Just How Versatile is The Euro Rig?

Last week I went fishing for the first time since I threw my back out. It was great to be on the water, even if it was almost 80 on an October day in Wyoming.

Anyways, I was fishing with a fellow named Matt, who got us access to a stream running through a ranch (it’s amazing what a case of Coors Light can do). It’s a narrow, winding piece of water with deep bends and even deeper undercut banks. It’s the sort of place you fish from the shore, because wading through it will likely spook the fish.

I rigged up with my usual: a dry-dropper. It was warm enough to throw a hopper, so I had that up top with a jigged prince nymph about two feet below. I always tie my dry-dropper rigs off the bend of the hook, instead of through the eye. I like the way my flies ride when tying off the bend of the hook.

Matt pulled out a Euro nymphing rod and proceeded to rig up a dry-dropper as well, but with a twist. First off, his Euro leader was at least 20 feet long, and with the short casts we were throwing on this creek,  I don’t think I ever saw his fly line leave the reel. Second, he tied his dry fly off a short tag below a surgeon’s knot. His nymph rode 15 inches below, on the longer tag end of that knot. I’ve seen folks fish a dry-dropper like this, but I haven’t watched someone fish it on a Euro rod, where you only have the weight of the leader to turn over a wind-resistant foam bug and decent-sized nymph.

Matt was a good host and gave me first cast on many of the holes, but the fishing was slow for the first couple hours. Once we figured out the type of water the fish were holding in, though, things clicked and we started consistently putting fish in the net.

What’s funny is I secretly thought I’d out-fish Matt, because I didn’t think he’d be able to get a decent drift with his rig. For the first few hours, that proved true, but by the time we walked back to the truck, Matt had caught the biggest fish of the day, and I suspect the most (we weren’t keeping score, but anglers notice these sorts of things instinctively). Matt even got the lone dry-fly eater of the day.

I’ve often thought of Euro nymphing as an interesting way to fish, but not my exact cup of tea. I’ve also thought it was a bit limiting, especially if you ran into a good hatch with only your Euro rod and setup at the ready.

Matt proved me wrong, and now it’s got me rethinking just how versatile the Euro rig can be.