Hi all, just a quickie from a beginner - what is the difference between nymphs and wets? Are they different types of insects so should be fished differently? They're both sub surface right? I'm confused!

I'd Google it but don't fancy searching for wet nymph while at work

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Started: 19/09/2010 | First fish: 11/12/2010 | Biggest fish: 8lb Brownie

Broadly, a nymph represents an earlier (acquatic) stage in the life cycle of a fly (lake olive, blue winged olive, damsel etc). It is sometimes used to refer to any sub-surface immitative fly dressing.

A wet fly doesn't set out to immitate anything that would occur naturally.

The distinction can be blurred since some wet flies do happen to bear a resemblance to natural insects.

Well... that depends on what you mean by wets...

Nymphs as you are aware are imitative patterns that represent the larval stages of sedges, upwings and stoneflies.

wet flies can be broken down into several chunks..

"Traditional" wets with paired wing slips can imitate several things, sedges being the most obvious, some patterns such as butchers and alexandra are said to imitate pin fry.

North country, soft hackled wets are more likely to imitate spent/crippled insects on the surface film of the water.

then you have all the bumbles and crunchers and french partridge type wets...

The main difference is the way in which you fish the patterns. up stream, down stream, dead drift, pulled..

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Thank you both, I think I understand. If fish are feeding beneath the surface then why would you use a wet over a nymph or vice versa?

By the sound of things a wet is a pattern that isn't meant to imitate a particluar fly but could bear some resemblance to a number of species froma trouts point of view - am I on the right lines here?

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Started: 19/09/2010 | First fish: 11/12/2010 | Biggest fish: 8lb Brownie

This is something that confused me as a beginner, and I'm sure many others too. I think its because that the term "wet fly" is used to describe more than one thing.

a) A wet (as opposed to dry) fly a fly that is fished sub surface (in this definition both nymphs and wet flies would class as a wet fly)

b) A wet fly (as opposed to a nymph) a general suggestive fly pattern fished sub-surface and can suggest a number of different food items e.g. flies, nymphs, pin fry etc. A nymph would be a pattern designed to imitate the larval stage of an insects lifecycle.

If you consider which of these two definitions any particular reference is referring to it should help save confusion, its usually possible to tell.

A wet fly per the second defintion could be something like a dabbler, bumble a winged wet fly such as an invicta, and so on.

I'm sure someone else could make a better job of describing it but thats the simplest way I can describe it. I'm sure someone will shout at me if I've got anything incorrect :P

Thanks for the reply mot, that makes sense

Rob.

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Started: 19/09/2010 | First fish: 11/12/2010 | Biggest fish: 8lb Brownie

I guess, technically, that "nymphs" are simply another branch of the whole group of "wet" (i.e. sub-surface) flies.

A nymph as far as I am aware is a copy of a fly in its early stages before hatching whereas as a wet fly can represent anything from a prey fish, minnow or a good example is the "Wooly ******" and Maribou which are representations of a leach

Thanks for all the replies, I am now suitably clued up!

Rob.

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Started: 19/09/2010 | First fish: 11/12/2010 | Biggest fish: 8lb Brownie

wooly ****** would be considered a lure ...

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