Extreme Nymphing
Cold rain battered the truck’s cab as we pulled up along the river. Through the alders, we could see our favorite runs flowing green with high water. Under these conditions, steelhead wouldn’t come easily. But the lure of chrome winters—and the rare day off during peak season—proved too much for us. We took a last swig of coffee and jumped out.
To have a decent chance of finding fish, we needed to cover a lot of water and cover it well. So we tag-teamed the trusty runs: I swung a sinking line with a pink Bunny Leech while Matt worked our preferred method, the downstream nymph. At a run called Slippery John’s (don’t ask why), the emerald water boiled with rain. Matt raised his indicator 8 feet up from the fly to match the run’s depth and started in behind me. Near a midstream rock, his yellow indicator slid under. As he pulled back on the rod, the surface shattered like a punched mirror, and 3 feet of contorting chrome exploded into the rain.
Northwest weather rarely allows steelhead rivers to linger in prime shape. When the water is murky and rising, or clear and low, steelhead often become unwilling to move to a fly. To find willing fish under such conditions, anglers must effectively cover as much water as possible. Northwest steelhead guides know the best way to accomplish this is with a technique called downstream nymphing.
Why Downstream Nymphing?
Traditional indicator tactics call for you to make a quartering upstream cast, strip in fly line as the nymph drifts downstream, make a challenging mend as the nymph passes by, and begin feeding line downstream. This approach is fine for trout fishing because the lighter gear allows delicate line control. But heavy steelheading gear is clumsy. The initial cast can be difficult to deliver with any accuracy, and the drift nearly impossible to control. Traditional indicator tactics limit even accomplished steelheaders to covering about 50 feet of water at a time. And when deep water or heavy wind are factors, those 50 feet can shrink to 15.
Downstream nymphing is comparatively easy. Make a short cast that dumps the fly and indicator just downstream of you and then mend and feed the line continuously to keep the fly dead-drifting at the speed of the current. This presentation allows you to reach depths unheard of with traditional tactics, and it allows the fly to stay at those depths for as long as you can feed line. With a little practice, you can easily fish lies 10 feet deep and get drifts upward of 90 feet long. Downstream nymphing provides you with the advantage of covering a lot of water in a short amount of time. And when the steelhead play hard to get, you need every advantage you can get.
Line Management
The technique has two parts: the cast and the mend. Neither is overly difficult. But if not done correctly, the whole presentation can be compromised. Contrary to popular belief, the best way to get a fly down quickly isn’t by adding more weight. Sure, lead helps things sink, but enough drag on the leader will keep even a shot put from touching bottom. To get deep quickly, most guides couple a lightly weighted fly with a well-executed tuck cast. Making a tuck cast with steelheading gear isn’t hard because the bulky indicator and lightly weighted fly actually help the line hinge in the air and collapse vertically onto the same point on the water. When done correctly, the tuck cast punches the fly through the surface film so it plummets to the bottom unhindered by drag. A good tuck cast is worth a pound of lead.
Make the tuck cast downstream of your position. Even in 6 feet of water, the fly will be on the stones in a matter of seconds. But without proper mending, drag will quickly pull the fly toward the surface.
When you cast close in, a simple toss-and-feed will keep the fly drifting downstream drag-free. To toss-and-feed, bring the rod to the 12 o’clock position. Snap the rod to the 10 o’clock position and simultaneously allow line to slip through the guides. To keep the fly on the bottom, feed line at the same rate as the indicator and fly are drifting downstream.
When you cast farther, a stack mend is necessary. The stack mend is similar to a roll cast, except that the roll cast lays straight line over the water, while the stack mend dumps a pile into one spot. When done correctly, the stack mend allows you to deposit fly line in clumps up to 20 feet from your position, where it can drift naturally downstream without affecting the drift of the nymph.
After making the tuck cast into a distant slot, you can make stack mends at the same point where the fly and indicator landed to get drifts as long as the fly line. The longer the drift, the more steelhead will see the fly.
Slotting the Water
Picture this: You wade into the top of your favorite steelhead run, the river rushing white around your legs. Below you extends an expanse of prime holding water—a steelhead could be holding anywhere under those riffling flows. If you were to cast willy-nilly, most likely you’d cover some lies well, but other fish wouldn’t see your fly at all. Without a systematic approach to the water, many potentially eager steelhead wouldn’t get a look at your fly.
Fish systematically by mentally breaking the water into a series of 1- to 2-foot-wide slots, each running parallel to the river’s current. Beginning with the slot nearest you and working your way out, put one cast in each slot. In this manner, every steelhead sees what you’re offering, and you’ll be able to cover more water in less time.
The Long-Range Hook-Set
Steelhead frequently take the nymph more than 40 feet away. Occasionally, they’ll even take the fly as it rises to the surface at the end of the drift. With a proper strike, this distance can work to your advantage, but if you strike in the classic raised-rod style, as is normally done with traditional nymphing techniques, the distance is sure to spell missed opportunity.
When I first started nymphing downstream, I lost most of the fish I hooked. As the indicator dove and I came back on the rod, the fish would give a head shake or two then come free. It wasn’t until I started paying attention to how I raised the rod that the hook started finding a firm home.
Copyright © 2012 Intermedia Outdoors
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