I fish a small stream for little wild brownies (although a few are quite big - 2lb), and later in the year all you need is match whatever's hatching and fish dries. However, in April they don't like to rise, and so the choice is traditional wets or nymphs.

I've never done very well with wets fished down and across - just a couple of pulls which I've missed. Last year I perservered with the upstream nymph (after some good advice on here to add a couple of small split shot to get the fly down through the fast water) and eventually (kind of!) got the hang of it, and did catch a few trout - and chub - on that, which was very satisfying.

So, first question - when would you choose a traditional wet over a nymph, and why? And which flies (wets and nymphs) would be a good early season choice?

How long is a piece of string and what colour is it?

You'll probably get as many different answers to that as there are fly patterns!

I try and watch the fish if the water is clear enough. There may well be good hatches but, as you say nothing may be rising to them. I observed a few fish the other day, wild brownies in 1'-3' of water. They were all taking food just off the bottom. This was however at about midday.

Choice of wet or nymph would initially depend on the state of the water. If it's clear and I can see the fish and they are holding station I would start by casting to them upstream with a nymph, especially if they are targeting food rolling/swimming down with the current. If the water is not as clear or I cannot see the fish, or they seem to be darting about I would generally use a wet and cast either upstream or upstream and across in shallow water. with a tendancy to fish across/across and down if the water was slow.

My first option would be a lightly weighted nymph cast upstream. If the fish are at the head of a pool I cast a shaky line well upstream then strip the line in quickly as it comes back to me. This allows the nymph to overtake the line and drop low in the water. As it comes into the pool the undertow drags it down to the level of the fish. Nymphs that I generally use at this time of the year are Pheasant tail and Blue Winged Olive. Shrimp copies can be good as well. If the fish are taking food midwater I would use an unweighted nymph, if just under the surface, again an unweighted nymph with a greased leader.

I tend to fish wet if I am not sure where the fish are or they are more active. Frequently a team of two can produce with a bushier fly as a bob fly (top dropper, nearest the fly line) and a wet fly on the point (end of the leader). On my local river I typically use a cocch-y-bondu bob and partridge and orange point. Klinkhammers can be useful here as a bob fly and a combination of bob fly and nymph can be interesting as well!

I tend to find that sparsely dressed flies kill better early on in my water but experiment! Evening fishing can be well worth the effort at this time of year especially if the weather has been warm during the day. A good evening hatch will often get the fish in a suicidal frenzy for about 30-40 minutes just as it's getting too dark to see. Small Klinkhammers can come into their own here, they sit just through the water surface and you can see the tuft better!

I use indicator putty, especially on rippled water and when the light is fading when nymphing and I frequently use a very short leader of 4'-5'.

Hook sizes are another issue. I spent about 45 minutes last spring trying to hook a wild brown on the Irthon under an alder tree. It was taking medium sized green naturals. It repeatedly took but rejected my (dry) Greenwells. I changed sizes until I eventually took him on a size 20!

Here he is all 1lb of him!
Click to view attachment

Experiment, experiment, experiment and don't worry about being too conventional!

Tight lines.

An update! Just been down to the river with the dog, a mixed hatch and fish bulging and taking surface flies so I'm off this evening for some sub-surface nymphing!

I must admit, using an indicator for the first time the other week to catch stillwater stockies on a buzzer felt more than a little like cheating - but fishing for grayling at Timsbury with a weighted nymph and no indicator felt a bit "chuck and chance it", and the grayling I did successfully nobble gave me no indication on the line - I tightened, and it was there.

I think maybe I will try with, and if successful, without.

Will these be any good, or should I invest in some putty?

I haven't used that type but as you have them I'd try them. Before putty I used to use a bit of wool or, in extreme cases a bit of dried grass clove hitched onto the line.

The advantage of putty is that it can be re-used and moved up and down the line according to where you want your nymph. If fishing a team with a surface bob fly then that will act as an indicator. It all depends on water clarity, rippling on the surface, how good your polaroids (essential kit) are etc. Some of the waters I fish are very shallow (6-12") and very fast. I frequently take fish practically at my feet when nymphing, especially when after grayling but also with browns as well.

A few other good early flies to try are Simple Simon tied wet or dry and almost any of the Bloa variants.

Quite simply the general rule is, or was, nymphs are usually weighted wet flies are not. Of course there are now exceptions, like bead headed wets and floating nymphs. The idea is to work out how deep you need to be, and fish a pattern that gets to the depth.

Its little wonder you haven't had much success with the wets. Down and across was described by Pritt (I thing it was) as "the Devils work". The way to fish them is upstream traditionally. Long rod and a short, gentle roll cast, so as not to dry them out. By long rods I mean 11 to 13 feet. Then track them back downstream. Another way is to cast up and across making an aerial mend before the line lands (throw extra line upstream). Then track them down to about where you would make your cast fishing across and down. For spiders to be really effective you should be covering rising or boiling fish.

The reason you are missing takes downstream is that you are pulling the flies away from the fish. Fish usually face the current. This brings up two of the three problems you are having. First you are fishing for fish that can see you very clearly. Second is as I mentioned above, you are pulling the fly away from the fish. The third problem is to do with imitation. Can you name one nymph that can power across open water at the same pace as your fly when you are swinging it? I can't. Rather than a carefully tied spider you may as well fish a mackerel feather. At least that could be mistaken for something that could swim that way.

Something you might find useful is the modern Duo Method. This involves a big bushy buoyant dry fly and a weighted nymph. Of course the weight of the nymph will dictate the size of the dry. This is one of the ones I like to use. You can hang a very heavy nymph under this.

As for what nymph to hang under it the choice is as endless as you want it to be. However two will cover most of your fishing if you want to keep it really simple.
This is the heavy one. Two layers of lead wire under the body.

Or something like this with either dubbing or pheasant tail under the body.

Although I can never resist fishing one of these. Well one did bag my largest ever wild brown of about 27 inches.


Then comes the final problems. How far is the nymph from the dry? Well I use enough mono that when it hangs down at 45 degrees behind the dry it will be as deep as I want it. This is a very rough rule of thumb, but I find it ok. There are three ways you can attach the nymph.
1, Dropper - Put the dry fly on the dropper and the nymph on the point.
2, Two in the eye - Tie the second length of line to the eye of the dry.
3, New Zealand - Form a loose knot in the end of the mono and slip it over the hook of the dry fly.

My experience is that the New Zealand method tangles the least. Other than that there isn't much to choose between the three.

I hope that is at least some help.

Cheers
OT

Any thoughts on what's described in this article, OT?

Strike indicators or floats as they are otherwise known are the Devils Work!! and are not the stuff of well born Englishmen! just watch the tip of the fly line.
Study to be quiet....In other words sit and look at the situation are those fish rising to floating flies or are they turning just under the surface in the latter case use upstream wet flies for all the reasons that Owdtrout has outlined and if you have a long soft rod use that too in the prescribed manner outlined above.
At this time of year rises are liable to happen between 11 and 3 civilised fishing and the likeliest candidate for a fly is the large dark olive Baetis Rhodani recommended patterns are Kites Imperial ,rough olive, funnel dun but most decent dark olive pattterns will do if you are going for the wet fly option most of the classic spider patterns will score for you.

I suspect that in the conditions I have outlined above heavy nymph patterns will simply travel under the fish as they are up in the water looking for food in the top few inches.

You are doing nothing to dispel my suspicion that it's maybe a bit cheaty, Alan!

Just raised with proper values I can almost imagine Skues Halford Pritt Edmunds and Lee all spinning like tops in their graves at the very idea!!!

They'd probably be spinning just as quickly at the thought of carbon fibre rods and brightly coloured plastic fly lines Was that the Halford that thought nymph fishing was a waste of time?

p.s just had two small brownies on an unleaded pheasant tail and a small grayling on a bead head PTN (olive dun spinner).

Seriously though if Steve is starting off a (hopefullt) long pastime of small stream trouting a small indicator might be quite useful until you get used to the takes. I use river coloured silk lines and they are very difficult to see at the best of times. A little yellow blob of putty in the half light under the trees is a godsend and definitely kills more fish for me.

If its legal I'm happy for you to do it, (unless you enjoy it, in which case it is probably illegal). I have tried this and I don't do it now. I have learned to do things properly and, I suspect, using indicators slowed the process down.

I tend not to use split shot. Remember in Yankiestan they can still use lead in many places. For a given weight the shot tends to be smaller. Do the science yourself, it starts "If a body is totally or partially immersed in a fluid..." So for a given weight in a given flow the lead shot will fish deeper.

Then there is the other thing. I dislike having to fish in a motor cycle helmet. It just isn't the correct millinery for fly fishing. Fish with split shot on your line and you'll soon know what I mean.

Cheers,
OT

Yes, I've once had a weighted nymph to the back of the head and that stung a bit (even through a hat), so I think I know what you mean!

I can see the logic of that rig I linked to, but then if we were being logical and efficient about it, I'd be planning to use a stick float and a couple of pints of maggots! I suppose the presentation that rig achieves could also be created by fishing the duo method with a second nymph on a dropper a little way up from the point, the disadvantage being that the nymph on the point would be more likely to snag the bottom than a split shot.

Thanks everyone for your replies

I have so far resisted the urge to use a strike indicator and have been perservering with a single nymph fished upstream, and watching the end of the fly line for bites. It is difficult, but I am determined to master it! The use of split shot is to get unweighted flies down through the water, if I don't have a weighted version on me. You're right though, it does make casting...interesting

I'm sure that has been the problem with wets fished down and across - wrong depth and dodgy presentation. If fish are near the surface I'll try them upstream, but will probably still stick to a single fly.

I do also think that one of the main reason I catch less early season is because the water is low and crystal clear, and the weed hasn't come up yet, so I stand out like a swishing sore thumb! Working very quietly upstream is the way to go, I'm sure.

Tomorrow evening will be my first attempt of the year, together with Steve. I can't wait! Hopefully we can show you photos of lovely fit, beautiful, wild trout in a couple of days...

As regards bite indicators, OT's white foam bob fly is probably the best kind......it's got a hook in as well

I did it the other way round, I learnt 'properly' on larger rivers than where I fish now. Some of these are only 6-8 feet wide with 'knitted' alders for walls and ceiling! Bite indicator putty is invaluable when it's too dark to see the line. It certainly is a successful method in some of these little streams.

I just found this, probably a little late but quite interesting and it covers all options!http://www.flyfishinggear.info/how_to/wet_fly_fishing.shtm

Tight lines!