WHEN & WHERE TO USE THE NYMPH
“Nymphs are often at their most effective in poor conditions, particularly overly bright light. Equally they are an obvious choice when there are either no trout on the surface or the fish are rising in a swirling motion with their backs barely breaking the surface (typical nymph feeding behaviour).” Lesley Crawford
One of the first books I purchased on fly tying was Dave Hughes' Essential Trout Flies, an outstanding reference book. His introduction to Nymphs:
“Trout spend most of their time on or near the bottom, feeding on natural nymphs, larvae, crustaceans, and whatever else they can get in that rich and restful zone. They spend far less of it up where you can coax them to dry flies. If you like to increase the number of trout you catch, the best move you can make is to tie up an array of nymphs, then learn to present them in approximately the ways that the naturals arrive.”
(From Essential Trout Flies, by Dave Hughes, published by Stackpole Books, p. 49. Used with permission from Stackpole Books.)
I can tie pretty much any nymph you want. There are three categories and flies from each are illustrated.
Some notes
Any pattern can have a bead added to it.
Any pattern can have extra weight added to it. I only use lead free wire.
Tungsten beads will add an additional 50 cents to price of three flies.
Nymphs can be ribbed or un-ribbed
I use a “Nude by Nature” mineral make up brush for almost all the tails on my flies. The iridescent shine of the fibers give an added attraction to the fly. They can be tinted with a “Shinhan Art” textra pen without completely eradicating the shine.