Dead Weight

After a recent trip to fish new waters, it occurred to me that the traditional all-rounder river rod, the 9’ 5#, wasn’t actually an all-rounder any more since the birth of Euro-style nymphing (ESN). I’d planned to spend the day fishing the whole beat, top to bottom, covering a fair distance and many water types from the information I’d been given and satellite imagery.

Arming myself with a 9’ 4# and a 9’ 6# streamer rod I headed to the bottom of the beat, which was perfect streamer water. I’ve fished streamers now for over twenty years, and it’s a great way to cover a lot of water fast with the added bonus of picking up the bigger fish. After walking to the bottom of the beat full of expectation, I fished the first run, and on the second cast, I’m into a decent brownie. After fishing through the run without another touch, it was time to move upriver, skipping past a long glide that would have been perfect for the dry fly if there was a hatch and rising fish. The next section was perfect ESN water, although the deeper seam that I wanted to fish through, was tight up against the opposite bank with a wider faster section between us. I waded out as far as I could, but still struggled to hold line off the water to effectively fish the nymphs. A slightly longer 10’ rod would have made all the difference!

It was about now that I realised I had the perfect rod at home. This would have made life a whole lot easier as with the 10’ 4# Union nymphing rod I could have fished streamers, ESN, indicator nymphed and dry fly effectively. I wouldn’t have had the faff of carrying the two rods all day and still struggling with ESN. I had contemplated taking my 9’ 5# as a single rod option, which would have been great for streamers and indicator fishing but line heavy for dry fly and lacking tip sensitivity for the ESN. So, for my next adventure on this river and another section further upstream that I’m yet to fish, it will only be the 10’ 4 Union coming with me.

For more info on the Union blanks, click here

Carrying two rods all day isn’t easy, especially when you need to bushwhack your way through the undergrowth to access some of the stretches

Streamer eater

Dry fly water