Fishing in WA

Nymph Fly Fishing for Beginners

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. When starting out, most anglers learn dry fly fishing techniques first, and then move onto nymph fly fishing when they have gained some experience. 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. Generally, the insects you see on top of the water are adult insects that have grown out of the adolescence stage. The flies used for nymph fishing imitate the underwater or larvae stage of an insect.

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.

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. Normally the strike indicator is attached to your leader well away from your nymph, or are attached to the fly line itself.

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. If the nymph is drifting too quickly, perform a upstream mend. If the nymph is drifting too slowly, perform a downstream mend. In the event of a strike, the angler just points the rod at the fly, and lifts the rod to set the hook. The fisherman wades downstream with this technique of fly fishing.

3 Lakes Fly Fishing, Washington State

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