Best Central/S. Central stream to learn nymphing?

[Imgonnamissher]

In spite of fly fishing for three years, and catching enough fish to keep me more than interested, I have to admit that I have neglected nymph fishing. I could probably count the number of fish that I have caught nymphing on one hand, and most of them have been by accident or during the one second my attention drifted to something else. Now, since it would seem that I am probably moving to an area with tougher trout to fool, I am wondering what waters you would recommend in the South Central/Central region that would be the most forgiving in terms of size, current, and trout stupidity to hone my skills. I can definitely say that my biggest weakness is strike detection, and while I realize I will never catch every trout that bites, I still feel that I am missing far too many takes.

 

[jayL]

Any of the stocked streams would be fine.

Spring creek would probably be my choice, though. It's the easiest of the big time limestoners.

It's always a learning process. I'm still "learning" fishing creek, and have yet to learn many of the lessons that Penns has to teach.

 

[wetnet]

You can really nymph any stream. As far as stupidity to hone in your skills good luck with that. Nymphing, as with dry flies or streamers is a talent in it's own right. Each one has it pluses and minuses and their own degrees of challenges. You can long line a nymph in shallow riffles, high stick them in the faster deeper water, sink them down in the plunge pools. You can strip them, dance them and like anything else out there wrap them in the highest tree branch with no effort, which still baffles me. I thought only dries flew!

As far as indicators, I still feel for a beginner a section of colored backing between the tippet and leader works the best. It gives you a visual which helps me keep slack out, shows you the drift and depth. Also with browns especially it helps me see my line stop, when I ordinarily wouldn't. I use a 3 colored section, marked with a black sharpie.

I'm an advocate of lessons and I know they aren't cheap. But if your near State College, check out TCO and clinics with George Daniel. You'll learn enough in a couple of hours to keep you busy for years.If you're not into the lesson thing, there certainly are more than a few here that can help you with specific questions. A great group so ask away!

 

[pete41]

fishermans paradise-
use 22 fur bodied nymphs[just fur]
tons of fish
some micro shot.
you know you are over fish so you can practice as well as anywhere on the planet.

 

[DGC]

Little J and Spring Creek are excellent choices. Keep in mind that they get a bit crowded during the peak of sulphur season.

Humphreys video A Casting Approach to Nymphing Tactics would be a good learning tool. If you do watch that video, keep in mind that you dont HAVE to use a dropper and you dont HAVE to master the tuck cast to nymph, beneficial as both may be.

 

[Fishidiot]

Streams with a noticeable gradient and current combined with decent wading and a somewhat open canopy would be best as this allows for a good drift, short line method, and reduces snags. There are countless streams (or sections of them) in central PA that meet this criteria. I'd stay away from full blown limestoners (Big Spring, Letort) that have a lot of rooted, emergent vegetation and mostly flat surface. Streams with a lot of slow, clear, pools would also be tough. I've taken many beginners to the Yellow Breeches C&R area (below the low head dam) and they have done well learning high stick nymphing. YB is a very wader friendly stream allowing new FFers to get out into the middle of the creek and avoid a lot of snags in vegetation while using a longer rod - which I think really helps keep line off the water when learning to nymph.

 

[PatrickG]

I agree with Fishidiot, Yellow Breeches is a great stream to nymph and I almost always catch most of my fish there on them, unless there's a hatch going on. I almost always use a strike indicator far up on the leader, whether it be yarn or the new football type ones. Another technique that I almost always use is using a rig with a nymph and then a dropper underneath of it, sometimes even another dropper nymph under that. It allows you to use two or even three different types of nymphs at once, enhancing your chances of success. Good luck.

 

[flybop]

Strike detection while nymphing has always been considered the toughest part of the game. Look at it this way, if you are getting strikes to miss then you must be doing something right.

For the most part a drag free drift while nymphing is just as important as in dry fly fishing. Sure, there are some bugs and conditions that a dragging or swinging nymph will do the trick, but often you need a drag free presentation.

As far as what stream to learn on goes, I have said for years that Penns is just about a perfect nymphing stream. My personal favorite stretch is upstream from Cherry run. Those few miles of stream will present you with a wide variety of water types, lots of trout and a pretty setting. Over many years of fishing that water my go to flies there are a golden stone nymph (there are always golden stone nymphs in the stream), pt's, hare's ear and small buggers.

Penns seems to have a rep as being tough to fish but I would not let that get in your way. I kinda look at it like learning to drive with a stick. It may seem tougher at first, but if that makes you focus and work on your presentation that much more it will pay off.

When I am teaching/guiding someone to learn nymphing I have them using a strike indicator. One of my favorites is the Thingamabobber. One very commonly overlooked aspect of indicator nymphing is the importance of adjusting the weight and the depth of the indicator frequently to suit the current conditions. Very often the difference between no fish in a given spot and a few hook-ups is a quick adjustment of the weight and indicator depth. Far too often I see guys fish an entire day and a wide range of water from shallow riffles to deep runs without ever changing their weight and keeping the indicator at the same depth all day. This is a sure way to get frustrated when nymphing.