Dry fly, nymph and streamer
Also called fly types
What is the difference between a dry fly, a nymph and a streamer?
The three fly categories a beginner meets. A dry fly floats, a nymph sinks and imitates larvae, a streamer is retrieved like a baitfish.
A dry fly sits on the surface film and imitates an adult insect. It is the image everyone has of fly fishing, and it is the most visual and the most satisfying, because you watch the take. It is also the least productive on most days, since trout do the majority of their feeding underwater.
A nymph sinks and imitates an insect at its larval stage, drifting along near the bottom. It looks like nothing is happening and it catches far more fish than dries do. Most nymph rigs use a strike indicator, which is a bobber that fly anglers prefer not to call a bobber.
A streamer imitates a small baitfish or a leech and is actively stripped back rather than drifted. It is the closest thing in fly fishing to throwing a lure, and it catches the biggest fish.
If nothing is rising, fish a nymph. Rising fish and visible insects are the signal to switch to a dry.
Where this comes up
The guides that use dry fly, nymph and streamer and show it on real gear.
Last reviewed . Dry fly, nymph and streamer is one of 222 terms in the fishing glossary.