NYMPH FISHING: THE MOST DEMANDING FORM OF FLY FISHING?
CONTENTS:
- Definition and Distinction from Wet Fly Fishing
- G.E.M. Skues: The Revolutionary on the River Itchen
- Nymph Fishing: A Controversial Technique
- Frank Sawyer: Innovation on the River Avon
- The Development of the Pheasant Tail Nymph
- Tactical Refinements: The Induced Take
- From the Chalk Streams to Local Waters
- Outlook: The Nymph Fishing Series
In conversations with experienced fly anglers and while studying specialist literature published up until the early 2000s, one statement appears again and again: nymph fishing is the most difficult form of fly fishing.
Whether this assessment also included fishing with visual aids or strike indicators – a method rejected by some fly anglers – is not entirely clear. Let us assume, however, that this judgement referred to the style of nymph fishing as it was originally conceived by its pioneers in the first half of the 20th century.
1. DEFINITION AND DISTINCTION FROM WET FLY FISHING
Originally, nymph fishing was closely associated with wet fly fishing. Unlike this widespread fly fishing tactic, which was often practised downstream, nymph fishing was from the very beginning primarily an upstream-oriented method of fishing. In other words, the nymph is presented against the current and, ideally, drifts back towards the angler in a dead drift (without drag caused by conflicting currents).
This was the original concept when the first two major proponents of nymph fishing discovered and popularised the method between the 1910s and the 1950s, supported by an audience that was, at least in part, highly enthusiastic. Today, this style would be referred to as classic nymph fishing.
© Michael Wenzel
The fact that this style of fishing, as practised by its two most influential advocates G.E.M. Skues and Frank Sawyer, is nowadays rarely seen – especially in continental Europe – is another story altogether. One that, interestingly enough, bears certain parallels to the tension currently existing between supporters of traditional nymph fishing and anglers from the ever-growing camp of enthusiastic Euro nymphing practitioners.
2. G.E.M. SKUES: THE REVOLUTIONARY ON THE RIVER ITCHEN
When G.E.M. Skues began wondering how he could tempt the rising trout of the crystal-clear River Itchen – trout that persistently ignored his dry flies – he simply removed the wings from the flies he was using. He also replaced the stiff cock hackles, on whose tips the dry flies floated on the surface, with soft hen hackles.
His flies, which now resembled emerging insects, sank just a few centimetres below the surface and suddenly became irresistible to the actively feeding trout. Fish after fish fell to his patterns while fellow anglers unsuccessfully changed from one perfectly tied dry fly to another.
public domain
It was therefore thanks to G.E.M. Skues that the understanding gradually spread that trout often prefer not the fully hatched adult fly, but rather the emerging and hatching stages of the insect.
This insight has, in the meantime, also found its way into modern dry fly fishing. Because let’s be honest – truly winged dry flies have almost become a rarity today. Instead, emerger patterns, whose bodies sit in the surface film and are supported by parachute hackles or loop-style posts, now dominate contemporary dry fly fishing.
3. NYMPH FISHING: A CONTROVERSIAL TECHNIQUE
That his discoveries did not go unnoticed was partly due to Skues himself, who published several books and regularly contributed to the fly fishing press of his time. This, however, also attracted his critics – foremost among them the founder of dry fly fishing, Frederic Halford, and his followers. Much like Euro nymphing today, the method was fiercely attacked and strictly prohibited on many waters.
G.E.M. Skues engaged in heated public disputes with the advocates of “pure” dry fly fishing. Eventually, he even had to defend himself before a tribunal of one of London’s most prestigious fly fishing clubs and, after decades of membership, was ultimately expelled from his club on the River Itchen. Nymph fishing was considered unsporting and regarded as a method that violated the very spirit of fly fishing.
4. FRANK SAWYER: INNOVATION ON THE RIVER AVON
But by then, the genie was already out of the bottle. Many fly anglers of the time considered the strict code of “proper” and “acceptable” fly fishing to be just as restrictive and limiting as its founder himself. It was in this context that the young riverkeeper Frank Sawyer came into contact with G.E.M. Skues towards the end of Skues’ life in order to exchange ideas and experiences. Like his mentor, Sawyer was also at home on a crystal-clear chalk stream.
© Nick Sawyer
On the River Avon, while carrying out his duties as riverkeeper, he was able to observe trout holding close to the bottom as they pursued nymphs darting back and forth between the weed beds. The activity of the nymphs intensified shortly before a hatch began and became increasingly lively. Sawyer repeatedly witnessed trout chasing after ascending insects in order to intercept them before calmly returning to their holding positions near the riverbed.
5. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHEASANT TAIL NYMPH
Consequently, Sawyer took the next logical step in the evolution of nymph fishing by focusing even more closely on imitating insects during their aquatic stages. For the first time, he weighted fly patterns using copper wire taken from old radio antennas as a substitute for tying thread. Thus, the Pheasant Tail Nymph (PTN) was born.
© Sven Ostermann
Despite the added weight, the nymph retained a slim silhouette and represented a highly natural imitation of the “Baetidae” found predominantly in the River Avon – a family of aquatic insects known for being agile swimmers.
Even today, the pattern serves as the blueprint for countless nymph designs. Only recently, passionate fly angler and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard published the book Pheasant Tail Simplicity, dedicated entirely to flies tied from this remarkable, readily available and highly versatile material.
6. TACTICAL REFINEMENTS: THE INDUCED TAKE
From a tactical perspective, Sawyer further refined the presentation technique by not fishing his nymphs exclusively in a dead drift. Thanks to the exceptional water clarity of chalk streams, he would allow the drifting nymph to rise by lifting the rod as soon as it entered the field of vision of a previously spotted trout. This movement triggered the instinctive reaction in the fish to intercept the nymph as it appeared to ascend towards the surface to hatch. The Induced Take was born – a strike provoked through deliberate rod movement.
As a riverkeeper, Frank Sawyer was also tasked with removing grayling from the river, as they were considered food competitors to trout at the time. Since insect activity during late autumn and winter is rather limited, he decided to imitate the freshwater shrimp that occurred abundantly within the weed beds. This idea led to the creation of the Killer Bug, another highly successful and still widely used fly pattern today.
© Michael Wenzel
7. FROM THE CHALK STREAMS TO LOCAL WATERS
Both pioneers of nymph fishing still operated within the framework of the traditional Southern English philosophy, which dictated that anglers should only fish to trout that had first been visually spotted. This style of fly fishing was and still is relatively uncommon on the European continent, as local waters differ significantly from classic chalk streams. They are generally deeper, their riverbeds more irregular and their surface currents far more broken, making the undisturbed observation of fish considerably more difficult.
That, however, does not change the feeding behaviour of local fish. They too feed on dislodged insect larvae drifting freely in the current in a natural dead drift. They also pursue ascending (emerging) nymphs and pick off hatching (hatching) mayflies and caddisflies. European and American fly anglers therefore had to adapt the insights and tactical concepts of nymph fishing to suit their own waters.
8. OUTLOOK: THE NYMPH FISHING SERIES
After this brief excursion into the origins of nymph fishing – during which concepts such as emerging nymphs, dead drift and induced take were developed, all of which remain highly relevant to modern nymph fishing – the upcoming articles in this series will explore the following topics:
- Which tactical adaptations were made to suit local fishing conditions.
- What equipment is required to meet the technical demands of nymph fishing.
- Why classic nymph fishing is often regarded as the most demanding technique in fly fishing.
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