The first time I saw tight line nymphing in action I was fishing with a friend of mine up in North Gate Canyon Wyoming. The section we were on was mainly pocket water, low but fast moving. I rigged up my traditional two fly setup and slapped on an indicator. As we methodically worked our way upstream I noticed my friend getting into fish right away. In fact over the course of an hour or so he had at least doubled my catch. At the time he was a more experienced fly fisherman than I, so I watched from afar and said nothing. As I continued to observe I noticed his fishing technique was a bit different than mine. He had very little line out and absolutely no slack. He wasn’t even using an indicator!

“How could this be,” I thought to myself? “How could he detect a strike?”

Unbeknownst to my friend, that image has stuck with me to this day. Being able to slay fish with such a minimalistic approach really appealed to me. It was like he was one with the river. In reality that is exactly what happens when you tight line (or straight line) correctly, you become more in tune with what is going on under the water’s surface. Instead of having all this extra line whirling around and through the current, with tight lining you have a direct line of contact with your flies, the river and the fish. That is what makes this technique so deadly. It gives you more control.

Leader Setup

So let’s talk about how to set up your leader for tight line nymphing. The key to this technique is in the weight of your terminal rig. You’ve got to use weight to get your flies down fast and keep your line tight. There are several different ways you can setup your leader to do this. Some fisherman like to put the weight at the end of their rig by using a heavy bottom or point fly. Then they attach a second fly off a dropper tag tied several inches above. Personally I find this setup to be less effective and sometimes frustrating due to my dropper fly continually getting wrapped around the main line.

What seems to work best for me is to just run a standard two fly rig with a couple of split shot 12-14″ above my first fly. This fly would typically be a searching pattern, either a Hares Ear, Copper John or a Frenchie tied on a size 12 or 14 hook. Make sure this is a bead head fly and wrapped in lead to help it sink faster.

From here I would tie on a more hatch specific fly 12-14″ from my weighted fly. I would vary this rig as needed depending on the depth and speed of the water but, as a rule of thumb, if the water is slower and I didn’t need all the weight I would remove my split shot and just go with the weight of my first fly.

Note: If you are just starting out with this technique I highly recommend getting some indicator tippet to attach to your leader several feet above your split shot. This will help you be able to locate your line visually against the water/sky etc. so you can see when you get a strike.

When to fish it

First, this technique is not a replacement for your indicator fishing, it is in addition to your indicator fishing. When to take off your indicator and tight line is about knowing the water, the current, and structure in the river. All of these things will tell you if the conditions are right to tight line. In general though, the best time to tight line will be in fast pocket water where you can get close enough to the run without spooking the fish and you want to get your flies down quickly within a short distance. This type of water is also conducive to tight lining because it helps keep your flies moving at a quick enough pace where you can see a pause in your drift if a fish hits your fly.

Another prime opportunity for tight line nymphing is when you want to get your fly right up against objects such as rocks or downed trees. Since your line is going straight into the water column (perpendicular to the water surface) you can drift your flies right alongside structure where an indicator rig would probably end up snagged or at best off target.

How to fish it

Tight line nymphing is better shown than explained, but I will do my best. In essence you want to cast upstream, wait a couple seconds for your flies to settle, then with a steady hand lead your line and leader through the drift. This means you are following the current with your rod tip. If you see a pause in the drift you lift the rod with a slight downstream angle to set the hook.

Note: Since any sudden movement to your rod or line will disturb the presentation of your flies it is important to keep a very steady hand during a drift. Wind is probably your biggest enemy when it comes to tight lining, so when the wind picks up it is probably time to throw on an indicator.

Additional Resources
Dynamic Nymphing (George Daniel)
Moving Water (Jason Randall)