Fishing upstream with nymphs as they dead drift naturally downstream to the trout is one of the most effective tactics on can learn.
In our trout schools, we help the students master three primary steps in reading the water.
- Where do I suspect the trout is holding?
- Where do I cast my nymph?
- To make the presentation, where do I position myself?
Now that you have made these determinations, cast your nymph up and across stream at a 10-20 degree. It should land 3-4 feet upstream of the trout’s assumed feeding station.
The primary challenge in dead drift nymph fishing upstream is detecting the trout’s strike quickly enough to set the hook before it is ejected. The way I master this is to prevent the problem before it occurs. On my presentation cast I hold the fly line tight in my line hand, then as the forward loop turns over I take up any slack that occurs with my line hand. This assures me that I have a tight line on the nymph and I strip it smoothly as it drifts back downstream. I use a Murray’s Trout Nymphing leader and the the indicators for the slightest hint of a strike. Then quickly set the hook with a line hand strike.
This technique is equally effective in the Blue Ridge, the Rockies, and the Catskills.