Techniques and tactics for nymphing

Just like dry fly fishing, there are many, many ways to fish a
nymph. Which one you should use really boils down to how skilled
you are in nymph fly fishing and what you are attempting to catch
and where you are doing it. Make sense? Probably not, but let’s
move forward to give you some idea on the different nymphing
techniques available when fly fishing.

This e-book goes over the easiest method for beginners to use.
The more effective Dead Drift Method is covered in a bit.

Nymph Fly Fishing Technique : Beginner Method

This method of fishing nymphs is probably the easiest for any
beginner to use, and is certainly a good way to get introduced to
nymphing in general. This nymph fly fishing technique, which
involves casting the nymph directly across the river and then
letting is float all the way down to a point on the river
directly below the angler, removes many of the problems of nymph
fly fishing for the new anglers.

The beginner method of fly fishing with nymphs is quite simple.
First, just cast your nymph directly across the stream from where
you stand. Then, let the fly float down the river, keeping the
line tight as it floats away as well as following the fly with
your fly rod. Eventually, the nymph will be at a point directly
downstream from you.
This is the point you want. Due to the current, here the nymph
will begin to “rise” out of the depths due to the current of the
river. The current will also wiggle the little nymph all around.
Thus, when the nymph is directly downstream from you, hold the
nymph there for a couple of seconds, and then gradually raise the
tip of your fly rod, which will bring the nymph a bit further up
from the depths of the river. This is the most likely point of a
strike using this method.

This is a nice method for beginners, as it is all done by feel,
not by sight. You do not need to use a strike indicator for this
nymph fly fishing method. Instead, since the fly line will be
tense at all times, you will feel a trout strike immediately.
Moreover, setting the hook is a snap too, since the trout will
hook itself when it takes your fly - due to the tight tension in
the fly line.

So, what’s wrong with this beginner method? A number of things,
actually. First, the only point this method is likely to draw any
strikes is right at the point where your nymph begins to lift off
from the depths of the river. This greatly narrows the scope of
the effectiveness of this fly fishing method; since the vast
majority of the float of the nymph is “wasted” (trout are
unlikely to take a nymph that is careening at weird angles across
a river).

Secondly, since the point of the strike will occur directly below
you, you need to make sure that you are able to be directly
upstream of this point. If, for some reason (and there are lots
of potential reasons) you can’t get directly upstream of this
point, you’re unlikely to get your fly there.

And, lastly, this method won’t work from a boat very well. This
beginner method is mainly designed for the angler who is fly
fishing with nymphs from the shore.

This page covered the "beginners nymphing method", for lack of
better terminology. While this method is an excellent way for the
beginner to get started in nymph fly fishing, there are better
methods available.

So, let's look more closely at advanced nymphing techniques,
particularly the Dead Drift Method for Nymph Fishing.

The method listed above is an excellent method for beginner
anglers to use when fly fishing with wet flies. However, there
are a modifications of this basic method that will improve your
fly fishing productivity and are not much more difficult to learn
how to do. This page discusses several of these methods.