Nymphing with an all-monofilament system is effective for catching trout at short distances, but is it actually fly fishing? It depends on who you ask. (George Daniel photo)
November 07, 2024
By Ross Purnell
In March I was in New Zealand, fishing the South Island out of one of the world’s finest fly-fishing lodges. It was near the end of the season, the water was low and clear, and the fish had been picked over through most of the Southern Hemisphere summer. The guides at Owen River Lodge are among the world’s best, and they play at what I consider the top tier of fly fishing for trout.
We dressed in camouflage, hunting with our eyes, casting only at targets we could see, and most of our success came on the first cast. You had to do it right the first time—drag, an errant shadow, or even an unnatural fly pattern spooked the fish.
We used 22- to 24-foot leaders as a starting point, and where possible I crouched and crawled to get close to the fish to make sure the first cast was on target. Often I could use boulders to mask my approach and make short casts with as little as 5 or 10 feet of fly line outside the tip-top. When I could lift that little bit of fly line off the water completely I had much better success—both with drys and with nondescript unweighted #18 dark nymphs. The fly line of course creates a small splash, but more importantly it creates drag. When I had just a long leader and an 8-foot tippet section on the water, drag was nearly eliminated and the fish reacted accordingly.
I consider stalking trout in New Zealand to be one of the most challenging and rewarding fly-fishing experiences on the planet. No one has ever said to me, “Well, that’s not really fly fishing because you barely used your fly line.” That would be nonsensical.
Advertisement
However, I know I will receive 100-plus letters to the editor (tightlines@flyfisherman.com ) and comments on social media concerning George Daniel’s story “The Devil Fishes Mono.” They will say that George’s mono rig system is not really fly fishing because it proscribes the use of a fly line. With a full mono rig, the weight of the beadhead nymph carries the line much like a lure.
I would not personally plan to fish that way. But I can tell you that the difference between the best fly fishing in the world, and not fly fishing at all seems to be the difference of a few feet of fly line. What are your thoughts? You can email us or find us on Instagram or Facebook @flyfishermanmagazine.
