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		Nymphing for Mayfly Feeders - by Tasmanian fly fishing guide Bob McKinley
		Tasmanian Trout Guide, Bob McKinley offers advice on summertime stillwater Nymphing. Nymphing. Nymph fishing is one of the oldest forms of fly-fishing and without doubt one of the most successful all round techniques available. There are many types of nymphs in our Tasmanian waters, each with its own attraction to the trout and each is imitated in different ways by the fly fisher however it is the mayfly nymph which we will concentrate on in this article. The success of nymphing is not surprising when you consider that trout take up to 90% of their food sub surface which can result in up to 10 nymphs being taken for every hatched dun. Wade nymphing is a proven way to target feeding fish and is recognised as one of the best searching methods available however it is the boat angler that can cover all shores and water depths that has all the advantages. The Mayfly hatch When the mayfly nymph is ready to hatch it will emerge from under it's protective cover on the bottom of the lake and begin it's assent to the surface. The nymph being a poor swimmer is assisted in it's struggle to the surface by a minute quantity of gas which forms in the thorax, giving it a level of positive flotation. This produces a very slow rise that is rarely a continuous assent but rather a series of rises and slow falls, with each rise gaining further height and eventually gaining the surface where it will hatch. It is this very slow lift and fall is the movement we need to imitate when fishing the nymph imitation. The Trout Once the first nymphs begins to emerge from cover, trout will immediately become focused on these nymphs to the exclusion of most other foods and in clear water you can observed them swimming in random patterns, maintaining a steady pace and taking most nymphs on the run. Where to start Top locations are where the best dun hatch is occurring each day. This does not mean they have to be hatching to be able to catch fish, in fact just the opposite is the case. Nymphing is primarily used to catch trout before the hatch has begun as the trout will start to feed on the nymph as soon as they begin to move which can be several hours before they appear on the surface. Finding the best and most productive water is often as easy as reading up on the local guides to the various waters which generally list the better areas and when to find all the action. Once you are at the chosen water, observing the number of spinners along the shoreline as well as feeding swallows will indicate more accurately where something is hatching or is expected to hatch. We have found that the best action prior to the main hatch is going on at depths of 2 to 3 meters. Deep water nymphing gear To target fish in what is essentially shallow water of 2 to 4m, no special equipment is required. You simply need to deliver a set of up to three flies 10m out from the boat, so use your favourite rod and a floating line, add a 4m length of quality 6lb to 8lb fluorocarbon leader, attach two droppers, tie on three nymphs and go fishing. When selecting leader materials you will really benefit from using a quality fluorocarbon for all wet fly fishing and although I don’t believe it disappears completely in the water we have noted a definite improvement in our catch rate since we changed over to this material. Flies One of the great things about this style of fishing is that everyone carries a range of mayfly nymphs with them during summer. If not then they are available everywhere you go and we have found that simple dark coloured, seals fur nymphs tied in two or more sizes are all that you need. As far as matching the hatch is concerned you can keep it simple and only need to classify them as big nymphs/duns and smaller nymphs/duns. The colour difference can be as simple as light and dark browns. This reduces the selection down to a maximum of four, big being # 10 and smaller # 12 in either brown or black with a wire rib of gold or silver. For fishing in shallow water of 1 to 2m light hooks are perfect giving a slow sink and the time to fish the water. For depths of 2 to 4m all you need is a standard nymph tied on a heavy hook. We have found that seals fur with the thorax pulled out to form legs gives the best results. In fact the more chewed about and scraggy the better. Let it sink When nymph fishing in deeper water it is critical to give the line and flies time to sink down into the weeds where the fish are. As we do not advise bead head or heavy weighted flies, this can take up to half a minute in deeper water which means controlling your drift speed and casting well ahead of the boat or to the side if the boat is likely to drift over the line during the sink period. If you don’t get the occasional weed hook up, you are not getting down far enough. After the cast the next step is to eliminate slack from the line and leader so you are best to strip in a meter or more, just to straighten out the line, leader and flies before everything sinks too far. Another important point is to fish with the rod tip on or in the water, eliminating any hanging loop at the tip of the rod. As the flies sinks you can expect a small number of strikes at any time and you will need to keep up a very slow figure eight retrieve to eliminate any slack as the boat drifts down on the flies. Once the flies are at the required depth it is then critical to lift the flies with a slow and steady retrieve, to represent the movements of the natural. It is here at the first lift of the fly where 90% of all strikes will occur, just as the flies start to lift slowly up out of the weeds imitating the natural. Wade nymphing The shore based angler will not be able to access deeper water but will still find nymphing to be an effective searching technique. When hunting pockets of open water among the weeds, the wading angler will often go for the nymph as the first choice. No special gear is required other than a floating line, tapered leader and a single fly set up. This will allow slow searches and a fair chance of landing that big one without having to worry about a second or third fly tangling in the weeds. As with all nymphing, if the fly has not been taken on the drop then you will often induce a strike with movement and it is that first upward lift that is likely to trigger a reaction. You should try several casts to each area before moving on to another spot, as it may be some time before the fly is spotted. Again, hooking up will require minimal slack in the line and quick reflexes. In more open water there can be benefits in using a second or even a third fly to cover a wider area. So the next time you go to the lakes and find the hatch has not started for one reason or another, try nymphing for a change and you may be surprised by the results. Further information and advice on Tasmanian trout fishing locations and techniques is available by contacting Bob McKinley at mckinley@southcom.com.au or on the web at www.fishwildtasmania.com

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