A couple weeks ago, the skies graced our beloved SE Minn with plenty of rain, filling the creeks to a level that a fly fisherman who has a penchant for nymphing (me!) can haul out the nymph box and spend a day catching plentiful trout. As the rains pounded my camper at night, I huddled inside, giddy at the prospect of finally approaching a deeper hole or riffle without worrying about stepping on a single twig and sending a pod of trout scattering upstream.
I guess you can debate whether nymphing is true fly fishing. Some purists I know would not 
deign to such a technique. But for me, there is a kid-like excitement brought about when my indicator dips as I mend away at the other end of the line. Deeper, slightly stained waters are much more easy to cope with than the low, clear conditions that met me since early April.
This past weekend was a nymph fisherman’s dream on the several creeks I visited. Fishing a tandem rig with a #14 beadhead scud and trailing #16 pheasant tail (the old reliable combination) I managed consistent action in the riffles, deeper holes and the undercuts I fished. Black wet flies and purple and partridge soft hackle flies also produced well. One particular stretch of water, which has fished very low and clear all season, was finally back to normal and the larger trout were back in their old haunts. Yes…..back in business.
