13. Line Control When Euro Nymphing (13 of 20)

- [George] And the big part after the cast is made is kind of the line control because sometimes all you're looking for is just a little hesitation of that sighter. And what happens, the biggest complaint about tightline nymphing is people will make a cast, and they hold their hand all the way out. And I don't care how old you are or how great of shape you're in, in about 20 minutes of doing that, your shoulder is going to be burning, and your hand is going to be shaking. - [Tom] That's what I've been doing. - So all we need to do, one of my favorite things to do, as long as you can get fairly close, is just use your hips. So once I make the cast, I flip, but I keep my elbow locked in. This is very comfortable position. And all we're going to do now is just actually utilize the hips and the shoulders to rotate. So I'm using a larger muscle to lead the flies while my hand is in a comfortable position. And what you'll see here... - So your rod tip is going to be cocked up. - Cocked up and all I'm doing now is just rotate, but you can see how smooth and controlled that sighter is during the presentation. And any hesitation on that sighter, I know is a reason to set the hook. - Now sometimes I noticed you kind of sort of make a false cast, or you dump it in the water behind you? - Yeah. So sometimes, again it's all about your angles. If your presentation ends here and I want to cast straight across, all I'm going to do is, that's all I'm doing is just changing my anchor. - Just dumping it behind you to get some tension on it. - Just changing my anchor point so I can make the cast. - That's it, huh? - Yeah. - Just a flip of the wrist. - The flip of the wrist. And the other thing we can do too, instead of doing it a highly overpowered tuck where we're throwing shock in there, one of the ways we can increase the speed that the flies enter the water is by just simply hauling on the line. So again, just a smooth flip, but all I'm going to do is this haul, and you can see how those flies just drop like a rock now. - So the haul, what does the haul do? - The haul is just... - That's just little bit longer cast? - The haul, it can give you a little bit of longer cast, but what it's going to do, it's going to speed up the presentation of the flies entering the water, allowing the flies...so when you go... - Oh, so it pushes them down in more? - Exactly. So in skinny water, my flip might just be a smooth, just subtle flip like that because I don't want my flies to enter too fast. And then, when I go into deeper water and I want my flies to get down fast, I'm going to incorporate a haul in that same... But just... - So that just gives you the tuck. - Exactly. - And the flies come in kind of under the sighter so that they get buried quickly. - So those are, instead adding weight or going to a heavier fly, the first thing I like to do when I'm making a depth present change is just changing the speed that my flies enter the water calm.