Big Fish Love Little Nymphs
Don’t get me wrong…I love dry fly fishing. Seeing a trout rise and watching it take a perfectly presented Elk Hair Caddis or BWO is nothing short of exhilarating. But, to consistently catch more fish, and bigger fish, nothing beats nymphing.
What is Nymphing? Nymphs are the small crawling life forms that live on the bottom of a river bed. Pick up any stone or rock on the river bed, turn it over, and you find a unique miniature universe of aquatic insect life. Although most would call them gross bugs, these little beauties account for the best fishing around, if you know what to look for and what to match them against in your flybox. Yes, ‘matching the hatch’ is important for choosing the proper pattern to fish a particular section of stream, but it isn’t near as difficult as it is for the dry fly enthusiast where selection most often has got to be perfect. So long as you have something ‘close’ to the same colour and size as the bug you are seeing, chances are good it will get you a hit or two.
Matching The Hatch:
As I said, even though it isn’t as crucial to pick the perfect version to tie on, it is important to know the difference between a caddis nymph against a stone fly pattern. Caddis nymphs are small (size 12 - 16), worm like, either green or greyish in colour, with small black heads. They are often present in early season, between late April to mid June. After that time, they become scarce, as they finish their hatching cycle and become a flying insect (EH Caddis).
Often, you will find a four or six legged, segmented insect with a fairly large head and antennae, often dark in colour, but this also varies considerably depending on the particular species. Don’t fret about determining the exact specie of insect. Often times a Hare’s Ear Nymph or small stone fly pattern matches the size and colour enough to hook into a fish consistently. As a matter of fact, of all the patterns you MUST have available, make sure you have plenty of Hare’s Ears and Pheasant Tails in sizes ranging from 8 to 16. Trust me, you cannot go wrong with these two patterns. Although neither perfectly imitate any particular specie of nymph, they resemble several different ones, making matching the hatch much more simplified. As a matter of fact, if I were to ever be restricted to only two patterns for the rest of my fly fishing days, it would be these two, hands down, no question about it.
Big Fish Love Little Nymphs:
Why is nymph fishing so much fun? Simply put, they provide a constant, year round food source, near the bottom of any river, and big fish know this. Big fish need to eat alot, and there are literally thousands of nymphs that are constantly becoming dislodged from the river bottom, making them easy targets for big fish. They also provide more nutritional value with less effort than having to rise to a small, mostly winged insect floating on the surface. The river’s current simply and literally brings the food to the fish. Big fish also get big by staying as invisible to threat as possible. They don’t venture to the surface often, avoiding detection from species that target them such as bears, raccoons, osprey, hawks, eagles, and of course humans. They stay deep, hugging the bottom for their own protection, and with the constant buffet of insects floating by, why would they move? Think about it…they are safe, fed, and exert minimum effort. All they need is a lazyboy chair and a remote control.
Nymphing Techniques:
Some would say that nymph fishing isn’t truly fly fishing. I disagree. You are still using a fly, which is still tied with fur and feathers, often as small as 18 or 20, with the same equipment using basically the same skills. The only true difference is with dries you fish the surface, while with nymphs, you fish the bottom. There are some differences though. First of all, nymph fishing doesn’t require the same skill level in casting. More often than not, you only need a few feet of line out, just enough to let the nymph bounce along the bottom. Often, a nice easy ‘lob’ will suffice. Gently lob upstream and ahead of nice run or hole, and let the nymph drift right through the target area suspected of holding fish. Often times, the use of an indicator makes it much easier to see path your nymph is on, helps you control depth, and will notify you immediately on a strike. THIS IS POSSIBLY THE GREATEST DIFFERENCE between nymphing and any other kind of fly fishing…THE INDICATOR!!! Often called a bobber or float, their primary purpose is to assist an angler in catching fish…and isn’t that what it is all about? I use an indicator often when nymphing for the soul reason that it helps me catch more fish more often. Before I used one, I can’t even fathom how many hits I completely missed, not even knowing I had a hit. I admit, I reluctantly purchased my first indicator. I wanted to fish naturally, and almost everybody I spoke to back then spoke of them as if they were a plague on the sport. But immediately upon using it, I started to catch more and bigger fish more often. Now the only time I don’t use one while nymphing is during the odd tournament I enter (indicators and pinch weights are not allowed in most tournaments, I guess it is to keep it more fair, but I could really make a hell of an argument for their use).
Another nice thing about nymphing is ‘drag’ no longer is a concern. Drag is the number one culprit in a refused take when dry fly fishing. It occurs when the current pulls on your fly, causing a rippling effect downstream of the fly. Naturals don’t drag, they ride on top of the surface and cause little or no disturbance on the water surface. As soon as your fly starts to drag, it is labeled by the fish as unnatural, and no fish will come near it. (There are exceptions of course…sometimes a skittering caddis dry will provoke a strike, but the hard and fast rule is that DRAG KILLS!!) While it is important to try to have a perfect dragless nymph, one that moves ‘with’ the current and not ‘against’ it, it isn’t as crucial to success as when dry fly fishing. Fish will readily take an insect that appears to be struggling under the water surface, and when your nymph does drag, it is often mistaken by the fish to be struggling, and will actually provoke a strike, thinking that it is an easy cripple.
Beginners in the sport often get frustrated with the sport when dry fly fishing. The casting can be difficult to learn, especially if you never been shown how to, matching the hatch is damn near impossible when you can barely see a flying insect you are supposed to imitate, and just how many different flying insects are there anyway? Do I need all of them? How do I know when to fish a BWO or a Caddis or a Hendrickson or that big hairy one the guy in the shop said might work? Nymphing is much easier to learn, especially when starting into flyfishing. As I said above, all you really need is two or three all purpose patterns in a couple of different sizes. If one doesn’t work, try another. If none of them work, try a new hole, chances are there are no fish at that one. And since nymphs make upwards of 80% of a trout’s diet, you will be more successful, which will make it more fun, which in turn will keep you fly fishing.
Yes, I love fishing dry flies. But when push comes to shove, tie on a nymph, and start catching fish and having fun.
