Nymph rigging setup?

[spmpdr]

When i get back to town i am planning to go fish the crooked and from doing some research im thinking that the most productive fishing is going to come from using sinking nymphs. I would like to know how to rig this set up properly , i have seen post where people are using 2 nymphs one heavier than the other , is this the only way to set this type of fishing up or could i just use one nymph with an indicator?I will try some dry flies as well if i see the fish surfacing. I can't wait to get out there!!!

 

[Irishrover]

On the Crooked to fish nymphs I use a floating line with a tapered leader. Sometimes I just put on one nymph like a prince nymph and fish the edges of the river by the banks, that is I wade out into the river and cast back into the area close to the bank. Sometimes I'll put on two nymphs like a hares ear and a pheaseant tail. There are a couple of way to do this. One is to tie leader to the hook of the first nymph then tie the second nymph onto that leader. The other method is to tie on a nymph then use a surgeons knot and tie a dropper the main leader and tie the second nymph onto it.
Most folks use a strike indicator on their leader and it's a proven dependable way to fish. I like to just watch my floating line right where is dips into the water, if it make a sudden move away from me I set the hook. Hope that helps to some degree.

 

[fisherwilly]

I had some good luck the other day fishing a dry and letting the fly sink and sight fishing it. I had way more strikes when the fly was 2 inches below the surface of the water. So you could just fish a nymph without an indicator. Also my favorite way to fish is to tie on a larger dry (10-12) and fish a nymph behind it. Just tie a foot of tippet to the back of the hook and tie on the nymph. Usually I used lightly weighted nymphs so that the dry doesn't sink. It sucks when you are fishing an indicator and a fish strikes your indicator. This eliminates that from happening. You can fish one nymph, but two gives you more odds to hook up. This picture is how I usually fish two nymphs, but with too much weight on the Crooked you will be hooking into some algae.

 

[bigsteel]

when i use 2 small nymphs,,,i will cut 12 to 14 inches off my tippet then retie it with a surgeons knot leaving one tag end i attach an emerger and at the bottom ill tie another nymph and in between i will add a split shot or two,,,,,,,,,if your fishing with bigger nymphs the diagram fisherwilly put up is great.

 

[spmpdr]

I had some good luck the other day fishing a dry and letting the fly sink and sight fishing it. I had way more strikes when the fly was 2 inches below the surface of the water. So you could just fish a nymph without an indicator. Also my favorite way to fish is to tie on a larger dry (10-12) and fish a nymph behind it. Just tie a foot of tippet to the back of the hook and tie on the nymph. Usually I used lightly weighted nymphs so that the dry doesn't sink. It sucks when you are fishing an indicator and a fish strikes your indicator. This eliminates that from happening. You can fish one nymph, but two gives you more odds to hook up. This picture is how I usually fish two nymphs, but with too much weight on the Crooked you will be hooking into some algae.

Thank you for the info and the illustration , time to start practicing my knots!!! I think i will start with the large fly on top of the water and a nymph below it that way i will have a better chance at success.

 

[spmpdr]

Also when fishing only nymphs with an indicator do i need to emulate the way the real insect/bug would move in the river with my rod or will the current and the bottom of the river take care of that. I think i might have found the answer to my own question. From what i read only certain nymphs and bugs you have to do this to , does this sound correct?

 

[spmpdr]

when i use 2 small nymphs,,,i will cut 12 to 14 inches off my tippet then retie it with a surgeons knot leaving one tag end i attach an emerger and at the bottom ill tie another nymph and in between i will add a split shot or two,,,,,,,,,if your fishing with bigger nymphs the diagram fisherwilly put up is great.

Thank you as well sir, could i also use some mono for this rather then cutting my tippet?

 

[fisherwilly]

Also when fishing only nymphs with an indicator do i need to emulate the way the real insect/bug would move in the river with my rod or will the current and the bottom of the river take care of that. I think i might have found the answer to my own question. From what i read only certain nymphs and bugs you have to do this to , does this sound correct?

I would try to fish the nymphs (unless you have a midwater emerger) as close to the bottom as possible and in a dead drift. Nymphs naturally dead drift down stream. You can tell if you are dead drifting by watching debris, other insects and bubbles floating on the top of the water. If your indicator or indicator dry fly is drifting at the same speed as other stuff on top you are dead drifting. At the end of the dead drift you can swing the line tight in the current. This makes your nymphs "emerge" to the top. Nymphs emerge to the top, shed their skin and fly off. If your indicator stops, goes under or does something weird, set the hook. Seriously, I had my brother nymphing for whitefish on Crooked and everytime the indicator stopped he set the hook and caught a fish. He said he thought it was the nymph hanging on the bottom, but he listened to my advice and caught many fish.

 

[Growbug]

Dont just watch the indicator.
Recently i have had many a time when i have been looking at the leader and thought "that's sinking a little too fast", or i have noticed that it is moving away from me whilst it is sinking. From this I worked out that a lot of the fish were taking the nymph as it sank through the first 24" of water, and well before the leader had straightened enough for me to notice movement in the indicator.

If you think ANYTHING is doing something that looks weird, lift the rod tip and strip a little line. If you feel any resistance, set the hook.