Setting The Hook with Nymphs (Part 2)

In the cold streams often we can catch many trout with nymphs fished deeply.  The difficult part of this technique is detecting the strike and setting the hook.

Last week we looked at how to achieve this when fishing nymphs upstream dead drift.  This week we’ll look at “Swing Nymphing”.

Swing Nymphing has two important advantages: 1.  It is easy to learn.  2.  I will enable you to fish your nymphs deeper than any method you can use with a floating line.  This method is often preferred on larger streams with deeper water than the dead drifting tactic.  The first step in swing nymphing is to set yourself right beside the deep water you plan to fish.  The first cast is made 10 feet long up and across stream at a 45 degree angle.  After the nymph sinks deeply the rod is extended up and out over the stream at a 45 degree angle.  The slack line is removed with the line hand and the rod is swung downstream at the rate the nymph is drifting.  This tight line from the line hand down to the nymph enables you to quickly feel the strike and hook the fish.  Successive casts are made 2 feet long until you have covered all of the water out to 30 feet, then you wade downstream casting every 15 feet to repeat the method.

Many beginning anglers in my schools catch their largest trout with this method.