Nymph Fishing: Part 1

Since I’ve moved back east, I’ve done far more nymph fishing that I had ever done. When I lived out west and fished the inland Northwest and Rockies, I was a huge dry fly guy. While there certainly are plenty of dry fly opportunities, nymph fishing dominates.

In dry fly fishing, you can see your fly, you can see your drift, and you can see the strike. In nymph fishing, this is all a mystery. You have a general idea where your flies are under the indicator, if you are using one, but in reality, you don’t know. You have a general idea when you get a hit, but how many snags have you set the hook on? You played that branch there for a few seconds, you know it!

Therein lies the biggest challenge. Even when you tight lining it, you’re setting the hook on snags. That’s just part of the game in nymph fishing. I’d rather set the hook on a snag than miss a fish. Nymph fishing can be far more nuanced than folks think.

I also don’t care for it when folks try to belittle folks for “bobber” fishing. As a matter of fact, I don’t have the time, patience or inclination for any of the elitist nonsense we can see in our sport from time to time. I want people to get out and fish. I prefer they fly fish and not because I’m in the business. I find fly fisherman to be conservationists, environmentalists, advocate for their preferred species, favor catch and release, and the art of fly fishing tends to be less harmful to the fish.

On that note, pack it in, pack it out! Tight Lines my friends.