Also spool for BBS11 titanium prefered but would consider black

When you say .15 is this the diameter of the leader you are talking about?


And may i ask what i furled leader is?

and may i ask if a furled
leader is better than a taperd leader ?.

Hi Niall,
I use a flourocarbon leader,usually 3 or 4lbs.I have found this sinks quicker than standard mono.As for flys,i have found a standard hares ear or pheasant tail nymph to give good results most of the time,size 14 probably used most.Brass or tungston beads dependant on depth and pace of water.
If you are new to small stream fishing,work slowly and quietly upsteam keeping out of sight of the fish,i cant stress this enough. Creep up on the fish,you will catch so much more,regardless of which fly or line you use.

Regards Steve