Weight of nymph

[ribbleman]

  I use a 7.3 rod, when nymphing which would be the heaviest tungsten bead head nymph

I should use?

 Thanks in advance Ray

 

[custheyder]

Hi Ray

Any weight will effect the casting. What you need is a stiffer line to help turn the heavy flies over. The disadvantage of the heavier line is that it is harder to keep off the water. I generally go with 2.5mm or 3mm tungsten beads as a maximum but move to a #4 line.

[ribbleman]

For turning over these heavier flies would I be better with a furled leader?

[cm_stewart]

First, there is such a wide variety of 7:3 rods that the 7:3 indication is very close to meaningless. You can fish a much, much, much heavier fly with the 7:3 Backpacking Light Hane than you could with the 7:3 Nissin Pro Square 320. Better to state the specific rod and hope someone else has it, and fishes tungsten bead head nymphs with it.

Second, with a heavy fly, it isn't so much getting the fly to turn over as it is the trajectory of the fly during the cast that is a concern. If you are fishing where there are no overhead branches, so that it doesn't matter if the fly's trajectory is circular rather than straight, you could go with tippet material all the way from rod tip to fly. You will be casting the weight of the fly so the line itself needn't have any weight. If you want the cast to be a smoother, more familiar tenkara style cast, then the heavier your fly, the heavier the line must be to provide a straighter trajectory.

A furled line, which is almost certainly heavier than any level line, will give you a smoother cast, but as custheyder says, will be harder to keep off the water's surface. Personally, I would put up with an incredibly jerky, circular, ugly cast just to avoid having to use a heavy line, but some people prefer furled lines even with tiny, weightless flies.

The best advice I can give you is try a range of bead sizes with the rod and line you have now. Adjust as necessary. Line choice is going to be a compromise between smoother casts and better drifts.

Edited to add: I hate to say this, but it seems to me you are putting the cart before the horse. I would argue that a better way to look at the problem is this:
1. For the stream (depth, current, etc) you want to fish, what size bead head would be the best choice?
2. Given the weight of the fly you want to fish, what is the best line to use (based on your preference between smoother cast and better drift).
3. Given the fly and line choice, what rod do you need to fish them effectively.

The fish doesn't care about your rod or your line. The most important thing to the fish is the fly. If you want to catch the fish, start the decision process with the fly.

[ribbleman]

Thanks for taking the time out to explain, think I understand now
Ray

[daves]

Hi Ribbleman,
I fish some quite heavy flies in one deep fast pool on Driffield Beck. 4mm Tungsten beads or Bidoz bodies. I usually use an Esoteric 410 7:3 or Tenkara Times Motive rod
both of which cope very well (Tenkara USA's 13'6" Amago would be equally good). I cast with an oval stroke/lob to avoid hitting the rod with the fly. A fairly sturdy rod is required with a sweeping strike to set biggest hooks in deep water.

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[mspaddler]

I used some pretty chunky nymphs when fishing the Welsh Dee yesterday. Probably 4mm, anything less just wouldn't get down deep enough. The ESO 410 7:3 handled the fast water and a chubby Grayling without any problem, but as David said more of a lob than a traditional Tenkara cast.