Don't need a fancy rod for nymphing or swinging soft hackles (though they are nice, of course). There's a couple ways I do it:
Tight line swing. This works for wets and nymphs. Just as the name implies, you fish a tight, relatively short line. You're in constant contact with the flies - any munching by fishies is instantly felt. At the end of the swing, I let the flies hang in the current - any fish that might've wanted to eat the flies, but were hesitant while they were moving may be tempted to eat once the flies are stationary. You can let them hang in the current a long time - and fish will still eat them.
Watch the tip of the fly line where it enters the water. This is easier done if the leader is kept relatively straight, so that when a fish takes, there is little delay in the twitch in the fly line. Basically it's the same as indi fishing, but you're using the tip of the fly line as your indicator.
Long line swing - similar to the tight line swing, but with a longer line. This is usually done by casting directly across, or slightly down and across and letting the flies swing on a relatively tight, straight line. You'll feel the pull if a fish hits. If you're on a larger body of water, you can actually cast upstream, so long as you maintain a relatively straight line, or a slight down-stream belly to the line. You'll see and feel the take when a fish hits.
The thing I've noticed with wet flies, especially soft hackle wets - is that the takes aren't normally subtle. Wets are really fun to fish
And if you get hooked on wets, they'll take up more and more space in your box.