Fly Fishing with Nymph Flies
When it comes to fly-fishing, a ‘nymph’ does not mean a figure from ancient Greek mythology! Rather, a nymph is a small creature that lives amongst the weeds and boulders on the bottom of a river or lake. In fact, nymphs are just the larvae of certain insects that eventually hatch into flying insects and inhabit the terrestrial world.
Stone Fly Nymph Flies
Stonefly nymphs will eventually grow into fully-fledged adult stoneflies, with wings, unless eaten first!
Have a look at the following drawing, which shows a stonefly nymph or larva:
Illustration of Real Stonefly Nymph
Now have a look at this stonefly nymph imitation:
Olive Stonefly Nymph Fly
As you can see, the fly-tier has tried to include all the elements of the real nymph in the tied imitation. The fly has a two-pronged tail, a segmented body, a bulky thorax, a green wing-case, and legs protruding from the thorax – thus it is a lifelike and accurate imitation.
The simple fact is that sub-surface food items make up the majority of the trout’s diet, so you should have a good stock of nymph imitations in your fly box.
Characteristics of Nymph Flies
Nymph imitations do not float like dry flies. They sink down toward the bottom of the river, where natural nymphs are constantly floating along in the current as they struggle toward the surface to hatch. So nymph imitations are designed to look like a natural nymph drifting downstream in the river’s current.
In order to achieve this sinking effect, nymph flies often have fine lead wire in them. The lead wire is wound around the shank of the hook, and then the other materials used in the fly’s construction are tied over the top of the lead base.
Go into any tackle shop and find the nymph selection in the trout fly department. Drop one of the nymphs into the palm of your hand and see just how heavy nymphs can be!
Of course, some nymphs are not weighted. If you’re using an un-weighted nymph but it’s not sinking enough, then you can use split shot or lead wraps on your trace or line to give weight to your rig. Split shot are tiny lead sinkers that can be clamped onto your trace. Personally I dislike split shot because it makes my rig feel unwieldy. I much prefer using lightly weighted nymphs.
Dry fly-fishing is special and exciting because you can actually see the fish take your fly off the surface of the river or lake. It is also a bit easier than fishing with nymph flies or streamers – for the same reason!
But experienced fly-fishermen who know how to catch trout with nymph flies have a generally greater strike rate than those who are adept at fishing only with dry flies.
This is because it is a flat biological reality that more often than not trout will be feeding on nymphs, and so in most situations there is more chance of catching a trout if you can present a nymph to it in the correct manner.
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