Ethical Nymphing???

[rmalling]

So my buddy who got me into fly fishing comes from a family of purists in Montana that only fish dry flies. He remembers waiting by the river as a kid waiting for the hatch to happen and wondering why his dad wasn't fishing until the bugs came off.

His dad cited some literature from 1800's England debating the topic of sub surface fishing as unethical and illegal. I'm wondering what ya'll think.

I love nymphing and don't ever plan to stop, but it may be interesting to hear what others think about the purity of our beloved sport...

[PescadoDiablo4]

Fly fishing has evolved.  Nymphing is an effective way to fish and your still fishing artificial imitations of what the fish eat--I think that constitutes ethical angling.   

I love fishing dries, but I don't force it.  If it's there--I take it gladly, but I'll nymph until fish start looking up.   

Where I feel nymphing gets a bad rap is when people start intentionally snagging fish.  Meaning-- a ton of weight two inches in front of an egg pattern rolled under a fishes belly sitting on a bed or not. 

As far as actually fishing to fish on beds, I go back and forth on it and I think it depends on the situation.  For a place like Grey Reef, or a freestone like the Roaring Fork or eagle where the spawners are resident fish--I feel you should stay away from them.  A place like the Dream Stream where most of the fish are for the most part non-resident put and take fish coming out of a lake--I say it's your call on that one-- so long as you are not out there purposefully snagging fish.

I personally, am not that big fish horny anymore.  So going to the dream stream and dealing with crowds for lake run fish--not my cup of tee these days.

Sorry for getting a bit off topic--but yea...my .02

[ptaft]

Doesn't seem to make much difference to me.  Fishing with dries is just immitating bugs in a different stage of life.  Both are artificial immitations, granted worms and eggs may be stretching it but at least it's not live bait so why not.  I think they are both difficult in their own way, a fish won't take just any nymph just like it won't take just any dry, I say if it catches fish throw it!

[mogul buster]

The whole "purist" issue with dry flies is bogus and outdated.   An unsuccessful fisherman is one who can't adapt to the situation.   If you are stuck with fishing only the surface...............you are missing most of the action and will be fished under the table by a "nympher".

Using the purist logic...........a bass fisherman is "unethical" if he's not fishing a topwater lure.................and any bass fisherman will tell you that using only topwater will make for an extremely long and drastically less productive season. 

Fishing only dries because it's what you love to do is one thing............but doing it because it's "ethical and pure" is ignorant.

[slowdown]

Im a dry fly guy.  I love them.  Whether fishing for Bass, Striper, Steelhead or Trout - I LOVE THE DRY.  The rise and take is where it is for me.  

All that being said, if we were to follow the ways of the past, we would be wearing tweed suits, ties, and only fishing upstream dry flies to rising trout.  Buddy, that there would be BORING!!  We'd also be hung for heresy for believing the world to be round and that the stars are more than holes poked into heaven by God.

Im with PD4 on the spawners and on the big fish.  I prefer small creeks with wild fish in solitude. If I want big old piggies, I can chase Steel or Salt.

Let the water cascade before you,
and sun shine on your face.
Let your cast roll out straight and true
and the trout rise to their fate.

[TANGLER]

I think the dry fly purist is basically extinct. 

The man who originally mentored me in fly fishing for trout was a "purist" in a different way.  He only tied and fished with natural materials like feathers and hair, and he never used glue.  He is the only guy I've ever met who followed that ideal.

There are others who discern between certain wet flies as being ethical or unethical, or as in parachute pete's recent words: "gay". 

At the end of the day it's a personal choice and it's whatever makes you happy.

[beadheadred]

It is a very old debate, for sure.  There are extreme purists that fish only dry, and true "wet" flies, but not streamers (obviously encompassing a large variety of flies).  Wet flies (mostly drowned mayfly imitations) were very popular until sometime in the mid 1900's and were fished sub-surface as an attractor and very colorful.  Many soft hackle wet fly patterns of today are variations on traditional wet flies.  I've seen many fish caught on soft hackle patterns, FunkMasterSnowshoe and Redquill tie some really effective patterns.   

Small underwater aquatic insect patterns in various life stages seem to fall somewhere in between dry flies and streamer patterns, and make up a grey area if included in the original debate.  Nymphs and midges have replaced many of the wet fly patterns because fly fisherman in the early 1900's became entamologists and began to pattern imitations after actual insects.

There's no debate for me.  Winter fishing is fun, challenging and often done in tough conditions, where a nymph or midge is the only way to fool a fish.  And during the seasons where fish are rising more frequently, the majority of the "catching" is still done below the surface, at least for me.  There's nothing better than watching a trout sip that dry olive, slurp that caddis or hammer that hopper.  The opportunity just doesn't present itself as often.

Fortunately, we get to to do what we want without prejudice.  The bigger issue for me is exactly what PescaDiablo raised, and that is "snagging" trout intentionally with a big bugger or nymph....

BHR

[cochise]

Purist...by definition.

Angler who cannot nymph. 

[beadheadred]

Purist...by definition.

Angler who cannot nymph. 

 

[Oyey]

Fly fishing has evolved.  Nymphing is an effective way to fish and your still fishing artificial imitations of what the fish eat--I think that constitutes ethical angling.   

I love fishing dries, but I don't force it.  If it's there--I take it gladly, but I'll nymph until fish start looking up.   

Where I feel nymphing gets a bad rap is when people start intentionally snagging fish.  Meaning-- a ton of weight two inches in front of an egg pattern rolled under a fishes belly sitting on a bed or not. 

As far as actually fishing to fish on beds, I go back and forth on it and I think it depends on the situation.  For a place like Grey Reef, or a freestone like the Roaring Fork or eagle where the spawners are resident fish--I feel you should stay away from them.  A place like the Dream Stream where most of the fish are for the most part non-resident put and take fish coming out of a lake--I say it's your call on that one-- so long as you are not out there purposefully snagging fish.

I personally, am not that big fish horny anymore.  So going to the dream stream and dealing with crowds for lake run fish--not my cup of tee these days.

Sorry for getting a bit off topic--but yea...my .02

What he said

[Silent_Light]

That mode of thinking went extinct around the turn of the century.  1800's Europe was all about the wealthy dry-fly purists.  It was totally and unthinkably out of the question to fish anything BUT dries!  While fly fishing was not a "blue collar" sport then by any means, it was mainly the gentalmanly sport.
  By the late 1800's into the 20th century, nymphing became a more accepted method of taking fish while maintaining the putiry of the sport, mainly in the US, europe had a hard time adapting in the beginning
  80% of a trouts diet is subsurface, we rarely see them feeding on top outside of emergences.
  Take a hard look at the fly selection at our local shops, and notice the ratio between dries and wets !  Nymphing has become the preferred method over the last 100yrs.

[Armchair Angler]

wearing tweed suits, ties and sun shine on your face.

damn i wish i had photoshop skills like krazluck to put slowdown in a tweed suit, with nickers and a tie holding a bamboo fly rod.  bring to mind an image of the little rascals 

i say just fish and catch by any means legal and respecting the resource, and take what the defense gives you - dry, nymph, streamer, dry/dropper...

[Flyfishnfool]

His dad cited some literature from 1800's England debating the topic of sub surface fishing as unethical and illegal. I'm wondering what ya'll think.

He was most likely refferring to Fredric Halford. A noted Brittish gentleman that is credited with starting the dry fly only, Up stream only debate. He wrote a couple of books. The most noted being "Dry Fly Fishing in Theory and practice" 1889.

An unsuccessful fisherman is one who can't adapt to the situation.

Very true I whole heartly agree with the statement above. You must be able to adapt to the changing situations going on around you.

I also say fish however you want as long as you enjoy it. That's what really counts. Somedays I like my bamboo rods and dry flies, some days Czech nymphing, and some days throwing some big junk on a 10ft rod for lake fish of all species.

Fill your heart with content,
John G.

[AKA master]

if the opportunity presents, i think most people out there would prefer to throw a dry. but i will never stop nymphing in the winter. imo there is nothing unethical or even un-pure about fooling gunshy winter bow with a nymph.    

[FishLip]

fish however you want as long as you enjoy it. That's what really counts. .
Fill your heart with content,

This sums up every "purist" fishing debate, and is what fishing is really about, well put FlyfishnFool!