November 7, 2018

Royal Gorge Anglers Tactical Tenkara Nymphing Line

I recently had a welcome communication from Paul Vertrees of Royal Gorge Anglers regarding a new tactical nymphing line that he has made. I use a couple of Paul's lines when I nymph as it is, but I was excited about the new line. He graciously sent me one to try out.

Here is what Paul says about the line: "When I was designing this line, I took what I knew about archery (arrows), atlatl darts, and spears, and applied it to the span of a nymphing line.  On a greatly reduced scale, it's still tapered weight-forward just like an arrow, atlatl dart, or a spear.  Although it's swinging instead of flying forward, the WF design still lends itself quite well to casting nymph rigs (weighted or unweighted) in one simple, smooth forward-moving arc.  I feel it does this much better than one single, constant diameter length of level line.  Using bi-color segments and adding "Depth Dots" made this line even better, as you now can have consistent depth control and visual connection in all light conditions."




My Tactical Tenkara Nymphing (TTN) line is 12' and matches perfectly with my Daiwa 43MF, my main dynamic nymphing rod. I took the line to the Henry's Fork to fish double tungsten bead head nymph rigs for fall browns and large mountain whitefish. The weather has been cold and there's always a breeze blowing on the Henry's Fork. It's a great testing ground for lines and flies.

The line casts wonderfully. The weight forward design, along with the fluorocarbon line, really flies through the air carrying the heavy nymphs without any hesitancy. The breeze made no difference in casting the line.

The sky was overcast with low light conditions, but the line's three "depth dots" really glowed nicely making it easy to track. Because you can see any one of the depth dots at all times, any hesitation is readily noted and so hook sets can be quick. This is just what is needed for tactical nymphing.

The line is extremely well made and appears to be robust. I'm confident mine will last many seasons.

I think Royal Gorge Anglers and Paul have another winner here. If you are into fixed-line tactical/dynamic nymphing then you should look into getting one of these TTN lines. It may be just the ticket to up your game!










2 comments:

  1. Tom, nice review. Just out of curiosity, have you had a chance to use it on the TBum 36 or 41?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't, but I bet it would work just fine.

      Delete