Lancaster Township fly fisher authors book on growing method
If you don’t know how to tie and use a European nymph to fish with, Tim Cammisa can teach you.
Cammisa has been fly fishing since he was 10 years old, but has only been a writer since 2021, when he published his first book on the subject. In writing his upcoming second book, “Tying Euro Nymphs,” Cammisa sets out to teach the reader how to tie the bait onto hooks to get the best results while fly fishing.
Cammisa, a sixth-grade social studies teacher at Haine Elementary School, said he wanted to compile a book on the Euro nymphing styles he has picked up in recent years. Euro nymphing, he said, is a practice that originated in continental Europe where fishers aim to get their bait, flies, under the water as opposed to on top of the water.
While the technique differs from some long-known techniques used in the U.S., Cammisa’s book incorporates photos, which are meant to help a fisher learn how to tie their bait.
“The first picture is a bear hook in a vice, then I show how to attach,” Cammisa said. “I go through the time procedures on the 15 best flies used today. That's the basis of the book, is showing how to tie flies and go from there; 15 flies, and a variation of each one.”
On Dec. 30 at his Lancaster Township home, Cammisa showed the fly fishing equipment he uses on excursions, and demonstrated how to tie some of the knots he wrote about and photographed in his book. He said the book aims to teach people through visual aids, but also through information shared by some of the best anglers in the world.
“I think the last one was more of a generalized book for the styles of lures you're using,” Cammisa said. “This is more of a niche topic or Euro, I focused on those flies but I also pulled in anglers from around the world, to get techniques, tactics and tips. I think that's what sets this one apart from my first.”
Cammisa said he learned to tie fly fishing lures from an after school program at Center Township Elementary School when he was about 10 years old.
To round out his second book, Cammisa incorporated perspectives from professional fly fishers from across the U.S., and spoke with international anglers to get even more information for his book. Cammisa tossed off fly fishers’ names like they were A-list celebrities; names like Devin Olsen, Howard Croston and Tom Rosenbauer.
Olsen, one of the interviews Cammisa used for his book, is a member of Fly Fishing Team USA. Cammisa said Olsen was the first person who agreed to an interview, which “helped put validity behind it.”
According to Olsen, the Fly Fishing World Championships are a little like the Olympics for fly fishers. He has competed with the team since 2006.
Olsen also said European styles of fly fishing have been slow to be adopted by the U.S., but in recent years, Americans have come to see how good of a method Euro nymphing is.
“The reality is the World Championships and scene is bigger in continental Europe than it is elsewhere,” Olsen said. “Euro nymphing has taken the U.S. by storm because it's so effective.”
By getting perspectives from professionals like Olsen, Cammisa said he was able to make the book more informative, while also making it an entertaining read.
“Instead of me selecting 15 flies and showing how to fish, it was me reaching out to the top anglers in our country and the world, interviewing them, typing up a transcript,” Cammisa said. “I wrote up the bones, then I intentionally tried to get as much information but keep it light.”
With Euro nymphing is picking up popularity in the U.S., Cammisa said now was a good time to write a book on the topic, to give fly fishers another resource to help them learn the ropes. Olsen said even though Euro nymphing is newish to the U.S., it is easy enough to pick up that fly fishers could likely expect to see positive results quickly.
“Anybody can do it, as with any sport, the mass majority are going to do it at a lower level,” Olsen said. “People who really get the ins and outs can take it to another level. But there's no reason the average person can't do it.”
It has been several years since Cammisa published his last book, and he said he didn’t think he would work on another one, after what his publisher said about the topic. But after speaking about the potential book’s subject matter, Cammisa said he and his publisher agreed he should take on the writing of a book on Euro nymphing.
Before becoming an author, the most Cammisa had ever written was emails to parents of his students, he said. However, he said his teaching career helped him structure his book.
“My storytelling ability and educational background and ability to break things down step by step, there's no question I get that from my day job,” Cammisa said. “The writing came really natural to me, it was the photography that was tricky. It was macro photography; everything had to be sharp, precise.”
The writing was made a little easier thanks to the interviews Cammisa conducted and transcribed to work into the book. He said the interviews will help immerse readers into the world of Euro nymphing, and they will get niche information from the professional anglers, which will be appreciated by serious fly fishers.
Olsen said people who utilize Euro nymphing methods all have common ground. So no matter who Cammisa interviewed, their methods probably don’t stray too far from the norm.
“All the different leader formulas have almost merged into one,” Olsen said. “At least in the competition scene, the method has converged on one leader system and that is as light and finesse as you can get.”
Cammisa hopes fly fishers take a crack at Euro nymphing after reading his book, so they can put the tactics it describes into action. He said he believes even casual fly fishers will get a lot out of turning to this practice, because of the results professionals have seen through Euro nymphing.
“It already has a steep learning curve, but with (Euro nymphs) you're going to catch more fish,” Cammisa said.
