Trotting a nymph

[Guest P@UL]

In an old fishing book I once read there was a section on trotting insect imitations with a stick float for Dace an Chub I think.

 

The autho

r would trot the nymph down stream and hold back to lift the nymph and induce takes.

 

Has anybody had any experience of this method?

[Guest Bruno Broughton]

Dick Walker used to enthuse about this method of fishing so - like you do when young - I tried it on the Yorks. rivers for grayling, using a leaded shrimp. The lure fishes very well because the hook lies upside-down, with the bend uppermost.

 

It trots a treat, and rises well when held back.

 

The drawback? Only one - I never had a touch!

 

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Bruno

[Guest P@UL]

Hi Bruno,

Did you try it more than once and did you try bait on the same swims?

 

P@UL

[Guest Bruno Broughton]

Paul

 

I had about half a dozen tries, mainly on the Driffield Canal (a non-navigable waterway alongside the West Beck, a big grayling fishery from which the fish were transferred periodically).

 

Yes, I tried bait - maggots placed on the lock gates and intended to gradually fall into the slow flow of water. They produced grayling to almost 2lb for me; Kev Clifford had one of about 2lb 12oz on maggot.

 

If I could go back to those times (mid 1970s), I would probably go straight in with maggot or redworm because the low flows would - and did - allow the fish to inspect the bait at their leisure. In more 'streamy' water, I would still give the leaded shrimp a whirl, holding back the float several times on each trot to cause the 'bait' to rise up in the water.

 

vc

 

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Bruno

[Chris Plumb]

Bringing this back to the top 'cause Paul (G) and I are gonna experiment and have a go at this later this week. If it works it might save a bit on buying maggots!!

 

Chris

[Spindle]

While messing about at the fly tying bench, I made up what ended up as the perfect maggot imitation. I made it out of an underbody of yellow wool, with a stretched condom body. I've never tried it, but might give it a go on the river... plenty of daft dace that should look at it.

 

I wonder if it's worth trying other variants, such as a baby-doll type trotted for perch?

[P@UL]

Its strange when we spend hours trying to make flies look so lifelike or to give them that certain something to make fish take them with confidence yet you can chuck a maggot in and few Trout will refuse it.

[Duncan]

Chris/Paul

 

Trotted nymph is a method we use quite a lot when grayling are a little hard to get.

 

We tend to fish a heavy nymph off a short dropper fished hard on the bottom with a baited hook about 18" as the point with just a No.4 approx 4" from the baited hook.

 

Another method is to again fish a nymph on the bottom but this time the baited hook lenght is tied to the bend of the nymph.

 

One method we also use which at the right time of year can be deadly is to actually collect live daddy long legs, hook the on to a size 12 and fish them just off the bottom, in the right conditions this is very effective.

 

Fishing a live fly is quite common on some scottish rivers - gadgers (small stone flies) are a deadly bait and method on the River Clyde

 

These method do work and we've found that they can often bring results if you are haveing a dour day.

[P@UL]

Thanks Duncan, great info there

[Zinky]

When fishing Bala on the feeder I will have a trout fly up about 3ft from the feeder for the odd wild brownie to take home for supper. Best fish to date 6lb brown trout been smashed a few times on the bigger trout or salmon.