The Frank Sawyer Nymphs by Thommy Gustavsson
Nymphing for Trout can be done with any of the Sawyer Nymphs. The five types are pictured above in this water colour by Thommy Gustavsson.
The Sawyer Pheasant Tail (and the Scandinavian version the Sawyer Swedish) are generic dark nymph patterns usable in all waters. The Sawyer Grey Goose is designed to imitate the pale wateries and other lighter nymphs and can again be used in all waters.
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Sawyer Pheasant Tail |
Sawyer Swedish |
Sawyer Grey Goose |
 Sawyer Pheasant Tail Nymph |
 Sawyer Swedish Nymph |
 Sawyer Grey Goose Nymph |
The Sawyer Bow Tie Buzzer is a specialist still water buzzer nymph, while the Sawyer Killer Bug is a versatile heavy pattern.
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Sawyer Killer Bug |
Sawyer Bow Tie Buzzer |
 Sawyer Killer Bug |
 Sawyer Bow Tie Buzzer |
Frank Sawyer on Nymphing for Trout:
Though it is now well over 20 years since my first book “Keeper of the Stream” was published, to be followed in 1958 by the initial version of “Nymphs and the Trout,” and in 1970 by the second, I still receive a lot of questions even from those who have read all three books. So it would seem that, despite my efforts to write simply and with clarity, what I have tried to convey with the written word has not yet been fully understood. Before my own books dealing with nymphs and nymph fishing were published there were several more, the classic examples being the work of Mr G. E. M. Skues. There have been others since. Yet it would appear that there is still some uncertainty about just how a fish reacts to an artificial nymph and the exact moment to tighten in order to get the hook home.
I believe there are a lot of fishermen who still think that fishing a nymph is similar to fishing a team of wet flies or stripping in big lures. Yet nothing is further from the truth and, if you really are to have success with true nymphing tactics, then the sooner the other kinds of fishing are forgotten, the quicker a bag will be filled. Nymph fishing must be considered as an entirely separate art, and methods, to be proficient at it, must be adapted accordingly. This means that you must dismiss from your mind most of what has been learned with the dry fly, wet fly and lure-stripping practices, and concentrate on something which is quite different. As I have said, and indeed written many times, once the penny drops, so to speak, nymph fishing becomes the most artistic way by which fish can be caught, or so I think.