Skues and the Nymphing Revolution on Chalk Streams
G.E.M. Skues and the quiet revolution of nymphing
Background
George Edward MacKenzie Skues, a Derby solicitor who fished the Hampshire chalk streams such as the Test and Itchen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, quietly transformed British fly fishing by championing subsurface nymph tactics. At a time when Frederick M. Halford and other dry‑fly purists dominated angling opinion, Skues advanced the idea that trout often feed below the surface and that imitating aquatic nymphs could be far more effective than insisting on surface presentations alone.
Why it matters
Skues documented his methods in works such as Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream (1910), provoking a prolonged debate within elite angling circles. What is little known outside specialist literature is how his practical experiments on the Test and Itchen produced repeatable results that gradually reshaped club practices and angling pedagogy. His approach restored confidence on rivers where trout were regarded as fussy surface feeders and laid the technical groundwork for modern nymphing rigs used across UK rivers and lochs today.