What are the Best Nymphs for Trout?
Our favorite flies to ‘Go Sub Surface’
The use of wet flies and nymphs for fishing is documented many hundreds of years before dry flies. At one time it was seen by some as ‘unfashionable’, but thankfully that attitude no longer holds sway in any part of the angling community. We have a number of fly assortments dedicated to nymphing for Trout, and we’ve listed our ‘best of’ single patterns available for fast shipping below.
Forage Fly
With a convincing head (including eyes) and tail, these patterns really look the part underwater, creating the right silhouette and overall appearance. More importantly, they also move in a way that suggests a prey animal, if fished at the correct depth.
Crafty Deceiver
These flies take the classic Lefty’s Deceiver pattern and add a lifelike head to give a more natural profile in the water and create a weightier fly that can be fished more actively on dynamic retrieves.
River Creature
A fly that that tends to spark interest from larger and more mature Trout, this pattern is a good likeness for Crayfish, Dobsonfly larvae (Hellgrammite) and various types of small fry.
Skulpin Bunny / Bugger
Key factors here again are the weight and the shape. Unlike many other types of smaller fish, Sculpin do not have a swim bladder. They have edged fins that allow them to ‘grip’ the river bed and hold against the current, and they tend to move only in short bursts to catch their prey. These versatile patterns are best fished along or close to the river bottom but that can be with the current, holding, or moving against it.
Nymphs, Beadheads
In our opinion any ‘best of’ nymph collection would be incomplete without at least one of the following: the Copper John, the Prince, or the Hare’s Ear. None of them are incredibly representative patterns, but Trout love them nonetheless. Whether they take them for the larval stage of Stonefly, Caddis, Mayfly, Midges or Mosquitos, no-one knows, but take them they certainly do. The metallic wire seems to be a major factor, which is why they are especially effective as beadheads for that extra flash and glint beneath the surface. We also have fly assortments built around two of these three classic patterns.
Wet Flies and Soft Hackle
One of the better bits of advice you could give a novice fishing for Trout would be to try matching the hatch with wet flies as well as dry ones. Pretty much every freshwater angler knows the dry fly version, but the Blue Winged Olive as wet pattern is also great – and not only for Mayfly, but also for Caddis hatches. The Pheasant Tail is not only one of the best copper wire nymph flies, it is also the first documented use of this material in a wet fly – a little piece of fly-tying history.
Wooly Bugger (aka Woolly Bugger)
A runaway success since it was first tied more than 50 years ago and one of those patterns to try if nothing else is working.
