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. Novice fly fishermen learn dry fly fishing first, because the fly is easy to see, and then progress to nymph fly fishing at a later date. Nymph fly fishing can prove to be more successful when fishing in deeper water though, especially if there is no insect surface activity or hatch.

A nymph is an aquatic insect still in the underwater, or adolescence stage of development. Insects you see on the top of the water's surface are all adults, and have all grown out of the underwater stage. The fly fishing nymphs normally used look like insects in the larvae (or adolescence) stage.

The Challenge of Nymph Fly Fishing?

With dry fly fishing, the angler can see the fish strike the fly. With nymph fly fishing it's a lot more tricky, as the nymph is underwater, and you cannot see the fish strike. Because it's more difficult to detect a strike, the novice angler may not 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.

With nymph fly fishing, the angler needs to think in an additional third dimension in order to calculate the depth the nymph should be in order to catch fish. Changes will have to be made to the line in order to achieve this 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. This method of fly fishing requires that the angler head downstream.