Nymphing is very productive fishing, once you learn how to do it. Here are
some thoughts;

Try to find out the size and shape of the nymphs in the water. Pick up some
flat rocks from the water and see what's on them. Seine net the water to
see what's drifting in it. You can easily make one from fiberglass window
screening and a couple of dowels, or buy one. A product called QuickSeine,
that fits over your landing net is really great in cold weather as your
hands stay dry.

Drift your fly very close to the bottom. If it is not bumping on rocks
occasionally, you are not deep enough. Be willing to adjust your weight and
the position of your indicator as water depth varies.

As mentioned previously, strikes can be very subtle. Set the hook on every
slight pause or unnatural change in direction of your strike indicator.
Many of these will just be your fly hitting a rock, so you'll have lots of
false strikes. Unlike with dries, trout rarely hook themselves on nyumphs,
especially in cold weather.

Remember, in cold water, trout will move very little to get their food.
They'll tend to be in the deeper water. So be very patient in covering any
given spot, with multiple drifts through the same potential holding water.

You really have to concentrate on your strike indicator or the end of your
fly line for nymphing but, heck, that keeps your mind from working on less
enjoyable things.

Good luck with it!


"kyle" wrote in message
om...
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you and your loved ones have a
safe and fun holiday.

I learned so much this spring, summer, and fall fishing on the
surface. I hit a bunch of backcountry wild brookie streams in PA, and
of course a few in the SNP. This was the first year that I fished
almost every weekend, and sometimes both days. So, while I still have
much to learn about fishing on top (I mean, it's of course a life long
process), I'm pretty happy with where I am, at least as far as wild
brookie streams go (how hard can they be?).

What I want to learn, between now and that first warm, long weekend
that my buddies and I will spend down in the SNP, is how to fish
underneath.

I've always just given up and not bothered. If nothing's working on
top, well, I can just sit in the sun and puff up, or go back to camp
and drink, or go explore, etc.

I want to get beyond that, and my plan is to spend the next 4 months
trying to get some reasonable, practical working knowledge of fishing
underneath - with bead heads, I guess.

So, if anyone, or better yet, a bunch of people, want to write out a
short paragraph of how to start - how to rig up, how it's different
than surface fishing, common pitfalls and frustrations, that would be
cool! Just enough info (and hopefully from different people) to get
me in the water, I can spend the whole winter trying to actually
figure it all out. I do have books, but there's obviously a lot
richer info to be had here.

And has anyone had any of the 2003 Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, yet?
I'm enjoying one right now.

Your friend,
Mr. Rapidan

Hopefully, come April, I can call myself Mr. Silver Beadhead.