I just came back from camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains with my siblings for a few days. Since I was with my family fishing wasn’t the main focus, seeing as I’m the only angler in the family. This was unfortunately the first time I’ve gotten out to the river this year so I was happy to be out again.
This probably ranks most succesful for my trout fishing with a fly rod. Now that doesn’t say to much because I don’t get to go often and the times I do I’m lucky to catch a trout, but this seems to be a “turning point” in my fishing expeditions. All in all a fun time with my folks and on the river.
Side note: any tips on nymphing? I’ve done some extensive reading on fly angling so I now “how” to, but to this date have never caught a trout on a sub surface fly. I can many times see the fly going past the fish and being rejected, so I don’t think that its so much that I can’t recognize a take but that I’m plain doing something wrong. I think I’m managing my drag ok, but I could be wrong. thanks
I finally conquered nymphing this year. Use the smallest indicator possible, but it does make it much easier to know when u have a take. My favorite indicator is a thingamabobber, unless i using a large heavy fly, the small one works perfect.
I try to always use two nymphs. The first nymph is a weighted (usually bead head) and then the 2nd nymph is tied 12-18 inches off the eye of the first. I like tying off the eye as I personally have fewer tangles this way compared to when I used to tie off the bend of the hook. In my case, if using nymphs, or small wets, I tie a 3x tippet to my leader, then use a 4x tippet to the point fly.
In some cases, I often get takes if I put a little motion on the fly in a deep slow pool. Just a small twitch with the tip of the rod, is all that is needed. You want the indicator far enough up the leader that your fly runs near the bottom, but doesn’t hang up on it. Many times, I try to let my nymph swing, as this causes the fly to rise towards the surface, and I get many takes this way.
Also when I make my next cast, I don’t simply strip in the fly line and then cast, I do slow short strips, usually 3 small strips, let the fly sit for 4 or 5 seconds and repeat, until I have enough fly line in to make my next cast. I catch many of my fish this way.
I’ve only become successful nymphing this year, but I have to admit, this year I have been doing awesome using a nymph using the techniques above.
Although I don’t use an indicator and normaly fish a single nymph I very much agree with Paul. As Paul pointed out many takes are at then end of the drift when the fly begins to rise, maybe they think it’s going to get away!? Wait a bit and then start the short strips.
I also use a flluorocarbon furled leader which helps to get the fly down faster.
Trout like live things to eat and twitching the fly will give it that alive look, especially a soft hackle or flymph.
And, don’t forget the Wooly Bugger!! It’s probably caught more fish than any other wet fly!
There are many factors which will determine what to do when you nymph.
One of the biggest factors is the size of river or stream that you will be fishing. Out west, my nymphs are usually 9 to 12 feet below my indicator, but sometimes only 6 feet. That is because we tend to have large, deep and fast rivers. In the smaller streams I have used indicators with my nympsh just 18 inches below and sometimes I won’t use an indicator, just relying on the action seen in the leader or by visually observing the fly.
Drag free is critical and your nymph has to be on the bottom, if you are not doing much bouncing along the bottom you are not deep enough, and oh yea, you will loose flies, comes with the territory.
Then there is the dry dropper method. In deeper water you are using a dropper nymph and it is actually like fishing an emerger. But in shallow water the nymph will be on the bottom and you are actually nymph fishing. The dry is just an indicator unless you run into a fish that eats it, then game on.
As indicated, use fluorocarbon for your tippet, both the tippet from your leader to the first fly and a size smaller as the tippet to your dropper. If you have to add split shot, place it on the leader righta t the knot where the first tippet is tied to the leader.
Just remember be drag free and be deep enough to touch the bottom.
welcome to the world of nymphing. I’m told up to 90% of the trouts diet are nymphs. many good pieces of literature and videos are available if you really want to get into this type of fly fishing. best wishes
This is exactly why I’d like to learn how to nyphm. It’s frustrating to think just how much activity is going on just beneath the surface that I can’t take part in right now.
A lot of this depends on the gradient of the river you’re fishing. When I’m fishing drop offs I use the high sticking method. Typically that’s the technique I employ now. There are articles on how to utilize this method. My fishing partner and I keep the line itself off of the water if at all possible so as to minimize having to deal with the drag and mending and wind. When I lived in MT I used to fish a right angle system on the Missouri since it was mostly a flat gradient river. Extremely effective and described in detail in Slackline Strategies for Fly Fishing. Author is John Judy though it’s probably out of print. Learning to mend with that method is pretty easy. And yes, I also use a thingamabobber now. Now if they could just figure out how to clip it to the line like the old Nymph Tracker which is not made anymore then it’d be perfect.
Forget the nymphs for now though if you can. You can throw all sorts of stuff on top (stimulators, hoppers, beetles, ants, dry flies, and trail it with a dropper like a BH PT or emergers if that’s what you’re seeing). Take advantage of this easier and arguably far more fun stuff while you can at this time of the year. You’ll have the opportunity to nymph in the dead of winter below a dam while trying to tie on size 20-22 midges with 7X in a howling wind.
Besides, no one that I know is enamored with the idea of lobbing a nymphing rig. I inevitably have to deal with tangles at some point in the day and if you get a bird’s nest then cut it off and re-rig.
Search for the drop offs and put enough weight on it to get it down to bottom but not so much that you constantly hang up. This is something everyone has to deal with whenever they’re fishing and I constantly hung up and broke off a ton of flies on the Blue here in CO about a week and a half ago. Keep different size weights with you. You’ll see your thingamabobber literally ticking along if you’re doing it right. If the thingamabobber does anything else then set the hook.
Distance between line and point fly varies on how deep the h20 is that you’re fishing. In rigging for the waters I fish with a 9’ rod our line typically ends at the tip top or just past. Our point fly is at the stripping guide and the dropper is where the hook keeper is. Casting a longer line is tougher but I know other fishers do it.
Where you put the weight is another story. Sometimes you leave a tag end below the dropper, tie an overhand loop in it and crimp the weight there. Other times you crimp weight on between the point fly and dropper but I always have to deal with the weight slipping down. Keep your hemostats readily available. Still other people will tie on their tippet about 6" or so above their point fly and place the weight just above the knot to keep it from slipping down. Bottom line is go with whatever works for you. BTW, taking off weight which you’ve tightly crimped on is a royal pain, even with the Water Gremlin removable brand.
Make sure you get as long of a drift as you can. You may have to feed out some line below you.
Last, a great tactic is to throw up into the riffle and let the nymph sink down below into the channel where the trout are feeding.
Not to really disagree, but more to state that nymphing is my choice for most of my angling regardless of the time of year. Since fish feed more actively on subsurface offerings, there is where I’m going to be. I love to watch the visual take of a dry fly off the surface, but I catch most of my fish subsurface while nymphing.
I have migrated to using Thingamabobbers almost exclusively with the exception of those times when I find myself in slack water, or spring creek situations where I use a Parasol Emerger as my indicator in order not to spook the wary fish that live there.
As far as depth from flies to indicator, it usually depends on how deep and how fast the water is. Faster flows along with some depth usually requires a minimum of 2x the water depth to where I place the indicator on my leader, with enough weight to get the flies on the bottom. Should the water be of a reasonable flow and depth from 2-feet to 6-feet I will usually use the old formula of 1 to 1 1/2 x the water depth for indicator placement. The formula for indicator placement on the leader is more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule. I usually will watch my first few drifts to see if I’m drifting without hangups (or fish), or if I’m hanging up every cast (also no fish usually). I want the top nymph (or my weight) to just bounce along the bottom. Yes, I’ll hang up from time-to-time, which should be expected, this just means I’m in the zone where most fish hang out.
Next thing to consider is fly selection. I’m of the school that believes that presentation is just as or perhaps more important than fly selection in most fly fishing situations (dry or nymphs). Nevertheless, fly selection is still critical. I fished the Big Horn River last year for the first time. As I was rigging up, our host asked what I was using and I showed him my rig of a strike indicator, followed by my first nymph which consisted of a heavilly weighted Rubberlegs, trailed by a bead-head nymph. He just grinned and said it wouldn’t work. I asked why and he responded that this water did not have a stonefly population, which the rubberlegs fly imitated. He then looked at my box and made some fly recommendations based upon his knowledge of the river and I had a great day. My friend in the other boat heard what was said, but responded that his rig had caught fish everywhere and would do so on this water and he went three days without catching a fish, too stubborn to pay attention.
Find out what bugs live in the water and then discover what times of the year they are active and available to the fish and choose an appropriate imitation, it may make the difference between feast or famine. But, presentation is the key to whatever fly you put in front of a fish, anywhere.
Normally, a good dead-drift of nymphs or dries is crucial to the fish choosing to eat your offering, although there are times when a little movement can make the difference. Last fall, while fishing the lower Henry’s Fork, I was using a three-nymph dropper rig under an indicator. My top fly was a weighted red San Juan Worm and I didn’t catch any fish until I started giving the fly a little wiggle during the drift and then letting it settle into a dead-drift again, I slayed them! So, sometimes a little movement may be the key to a great day. “Little” movement is the key. Another tactic regarding movement has already been mentioned, and that is of allowing the fly or flies to swing and rise to the surface in the “hang down”. After each drift, especially when the caddis are emerging, lift your rod tip and allow the flies to swing towards the surface. You will often attract fish in the area and the strikes will be savage, with your adrenaline shooting through the roof after each take. Those who love to fish wet flies and spiders know what I’m talking about here…REE Also, don’t forget to mend your line as often as possible in order to achieve the longest possible drag-free drift. Recognize too that there may be times when you may need to mend downstream rather than upstream in order to achieve the correct drift according to what the currents may be doing closer to you as opposed to where your indicator is located (eddies around rocks comes to mind). The high-stick method mentioned also works well for close-up drifts and you would benefit well from mastering this technique.
As far as attaching weight to the leader, I did this for years, but have gravitated away from this for a variety of reasons. Now I usually use a weighted top fly, such as a Rubberlegs stonefly imitation, trailed by a bead-head nymph such as a Pheasant-tail or Copper John, trailed by another non-weighted nymph, usually some type of midge imitation. In Idaho we can fish multiple fly rigs and do so very effectively. If and when I do use split shot on my leader I will usually follow Gary Borger’s recommendation in his book “Presentation” and attach my first fly down from my indicator below a tippet knot no more than 8-inches from my fly and attach the split shot above that knot, adjusting the amount used based on how my drift goes.
The reason I use a Thingamabobber is due to two reasons, first and foremost is the fact that even with glasses my eyes aren’t as young as they used to be, so I can no longer see the subtle takes indicated in the bare tip of my fly line or a small fluorescent indicator slid onto the leader. Yarn indicators cause too much drag for my taste and I also can’t see the subtleties of takes when the fish are barely moving the fly. Second, with the Thingamabobber I can see very slight and subtle movements telling me there is something going on under the surface. Often its the flies bouncing off the bottom, but after you’ve fished nymphs a lot you can usually tell the difference, but, even if you can’t, you should set the hook with a slight raise of the rod every time something appears at your indicator. A sharp strike will usually result in either a hooked fish, or, if it was just the bottom, weeds or a rock, will end your drift and you’ll have to re-cast for another drift through the run. I therefore use a raise of the rod tip, if a fish is throbbing on the end then I will set the hook again, if not, I’ll lower the rod tip and finish the drift.
I know there are several strong opinions regarding nymphing under indicators (yes, I know, those of you who look down on this method would just as soon have us call them bobbers…), but it is an effective and fun way to fish, and should not be considered any less pure than a good dry fly presentation. Both methods have their pros and cons, but one is not better than another, just different preferences. There are also many who nymph yet don’t believe it is true nymphing unless you’re using a tight line method with no indicator (the method I learned early on). Again, as a fly fishing community we should embrace the sport and all of its methods, tactics and techniques, and not look down our noses at any one or method that just doesn’t fit who we are.
I find great satisfaction and enjoyment in presenting a nymph imitation that I tied and catching a fish that I fooled with that presentation and imitation; it means I was able to get into the fish’s dining room and fool him at his supper table.
So, hope this helps in answering your question regarding how to nymph under an indicator. I for one am a flyfisher who is enamored by, and gain a great deal of satisfaction out of “lobbing” a nymph rig - my rig of choice, usually whenever and wherever I go fishing. Don’t get me wrong I know how to dry fly fish, and do it often, but those opportunities are usually limited as to the where’s, when’s and what’s; fish are always eating and its usually an aquatic insect under the surface.
I agree with everything you wrote. In fly fishing, presentation is the name of the game regardless of the methodology/tactics used. Borger’s book offers a lot of insight into presentation.
If I’m nymphing and nothing is working then I adjust my weight and strike indicator first before changing out my fly. Then if it still doesn’t work then I might consider size followed by color unless its obvious the trout are taking something else. But sometimes what the trout will take depends upon how educated they are or the conditions. For example, when fishing the upper South Platte during run-off the trout will usually take little SJW’s during run-off as they’re getting washed in off the banks. Red’s typically the color but not always. Another situation was illustrated when we floated the Gunnison Gorge over a month ago. You definitely wanted salmonflies and golden stone nymphs with you. The trout were generally holding inches off the shore at very high water. It’s good you mentioned varying your retrieve a little. It’s all presentation.
As for nymphing versus dry fly, I was only suggesting that Michael E. take advantage of the summer season while he can even though he was soliciting advice on the former. It’s easier for most people and I’m sure it was gratifying for him to catch trout while on top, or at least that was my impression from his post.
I haven’t fished back East so I don’t really know what kind of conditions he faces. As you know, we get a lot of wind to contend with here in the Rockies. And we’ve had very high water this year. Independence Pass above Aspen, CO received 10’ of snow in April alone. Only recently have the rivers dropped into shape here in CO.
As for someone who’s just getting into nymphing, you’re right about adjusting the distance given the speed of the current. But for someone who’s a beginner at nymphing, and oftentimes someone who’s experienced, it’s often tough for them to handle a 3 rig fly. My fishing partner who’s a guide will often toss 3 flies. For me it’s just an invitation to having to re-rig when it’s windy. Perhaps it’s my technique. Nevertheless I usually do okay w/ just 2 flies though I’ll toss 3 as well. But I’d rather avoid the third fly and get my rig into the water asap. I’d suggest Michael E. master a 2 fly rig before going to 3 flies. We should also mention people rig differently - for example tying the dropper on differently than just tying to the bend of the point fly. Perhaps leaving a long tag end.
Besides, rigging gets a heck of a lot tougher on my diminishing eyesight with age. I often have a lot of difficulty threading the flies even though I’ve every gadget including C&F threaders. It’s like a wading staff. Had one for years and finally gave in to using one regularly last year. Glad I did. I’ll start using the threaders regularly too.
All of this information on nymphing is a lot for someone new to it to take in. Anyway, I still enjoy throwing dry flies, especially terrestrials, which I prefer to nymphing. There’s no doubt that catching fish while nymphing is gratifying especially when you can see the take. But to each his/her own. What I really enjoy is tossing streamers or caddis emergers, especially at twilight/night. You don’t need a strike indicator when the caddis emergers are coming off in the evening. And oftentimes you’ll catch a very good sized trout. My fishing partner and I recently took a 13 year old out at night for his first time streamer fishing and he couldn’t believe we were catching trout. It was just as fun for me as for him when he caught them for the first time at night.
When tossing streamers or emergers, the tug is the drug for me. And when the trout hit, they often hit hard. It’s doubly fun in the darkness of night. You just have to be familiar with the surroundings (the river and the foliage) for wading and casting. Now I just gotta put those Lumalux (glow in the dark) lines to work.
Yall have been giving me a lot to try out, this is very helpful. But a few clarifications…
When I go fishing it’s a relatively small river water about 2-3’ deep. I would be open to trying multiple flies ( I have tried a hopper dropper, just not multiple nymphs) but would shallow water prohibit me from using this method effectively?
Many times when I fish with any kind of wieght my casts become very ackward as the flies bounce around at the end of my line in the air, usually resulting in a misplaced cast, discouragement, and ulitmately switching to a new fly. Any advice on how to manage my casting?
Most of you have recomended drifting “longer” and I understand the concept. But…
I have heard this makes setting the hook more difficult because you are upstream of the fish and essential pulling the hook out of its mouth. And…
Could you be more specific on the tecnique of swinging the fly towards the surface at the end of your drift to imitate the nymph rising, or “being alive” as was mentioned erlier.
I hope this clarifies my situation so you can help me more specifically,
Thanks
2’ to 3’ deep is fairly shallow. But the point with nymphs, as in two or more, is to get them on the bottom. Say for example you allow your dropper to float free so it rises a bit from the bottom. Yes, you can fish shallow water by nymphing.
Slow down your cast to rid yourself of flies bouncing around because of weight and pause as the line unfurls. I’m not waiving the rod several times. I put the rig in the water quickly. If you’re tossing a nymphing rig like a dry fly then you’ll get tangles. When I’m throwing a nymphing rig with weight then my cast is more a lob than a regular cast that I’d use with a dry fly. There is an exception when I throw cone head streamers. They also bounce around so you’ve got to slow down your cast.
Try setting the hook to the side rather than skywards like the Statue of Liberty. That’ll put the hook in the side of the trout’s mouth instead of pulling it up and out.
When swinging the fly at the end you lift the rod tip as you finish your swing. That’s when a lot of strikes occur.
By the way Michael, if I’m throwing a couple of streamers together, one of which is cone or heavy bead head (usually a wooly bugger) then I don’t use another weighted streamer. You’ll get a lot of bounce and it’s very unwieldy. You can’t cast it properly. Or at least I can’t and don’t. I also use a heavier and shorter tippet (not smaller than 4x fluorocarbon) because it handles the streamers.
Also, don’t forget to mend your line as often as possible in order to achieve the longest possible drag-free drift. Recognize too that there may be times when you may need to mend downstream rather than upstream in order to achieve the correct drift according to what the currents may be doing closer to you as opposed to where your indicator is located (eddies around rocks comes to mind). The high-stick method mentioned also works well for close-up drifts and you would benefit well from mastering this technique.