Still water

[Anthonygreer]

Depends entirely on the water you are fishing, and the food available, time of year, time of day, weather, etc... The more you go, the more you learn, the more fish you catch. I'd say the biggest thing to do right off is just mix it up until you start catching, then continue doing what you were doing when you were catching. Nymping stillwaters is kinda a pain in the ass. I would much rather throw on a mini bugger and get to work casting and stripping, and figuring out where the fish are hanging. Once you catch a few like that, pull out your favorite nymph, determine size by looking at naturals, or sizing to the size of fish you are fishing to, and get to work. I have found nymphing under an indicator to be very effective, but only if you are stripping or moving your nymph every five or ten seconds so your line is taut to the indicator. The biggest problem, as stated earlier, is strike detection. A lot of the time i favor a constant retrieve, such as a slow hand crawl, or twitch, just to stay in contact with the fly and "feel" for the strike, which usually comes when you pause or do something out of the ordinary. One of the most effective retrieve's for me is to strip an inch at a time or so for three strips, then pause, and repeat. Most hit it right at the end of the third strip. Again, just experiment. It pays to know the forage base in the body of water you are fishing, as well as how deep it is. A lot of the time you arent catching you just are going to fast or not getting deep enough. Also, don't rule out the strip and sink method. I've had a lot of fun just stripping a few times to pull the fly up near the surface, and letting it sink slowly in stillwaters. It works great in waters with lots of midges...
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