Dave Rothrock, a local fly-fishing guide and fly-tier, is a smart trout fisherman. His vast knowledge comes not simply from many years of fishing the streams of Pennsylvania and beyond, but seriously studying the feeding patterns of trout.

Rothrock, an author and casting instructor, recently shared some of his nymph-fishing tactics for catching fish with Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited members.

“Yes, I’ve been fly fishing for over 60 years,” the Jersey Shore resident said with a smile.

He feels he doesn’t know everything there is to know about nymph fishing, and initially felt intimidated about trying it.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Dave Rothrock presents a program on “Diversified Nymphing” during a meeting of the Trout Unlimited Susquehanna Chapter at Covenant Central Presbyterian Church in Williamsport last Wednesday. The presentation included a discussion of various techniques, tackle, flies and applications of nymph fly fishing.

Even now, he concedes: “I’m still learning.”

Like many trout anglers, Rothrock is more than happy to fish with dry flies when a spinner hatch brings the fish to the surface.

In fact, there will likely always be those fly fishers who cast nothing but dry flies, even when trout are not rising. But that usually is not what’s happening on trout streams.

Nymph fishing, he said, is all about getting out on the water and simply doing it.

“Do you want to become a better nympher? It’s an investment of time and effort,” he said.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Dave Rothrock presents a program on “Diversified Nymphing” during a meeting of the Trout Unlimited Susquehanna Chapter at Covenant Central Presbyterian Church in Williamsport last Wednesday. The presentation included a discussion of various techniques, tackle, flies and applications of nymph fly fishing.

Rothrock — who has a YouTube channel on fly fishing as well as a podcast called “The Ranting Angler” — said successful nymphing basically comes down to making a good presentation and having a good drift.

“We make a cast. We hope, but don’t always get a good drift,” he said.

Casting across multiple currents, he noted, will mean a bad drift.

Too much drag with the leader is also a no-no.

His set-up can involve a strike indicator, a leader, and a long tippet with a pair of trailing nymphs.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Dave Rothrock presents a program on “Diversified Nymphing” during a meeting of the Trout Unlimited Susquehanna Chapter at Covenant Central Presbyterian Church in Williamsport last Wednesday. The presentation included a discussion of various techniques, tackle, flies and applications of nymph fly fishing.

The indicator is like a bobber, drifting downstream along the stream’s surface.

A twitch or movement of the indicator often means a strike.

“Detecting abnormalities in the drift. That is what a strike indicator does,” he said.

Interesting enough, Rothrock said he long condemned the use of indicators before realizing their benefits for detecting strikes. Rothrock will also employ a drop nymph rig setup with a sighter leader.

The colored sighter leader floats across the water acting as the indicator. The flies tied to the ends of dropper tags hang from the tippet.

RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Dave Rothrock,left, speaks with guests following a program on “Diversified Nymphing” during a meeting of the Trout Unlimited Susquehanna Chapter at Covenant Central Presbyterian Church in Williamsport on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. The presentation included a discussion of various techniques, tackle, flies and applications of nymph fly fishing.

A split shot for weight is attached below the bottom fly. Rothrock feels the drop-shot system provides versatility by allowing adjustment in the set-up to accommodate feeding locations of the trout with respect to water depth.

Often, but not always, trout feed between three and four inches from the stream’s bottom.

Although some fly anglers may disagree, Rothrock feels bead-head nymphs are quite effective flies for attracting trout.

“They used to say don’t use shiny bead heads because they scare trout,” he said. “That’s not true.”

He added, “No one would deny that bead heads catch fish.”

In his pursuit of trout in the streams of the U.S. and Europe, he’s found that nymph fishing has become a much-accepted tactic.

In fact, he learned that nymph fishing is quite popular in Slovenia.

As Rothrock put it: “We often have a narrow scope of fishing.”

Fortunately for local anglers, the state offers many thousands of miles of trout water.

“It’s getting out there and exposing yourself to learning,” he said.