What exactly is Nymph Fly Fishing?
Let’s start at the basics. Nymphs are, as defined by the Meriam-Webster dictionary : “any of various immature insects; especially : a larva of an insect (as a grasshopper, true bug, or mayfly) with incomplete metamorphosis that differs from the imago especially in size and in its incompletely developed wings and genitalia” In everyday terms, nymphs are aquatic insects that are still in their underwater stage, as in not yet having reached their adult, or flying stage of life. One thing worth remembering is that, if you enjoy dry fly fishing, all the flies you see on the water are adult insects. These insects have “grown up” from their underwater stage and have taken to the air for their mating rituals. In essence, dry fly fishing involves using fly imitations that involve imitations of the adult aquatic insect (such as a mayfly, caddis fly or stonefly). By contrast, when nymph fly fishing, the angler attempts to imitate the younger, underwater stage of these exact same flies.
