Farmington River Report 4/19/16: “I suck at nymphing.”

That’s how my client David summed up his subsurface skills on the phone.

It may have been true a few days ago. But not today. No sir.  Today, friends, David was a steely-eyed nymphing missile man. He put a hurting on the trout with a yarn indicator, a single BB shot, some Pheasant Tails, and a fierce resolve to overcome that northern banshee we call wind. I don’t usually count fish, but we surpassed the dozen mark today. Way to go, David!

It must be the height of Hendrickson madness if the UpCountry lot is full at 8:45am on a Tuesday. We fished two spots outside the permanent TMA, and did well in both locations. (You know it’s going to be a good day when you hook a fish on your first demo cast.)  We fished a drop-shot rig under one of my home-brew yarn indicators; the top dropper was a size 16 soft-hackled Pheasant Tail, and our point fly was a size 12 BHSHPT or an Eagan’s Frenchie (thanks, Pete!) We took fish on all three flies.

Wind was a constant challenge, but I think we’ll take unfavorable conditions if a good bite is part of the package. Hatches were meh. There was a micro burst of Hendricksons shortly before 3pm, but it was over in a matter of minutes. David capped off his day by swinging a team of wets and hooking his first trout on that setup.

Yup. Today did not suck.

A portrait of a dangerous nymphing machine.

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6 comments on “Farmington River Report 4/19/16: “I suck at nymphing.”

  1. Jon says:

    So there is hope for those ‘nymphing impaired’ like me
    :/)

  2. Pete Simoni says:

    Your Welcome Steve!! Glad you had a good day!! Enjoyed Monday sharing the water and the fish!!

  3. Joe GaNun says:

    I too suck at nymphing and as challenging as it is I find that trying to do it in fast / big pocket water is about as hard as it gets.

    • Steve Culton says:

      Hi Joe,

      You are not alone.

      But — what one person can do, another can, too. Once you break nymphing down to its basics (fly selection is not as important as where you fish, the speed of your drift, and the depth of your flies) things begin to fall into place. I encourage you to take a class or a private lesson. I have faith that you have the potential to not suck at nymphing. 🙂

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