We are now allowed to fish weighted nymphs on our waters. A practice which is often frowned upon by Chalk-stream purists but if you want the opportunity of catching trout and grayling especially in the day, then its a skill worth learning - plus it’s fun to learn new things.
There’s two main ways to nymph on chalk streams.
To sighted fish. Here you spot a fish nymphing and you cast your nymph above it and let it run down to the fish. You watch the fish for signs of a take. Very visual and exciting. Follow this link to see Oliver Edwards give a demo. https://youtu.be/VQjEn1WMz0k
Search fishing. Here you search the water placing your nymph in likely runs and pools. This is when you can’t spot fish. Again check out Mr Edwards giving a demo on this technique. https://youtu.be/lwuu9ybU88Y
One of the main problems novices have especially when search fishing is spotting the take. Traditionally you check the end of your fly line for signs of a take but this can be difficult especially in fast water. To get round this problem you could use a sight indicator or dry fly/ dropper rig to help you detect takes but both practices are not allowed. Check out the following link to see a demo on this - https://youtu.be/iGrQ7DIxPN0. Now I don’t want to cause a stir or fly in the face of tradition but I look at the catch returns and I think all of us now and then could’ve used a helping hand!
Any questions email me, matt@castaflywithme.com