For a few years now we’ve been dabbling with the ‘Euro-nymphing’ flyfishing technique. About this time last year we got some formal instruction from Mary Ann Dozer. Then this week we finally broke down and purchased a dedicated euro-nymph rod.
I found an Orvis ten foot three weight that cost less than two hundred dollars. It arrived this week, so we took it out for a test cast on the Crooked River.
Euro, or tight line nymphing uses a two fly rig with weighted wet flies or split shot. As the name implies this is fished with the line kept taut through the arch of the drift.
The day was warm, for mid-February, and sunny. We hooked up to several fish and caught a couple of decent ones. There is an old adage which says, “a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.”
Well … this was a GREAT day on the river.
Right after the holidays Central Oregon got a huge boost to the snow pack. In the few years since moving here we’ve grown accustomed to these “foot in a day” dumps of snow. The scene outside our front door can change dramatically in a matter of hours.
December’s snow melted away between Christmas and the first part of January. We took the opportunity to do some exploring along the upper Deschutes River. It’s closed to fishing this time of year, meaning far fewer people and with only a hint of snow on the roads you can get nearly to Wickiup Reservoir via USFS roads.
