how to fish nymphs and streamers?
I like to go trout fishing a lot and just got into fly fishing. I know subsurface flies are harder and i want to know how to fish them. Also, what are some good dry flies that are fairly cheap
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I don’t think nymphs and streamers are harder to fish, but they do fish differently than dry flies. The “hardness” I think you’re alluding to is that you often can’t see the nymph or streamer, and therefore it’s harder to manage in terms of depth, mending line, etc. I think you’ll find it challenging to learn to use nymphs and streamers, but once you know, I think you’ll agree that no one technique is more difficult than the others.
If you’re new to nymphing, one good method is a strike indicator or a dry-dropper combo. Suspend your nymph beneath the strike indicator of your choice (there are many different kinds — to each his own) at a depth appropriate to the water you’re fishing. A good rule of thumb is to use a length of line 1.5 times the estimated water depth. So, if you’re fishing in 1 foot of water, place the strike indicator 1.5 feet above the nymph. Most of the time you want your nymph pretty close to (or bouncing on) the bottom, but there are exceptions to this — place the strike indicator accordingly. If your fly is not weighted (and even if it is) you may have to add splitshot or putty to your tippet to sink the fly. On big stillwater, you’re probably going to use sinking line, but that’s a completely different technique. Once you’ve got a nymph dangling at the proper depth below a strike indicator, cast the whole mess out and watch for the strike indicator to dip or pause in its travel through the current. One complication is that if your fly is bouncing along the bottom, the fly will often snag or hang on rocks and stuff, which will make the strike indicator act like you’ve got a take. You’ll get to know the difference between a real take and a false one, but you may have to set the hook on many false takes before you hook a fish, and it’s better to try for a set every time, rather than let a fish get away — by the time you set the hook, that fish is already getting ready to spit out that fly (if he hasn’t hooked himself).
I mentioned a dry-dropper combo — this is simply using a large, buoyant dry fly (like a big foam hopper) as a strike indicator with a nymph “dropper” tied to the hookbend of the big dry. If there’s a decent chance that fish may take a dry fly (like in late summer), this is a better technique than a strike indicator because you may in fact hook a fish on that dry. The drawback is that it’s harder to adjust the depth of a nymph dropped from a big dry fly.
Like I said, nymphing is a lot different than casting a dry fly, and I’ve really only described one way of using nymphs. There are many other ways, like Czech nymphing and tandem nymphs. Note, that in most cases casting nymph tackle is different, too. With dry flies you want tight loops and crisp casting. With nymphs, splitshot, and strike indicators, your tippet and leader are loaded up with weight that you might not be used to — big, open loops and shorter casts will help you avoid tangling, and there’s no reason for much false casting. You may want to rehearse this in the backyard before hitting the water.
Streamers are a whole other thing, but I hesitate to call it more difficult than fishing dries. To fish streamers, you really have to think about your days of fishing spinners and/or jigs. There are some similarities here, especially with streamers that imitate minnows/bait fish. What you’re trying to do with a streamer is imitate a darting, wounded, or otherwise vulnerable fish. You’re trying to present a prey item. That’s why many streamers resemble small fish or amphibians. You will need splitshot, putty, or sinking line/leader to get your streamer to the desired depth. Casting may be a bit wonky — practice until you can keep the extra weight under control. Once you have your streamer in the water, you give the fly action by stripping in line in a way that imitates the forage in question — jerky, panicky action. You’re not using a strike indicator here. You detect streamer takes by by feel, keeping the line taut and waiting for a tug. Note, streamers can also be used to imitate leaches, which are typically dead drifted (no action), in which case you might use a strike indicator.
The reason you definitely should fish with streamers and nymphs is that it will allow you to be a more rounded fly angler. Fishing with dry flies is only one small part of fly fishing, and to be honest it’s probably not the most important part (it’s just the most rewarding, some would say). Knowing how to use nymphs is arguably much more important than using dry flies.
Do a quick Internet search on both topics (nymphs and streamers) and you’ll pull up more articles than you’ve got free time to read. Fly fishing print magazines are full of techniques, too — both new and oldschool.
Fly Fishing Brown Trout in Wisconsin (Tandem Nymph rig w/ indicator)