Morgan Barbeau, February 2025
It always makes me laugh when people ask us what we do for fun during the winter in Colorado; they’re often shocked when we say we’re still fishing. They assume, with frozen lakes and sometimes single-digit temperatures, we’ve traded the rods and reels for skis and sleds. But that couldn’t be further from the truth, at least for me and my husband, Tanner. Winter is one of our favorite times to be on the water—perfect for exploring, fishing popular spots with less crowds, and practicing new techniques.
In Colorado, winter typically brings slower river flows and gin-clear water, requiring a delicate approach to avoid spooking fish. That’s why we recently started euro nymphing, a style originating from European competitive fly fishing. Euro nymphing uses a longer rod, weighted flies, small tippet and line, and a multicolored “sighter” as an indicator. These components work together to deliver a precise, subtle presentation and quickly get down to where the fish are hanging out, all key factors to successful winter fly fishing.
It can sometimes be a little overwhelming to know where to start with a new technique, which is why we wanted to share some of our learnings and maybe even convince you to try it, especially in the cold winter months.
Euro nymphing is an extremely effective strategy for catching fish in the winter.
Understanding Euro Nymphing
If you’ve ever fished a nymph rig, there’s a good chance you’ve used some heavy euro flies at some point. As with a traditional nymphing set up, the objective of euro nymphing is to quickly get your flies down in the water column to where the fish are, and to make the flies move with the current in a natural way.
The difference is in the equipment used and the angler’s tight line connection to the flies on a euro rig. As mentioned, euro rods are longer than the standard 9’ rod. They typically range from 10-12ft long, and have a much more sensitive, flexible rod tip that allows you to properly load and cast the very thin fly line and leader used.
The other major difference is the angler’s connection to the flies. With traditional nymphing (and with dry fly fishing), anglers use up or down river mends of the line floating on top of the water to guide the flies naturally downstream without drag. A floating strike indicator is placed above the flies, so when a fish eats, the indicator gets pulled underwater, signaling to the angler to set the hook.
With euro nymphing, on the other hand, the line is (in most cases) kept off the surface of the water and the angler keeps a tight connection with the flies so they can actually feel the fish strike. Euro nymphers also tie a piece of multicolored monofilament (it can also be nylon or fluorocarbon), called a sighter, into their leader, which acts as a strike indicator. The angler gently follows the flies down river with their rod tip, and watches the sighter for any pauses, jumps, or twitches, indicating a strike. The sighter also helps the angler assess how deep their flies are, and how fast they’re moving through the water.
The multicolored sighter used in euro nymphing acts as a strike indicator, depth reader and speedometer for your flies.
Benefits of Using a Euro Nymph Fly Rod in the Winter
Euronymphing is a year-round endeavor, but here are a few reasons it’s particularly effective in the winter.
- Subtle presentation: Stealthiness always plays some role in fishing, but it becomes crucial in winter conditions. This is where, in my opinion, euro nymphing really shines. Due to the absence of a clunky indicator slapping the surface, the thin leader and line held out of the water by the angler, and the longer rod used to cast the rig, the euro nymph setup allows anglers to present flies with little disruption. The heavy flies will drop through the water quickly, and since fish will typically stay close to the bottom in the winter, this all allows anglers to keep their flies in the strike zone longer, improving their chances of a hookup.
- Increased sensitivity: Due to the long, sensitive rod tip, thin line, and tightline approach, the angler can really feel even the most subtle of takes. Not only does keeping the line off the water minimize your chance of spooking fish, but the angler has a more in-tune experience with what’s going on with their flies. While the sighter is a helpful visual indicator of strikes, the angler can often feel the take and be able to react quickly. This is the super addicting part of euro nymphing!
Euro nymphing is highly effective in just about any type of water.
- Easy depth adjustment: If you’ve ever been out fishing in cold conditions, you know how quickly your hands can freeze. Tying basic knots becomes extremely challenging with the loss of dexterity. Fortunately, with euro nymphing, if you find that you’re getting a lot of false strikes (hitting the bottom a lot), you can typically pull in some line, or raise your arm an inch or two to solve the problem instead of having to shorten your leader and retie knots.
- Effective in many kinds of water: Euro nymphing works well in a myriad of situations. Whether you’re targeting fish in skinny water, deep pools, pocket water, slow riffles, or fast currents, the angler can control the depth, speed, and angle their flies are moving in the water in just about any scenario.
Choosing the Right Gear
While you can implement some euro nymphing techniques on a standard fly rod and line, if you enjoy it enough, you might consider investing in a proper euro setup, as it will allow you to experience the full range of the benefits from the style much more efficiently.
For starters, the skinny, euro nymphing line paired with the lightweight euro rod makes a huge difference in accurately casting heavy bugs. Even a standard line on a euro rod will greatly reduce your feel and control when strung through the guides of such a lightweight rod. Having a heavy line hanging out of the rod tip will also decrease sensitivity when you’re feeling for subtle strikes on such small flies. And on a final note, the soft, shock absorber-like tip of the nymphing rod allows you to fish smaller tippets and have less chance of breaking off during the fight because of the thinner diameter (i.e. less tension) being pulled through the water.
The Douglas LRS 10’ 3wt paired with the Galvan Euro Nymph Reel. The flexible rod tip combined with a closed frame reel design makes for an ideal euro nymphing experience.
We’ve been fishing the Douglas LRS #3 10’0” and the Douglas LRS #4 10’0” and have been very happy with the performance. Both rods are excellent for short range casts as well as shooting longer distances. We’ve yet to lose or break off a fish due to the soft rod tip. It features a traditional downlocking reel seat, an extra stripping guide to keep your line from sagging, and a very pretty deep blue paint job for some added flare.
Paired with the Galvan Euro Nymph Reel (size 3.25 and 3.5, respectively), we’ve found that the setup is perfectly balanced and effortless to cast. This reel features an extremely large arbor and closed frame, designed to accommodate the much smaller diameter euro nymph lines. The closed frame keeps the thin leader and line from slipping through gaps in the reel, avoiding tangles or losing fish due to line snags. Overall this setup is slick, endless fun, and makes it hard to get off the water at the end of the day.
Top Techniques for Euro Nymphing in the Winter
As with anything in fly fishing, there are countless ways to achieve the same goal of catching fish with a euro rig. There is a ton of information out there on euro nymphing, but here are a few key tips that helped me while getting started.
- Keep your leader simple: Find a system that works for you. Some folks use a small section of sighter on a tapered leader, while others will use 15+ feet of sighter material. You can also purchase premade Euro leaders if you don’t want to mess with any of this. I found George Daniel’s euro leader system to be the most simple to set up and the most useful in the water I’ve been fishing. Cut back a 4x fluoro leader to about the 0x portion, attach 20-24in of 0x sighter material with a blood knot, add a small tippet ring to the end of the sighter, and then run 3-6ft of 6x tippet off the end for your point fly (bottom fly). You can add a second fly (called a dropper) about 12in above that using a 6-8in piece of 5x, attached with a surgeon’s knot.
- Play around with different weights of flies: Not all your flies have to be heavy. People often associate euro nymphing with dredging the bottom of the river, but if done properly, your flies should actually be drifting just above the bottom. Depending on the water conditions you’re fishing and what hatches are happening around you, it may make sense to try a lighter fly that will drift higher in the water column. Generally speaking, euro flies are typically jigged, range from 10-18 hook sizes, and have anywhere from a 2.0-4.0mm tungsten bead for weight.
It’s good to have a wide range of weights and sizes of flies to fish different depths and currents
- Practice your presentation: It takes a little time getting used to the lightweight euro setup, especially if you’re used to casting a weighted line. Before going out on the water, it’s worth practicing the cast to get used to the concept of using your flies to load the rod versus the line momentum. A good cast will really drive your bugs down into the water column quickly.
Euro nymphing has completely transformed how we approach cold-weather angling. The technique’s precision, sensitivity, and subtlety make it ideal for Colorado’s winter conditions, where fish are more cautious and the waters demand a careful touch. Whether you’re a seasoned angler or just starting, experimenting with euro nymphing can open up a whole new world of fishing opportunities. So, next time someone asks what we do for fun in the winter, we’ll proudly share that we’re out there on the water—still fishing, still catching, and enjoying every minute of it. If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go—it just might become your new favorite winter pastime.
Morgan and Tanner Barbeau are Douglas Pros living and fishing in the Arkansas Valley of central Colorado. They love to explore new water, target new species, and try new techniques to catch fish any chance they get. Photos featured in this article also include Michael Atwood, avid fly angler, Ark Valley native, and shop manager at UpRiver Fly Fishing. Michael is a skilled euro nympher and helped Morgan and Tanner get up to speed on this effective technique.