There are for sure a bunch of ways to nymph. Euro nymphing looks a lot like “tight-line” or “high stick” nymphing to me. Nothing wrong with that, as I understand those 10-footers are really designed for that. I will typically high stick nymph close or in deep narrow tails, and then use an indicator further out.
I considered your dilemma last year. I wanted a new rod for big water; the North Platte is my home river and it’s pretty big. And I mostly nymph (because that’s how you catch the most fish!).
But mid morning during a BWO hatch or at the end of the day when trout start rising for caddis, I can’t help but tie on a dry.
I ended up with a 9.5 ft Sage because I didn’t want to compromise the ability for dries. I do think a 10-foot high stick nymph setup would be pretty killer!
