An Overview of Nymph Fly Fishing Technique

What are nymphs and the best nymphs to use for nymph fly fishing

What is Nymph Fly Fishing

Nymph fly fishing is a more difficult fly fishing technique than dry fly fishing, as the nymph is under the water’s surface, and cannot be seen by the angler. Most beginners start with dry fly fishing, where the fly is clearly visible, and then move onto nymph fishing later. If the water you are fishing in is deep, or you cannot see any insect surface activity, then you will probably have more success with nymph fly fishing.

A nymph is an aquatic insect still in the underwater, or adolescence stage of development. You only see adult insects on the surface of the water. These insects have “grown up” out of the larvae, or underwater stage. The fly fishing nymphs normally used look like insects in the larvae (or adolescence) stage.

Why Nymph Fly Fishing is Tough for the Beginner?

Nymph fly fishing is challenging because the angler will not be able to see the fish rise up through the water and take the nymph like you can with dry fly fishing. For the beginner its tricky to feel the fish strike the nymph, and therefore to know when to set the hook. Also, as the nymph itself is underwater, it may bump into underwater rocks or logs, and the novice fly fisherman may mistake these bumps for a strike. Its always frustrating for any angler if the nymph gets hooked onto any underwater obstruction, such as a rock or log.

As nymph fishing is three dimensional (as opposed to two dimensional dry fly fishing), the angler needs to determine the correct depth the nymph needs to be at in order to catch fish, and change the line configuration to achieve this required depth. Also fish don’t tend to strike a nymphs as hard as they do dry flies on the water’s surface, so it’s more difficult to know the exact time to set the hook.

Equipment Required for Nymph Fishing

For successful nymph fishing, you will need a strike indicator. A strike indicator  is a brightly coloured object that floats on top of the water, and when this indicator bobs in an unnatural manner that means you have a strike. The strike indicator is normally attached to the fly line, or is tied onto the leader a suitable distance away from the nymph.

Next, you will need some small weights to put on your floating fly line or leader to get your nymph to the correct depth. Alternatively, you can use a sink-tip fly line instead of a floating line with weights. Another useful item for nymph fly fishing is a good pair of polarized sunglasses which will reduce the glare reflected from the water and enable you to see the strike indicator clearly. The type of fly fishing rod you use will depend on the size of the river or stream being fished - generally, the smaller the river or stream, the shorter the rod required.

Dead Drift Fishing Technique

The most common nymph fly fishing technique that even a beginner can master is the “dead drift” fishing technique. This involves casting directly across the river, and letting the fly line drift downriver whilst keeping any slack out of the line. Perform an upstream mend if the nymph is drifting too quickly, or a downstream mend if the nymph is drifting too slowly. In the event of a strike, the angler just points the rod at the fly, and lifts the rod to set the hook. With this technique, the angler moves in a downstream direction.