Tiny-nymph Tactics
Before you enter the water, determine which position permits the most effective coverage of the target areas and which path to that location should result in the least water disturbance. Wade into position carefully, as close to the fish as possible without spooking them and sending them for cover. On limestone-
influenced streams with cloudy water, you should be able to approach as close as 10 to 15 feet to the fish, but on clear mountain streams, you must stay from 15 to 30 feet away. Slow, deliberate movement is critical in approaching the optimum position, and dull-colored clothing improves your chances of getting close without detection.
When fishing a small nymph along current seams, drift the fly to within a couple inches of the seam line. When working beyond the current seams into the softer water, cover these areas thoroughly. A nymph measuring only 8 millimeters (5/16 inch) or less is far more likely to be taken when it is drifted within a few inches of the trout’s holding position. You should repeat each drift a half-dozen times before moving on to the next target area. Avoid repeating the same drift cast after cast. Begin by targeting the nearest current seam line with your first casts; then make a few casts to another seam line or the soft water while you rest the first seam line. Repetitive casting to one area reduces the potential to catch a fish that may be there. Resting an area for a few moments allows you to go back to that area with more effective casts.
If a trout takes the nymph, apply pressure quickly to move it out of the area and land it quickly. You often can hook several fish in a 10' x 10' area before moving on.
Make Accurate Casts
Your ability to cast accurately and control the line placement can increase your catch rate in small-nymph fishing. Your casts should employ some variation of a tuck cast, with the angle of the tuck governing how quickly the nymph sinks in the water. The deeper the water, the steeper the tuck cast you need.
Using a clock face for reference, for a cast to 12 o’clock, directly upstream, the straight tuck cast is most effective. Each change in current speed near the target area can affect the presentation, so plan the drift before making the cast. Place the line and leader in the same current line as the nymph whenever possible. By placing it in the same current line or in a slower adjoining flow, you can control drag and get the longest possible drift through the target area.
Hook and curve casts, when made in combination with the tuck cast, can aid in presenting your nymph across currents. You will discover the advantages of these casts when you target current seams and the softer currents inside the vees or ovals out to 10 o’clock or 2 o’clock from your casting position. You must maintain a high rod position when executing a hook or curve cast. Maintain it throughout the casting stroke, and stop the rod at the position to begin following the leader’s drift—usually at shoulder to forehead height.
This high rod position allows immediate drift control of the line and the fly, and it reduces the amount of fly line in contact with the water. Follow the drift with your rod tip as the nymph travels downstream and keep the rod tip downstream from the line and leader. Slack line beyond the rod causes drag, and the slack requires more rod movement to set the hook when a trout takes the nymph.
With these small-nymph tactics, I use from 5X to 7X tippets and unweighted nymphs to allow the current to move the imitations around as much as possible. I find that the thin diameter of 6X tippets causes less line drag than thicker tippets.
To sink a small nymph to within inches of the stream bottom, I attach a tiny split-shot to the tippet about 8 inches above the fly. In deeper or faster water I increase the number of shot, using nothing larger than size BB. When using shot of varying sizes, I place the largest shot farthest from the fly. I place the additional split-shot above the first and keep about a half-inch between each split-shot. By changing the angle of the tuck cast, I can make a nymph sink to the desired depth of drift with less weight. The steeper the angle of the nymph’s entry into the water, the deeper the fly will go with less weight. When making the cast, get the weight swinging, then direct the weight toward the target. Cast the split-shot, not the line or fly. Accuracy is the key. Don’t go for distance.
Patterns to Match Naturals
Patterns to fish in tiny sizes include Baetis nymphs, Pheasant-tails, Brassies, and other nymphs. The patterns must reflect the available natural insect’s size, shape, and color. Avoid patterns that are heavily dressed. Patterns of dark brown, yellow-brown, olive-brown, and reddish brown suggest a wide variety of tiny subsurface flies, including mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies.
For many of the most common insects, I offer imitations that incorporate suggestions of the insect’s most prominent characteristics, especially when matching Paraleptophlebia, Baetis, and small clinger nymphs with prominent gills. Soft, supple materials that move with the flowing current contribute to a pattern’s effectiveness. And a bit of flash in a pattern can appeal to the trout’s curiosity and thus increase its effectiveness. Tiny glass-bead-body caddis patterns and Hare’s Ears, Pheasant-tails, and other nymphs tied in beadhead and flashback versions often catch fish when other patterns produce only limited success.
While the spectacular hatches of large flies provide sensational fishing during relatively short windows of opportunity, the availability of tiny nymphs, both immature and mature, provides a constant food source throughout the season. Using these tiny-nymph tactics to offer the trout a pattern in the size they expect to see can help you catch more fish between hatches.
Dave Rothrock is a casting instructor, freelance writer, and fly tier who appears on the Early Spring Trout Flies CD-ROM (Volume 1) from Virtual Outdoors. He lives in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania.
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