Obscure fly tying question

[flashback max 0]

I may be nitpicking here... I was out with the kids turning over stones in the creek. A fun activity, but the behavior of a mayfly nymph made me stop and think.

 

We turned the stone over and I happened to see a medium sided mayfly nymph fall off into the water. Immediately the nymph began levering itself back and forth with about the midpoint being the axis. Then it stopped and stayed in a sort of fetal position till it bumped into a rock. Then the levering began again till I lost track of it.

 

Now all or most of the pheasant tail nymphs you see are tied on straight shank hooks. Based on what I saw(and have heard), wouldn't it be more effective to tie pheasant tails on hooks like the bottom one? To nitpicky?

 

[Termite 0]

We know that the fish eat the "normal" PTN, as to the "why"? My guess would be that trout, like any predator, will gladly eat a dead or dying prey item as it has the same energy content with out the expenditure of energy to catch it. So the maybe the straight hook PTN looks like a dead or dying mayfly nymph floating by in the current.

 

However having said that I don't think you can go wrong by fishing with the PTN in the bottom of the pic. It looks great, and more life-like to me, I'm sure it will to the trout also!

[Chase Creek 0]

I think termite makes a good point. Makes sense to me. I tie most of my nymphs (depending on the pattern) on the curved caddis hooks, I think they

look more alive, and I just like the looks better myself. I bet the fish don't really care that much.

Good question.

[British mike 0]

A very good point has been raised...............I tie a lot of my nymphs on curved shank hooks and also a swimming nymph hook that gives a great look of movement in the water.

 

 

Mike......................

[SilverDoctor 0]

The Sawyer PT was meant to be fished as if it were swimming (with movement like the Leisenring Lift), and is therefore tied on a standard, straight-shank hook, because that's the posture of the BWO when it's swimming. But if you're fishing nymphs dead drift, it makes perfect sense to tie them on scud hooks. The drifting nymphs, like the drifting scuds, will be curled up.

 

As far as PTNs go, you should also consider other colors than natural. You'd be surprised at how well a blue PTN works (you can find blue dyed tails at a couple of mail-order shops, and also on ebay). Also think about mixing colors of dyed PTs. You can get lots of nice effects, and create the illusion of colors that will match the naturals. For example, mixing gold and natural PT fibers makes a nymph that looks a lot like a sulfur or PMD nymph.

 

I may be nitpicking here... I was out with the kids turning over stones in the creek. A fun activity, but the behavior of a mayfly nymph made me stop and think.

 

We turned the stone over and I happened to see a medium sided mayfly nymph fall off into the water. Immediately the nymph began levering itself back and forth with about the midpoint being the axis. Then it stopped and stayed in a sort of fetal position till it bumped into a rock. Then the levering began again till I lost track of it.

 

Now all or most of the pheasant tail nymphs you see are tied on straight shank hooks. Based on what I saw(and have heard), wouldn't it be more effective to tie pheasant tails on hooks like the bottom one? To nitpicky?

 

[notenuftoys 0]

I've tied some Prince nymphs on scud hooks, and I really like the look of them. I also prefer to tie nymphs on curved hooks.

[planettrout 0]

Didn't I see this somewhere else...with a reply that Mayflies do not "curl up"...?

 

BS

 

 

This is the Quasimodo Pheasant Tail and it whacks 'em...

 

I tie many of my May Fly patterns on curved hooks...Here are a few BWO's/Baetis...

 

http://planettrout.wordpress.com/2009/10/0...bwo-more-of-em/

 

PT/TB :thumbsup:

[SilverCreek 0]

This question was also asked on another BB, where I replied with the following message.

 

 

Immediately the nymph began levering itself back and forth with about the midpoint being the axis. Then it stopped and stayed in a sort of fetal position till it bumped into a rock. Then the levering began again till I lost track of it.

 

Now all or most of the pheasant tail nymphs you see are tied on straight shank hooks. Based on what I saw(and have heard), wouldn't it be more effective to tie pheasant tails on hooks like the bottom one? To nitpicky?

 

Whether you tie the nymph on a straight or curved hook, are you not imitating a single static frame of that nymph as it moves? What makes you think that a single curved position would be more attractive to the fish than a straight position?

 

Often times, the accepted position of a fly is contrary to the biology of the real thing. An example is the lowly scud. Although they are commonly tied on curved hooks, scuds bodies are often in a straight position when swimming. And when are they most available to the fish? When they are swimming! Yet most fish caught on scud patterns are on a curved hook, because that is how commercial tiers tie them, because that is what the fishing public believes.

 

"First of all, swimming scuds, the kind fish are likely to see, are as straight as a needle and only curl up into the typical scud fly profile when they are crawling around on something."

 

http://www.flyline.com/entomology/scuds/

 

Gary Borger agrees. "When a scud swims, it's body is held quite straight."

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=V8KYqVlOp...p;q&f=false

 

Both Gary and Jason Borger tie scuds on STRAIGHT hooks.

 

 

 

 

 

[steelie 0]

Good Day,

 

I tie most of my nymphs on curved hooks precisely for the reason mentioned in the question. Afterall, one of the things we are doing as fly fishers is trying to imitate prey, and as such I think we should try to more accurately design/tie our flies to help in more accurately imitating thee bug's behavior. For example, that is why I tie my green caddis (ie hydropshyche) larva backwards with the head at the hookbend because they drift downstream head down.

 

Steelie