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3. What is the best line for nymph fishing

Hi people,

What line do ya'll use for nymph fishing. I just bought a 9' 4wt St. Croix Avid and I'm going to use it as a nymph rod. Small creeks around here, mostly roll casting on a rod this length. The rod is supposed to have a moderate action. Any knowledge would be very helpful, being new to the sport (3 years now) and not having a lot of extra money to waste on trial and error, it's important to me to get this one right. Any ideas?

Ben

Any double taper or weight forward 4 weight line will do.

second that motion. the one "nymph" line that BFB and I used fell apart (really!) too soon. any floating WF or DT line is fine for your small creeks. some think that flourocarbon leaders sink better so less weight would be needed on the fly or tippet. if you tie your own leader, you can put a colored section for an indicator.

If you're primarily fishing NE Iowa or elsewhere in the Driftless Region, the same floating line you use for fishing dry flies, whether it is a WF or DT, will be all you need to nymph fish these streams. In a decade of fishing the region, I've yet to see a pool/hole over 6 feet in depth and most are closer to 2-4 feet deep at their deepest. This is all floating line territory. Just use enough weight to get down to where you need to be. I use tungsten putty, usually behind a very small split shot. Then I vary the amount of putty for different depths, current speeds, etc.

I started using the putty and it works awesome. It makes an infinitely variable weight that doesn't damage your line. I fish small creeks and floaters work best and a double taper allows you to switch ends of your line when the first end wears out.

Cortland 444 Classic Double Tapered Line is great! it costs about 54 bucks and you can cut it in half and save the extra half for when your first gets worn out. Its a great casting and floating line!

Benjlan
If you really want a answer we need more information.
By that I mean are you CZ nymphing French Nymphing or Indicator nymphing. Some types of nymphing no fly line is used at all.

Best
JAD

Lee, I like the putty too, but forget to put it in an inside pocket in the winter, and by the time I need it, it's hard as a rock, and I have to use split shot.

Full Sink baby!!!

IME, taper matters little. It's mass that counts most when nymphing with added weight. To cover enough water depth and speeds for most waters I fish, a 4wt is minimum, a 5wt will handle more, and I use a 6wt in winter due to denser/more viscous water.

I like DTs for the longer taper they tend to have which mends well, but mostly bc nymphing beats hell out of lines so being able to use both tapered ends is simply cost effective.

I had used special "nymph tapers" in the past, with a fat high floating "indicator" tip but found them poorer for casting and have long since moved my indicators off the line and down into the leader. Ditto for sink-tips, moving spliced leadcore sections into the leader. The line is only there to position the weight and fly.

Ben,
If you are actually going to roll cast w/ a tapered leader DT may be the way to go. If you are a "flipper" as I am on most streams, try nymphing w/ an ultra light or running line. It can still be cast in a pinch if the need be, just incorporate a haul. I think you will be surprised w/ how sensitive this setup is. Just another idea and it isn't for everyone.

Jeff

I use wf 4weight line and it works great, line isnt as important for nymphing and fishing wetflys,streamers etc as it is to fishing drys