Can we talk? I have a question: Has nymph fishing become so prevalent that we all assume that the same skills apply and there is no distinction between fly fishing and nymph fishing? I know, folks still use fly rods to “throw” a tungsten weighted nymph pattern to the bottom of the stream, having affixed a “bobber” and possibly a split shot on the fly line or leader, and proclaim they are “fly fishing”. As a dry fly fisherman, I say first that ANY form of fishing is a high human endeavor, and do not object to that method. However, I also believe that the history and tradition of fly fishing is simply not the same with such tackle.
First my thoughts on the great debate between Halford and Skues, although both men had respect for the other and they never really faced off: Fredreic Halford died in 1914, and the debate within the fly fishing world followed his death. G.E.M Skues works that brought the controversy to great attention was Nymph Fishing for Chalk Stream Trout published in 1932. Though both men contributed to the rich traditions of fly fishing, the supposed chasm between dry and wet fly fishing was embellished to a great degree, and was not as dramatic then as it is now. Indeed, Skues advocated for fishing wet flies that were targeting feeding fish on the rise; more like fishing an emerger. Skues contribution was more about understanding the life cycle of aquatic insects and contributing to an understanding of the trout diet. I doubt there would be much different in the fishing styles of the two men today, and most accomplished dry fly fishers incorporate emergers, both above surface and subsurface; flies that hang below the surface, suspended by a bit of foam of CDC, very much designed to imitate a nymph, but in the process of hatching. I think this was what Skues was mainly focused on.
Today’s nymph fishers, as I understand, are casting heavily weighted imitations of aquatic insects at or near the bottom. I recognize the “hopper dropper” style of fishing to be slightly different. Deep nymph fishing, with some kind of indicator, troubles me for one particular reason, and that's casting. To master casting skills, hanging additional “gear” on a fly line impedes effective line control, loops and accuracy. Why wouldn’t a light spinning rod perform better?
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