Must have nymph patterns. Help.

[kimjensen 0]

Hi.

 

I'm totally new to tying nymphs and i would appreciate if you could suggest some "must have" patterns for me. I think i need to start with the easy ones for a starter.

Thanks.

[bigdewy 0]

I'd start with a Pheasant Tail Nymph. Easy to tie, not a lot of materials required, and it is proven fish killer!!

[bluegill576 0]

Copper John is one of my favorites. the pheasant tail and hares ear are also good ones.

[Markbob 0]

Are you new to tying in general or just to tying small nymphs?

If you're new to tying, I would start with some midge nymphs like the black beauty and the brassie. Then I would move on to something like an RS2. Then maybe the Hare's ear nymph and/or the pheasant tail nymph. The copper john is a great fly and nymph but the other patterns will teach you the techniques you need to learn to tie the copper john.

 

Other good patterns are the prince nymph and the kauffman stone fly nymph.

[rockworm 0]

kim

 

You are going to get a lot of pattern suggestions. (That's what you asked for after all.!) But I suggest you do some research and learn the basic forms of the immature aquatic insects represented by the patterns. There are the mayfly nymphs, stonefly nymphs, caddis larvae and pupae and the diptera larvae and pupae. Find out what each looks like and try to replicate that on a hook. How many tails? If so, how long? Is the abdomen tapered? Is it flattened? Are there wingcases? Legs? Gills? Breathing tubes? You won't need to build a realistic-looking copy- the best patterns just give the general impression of the insects they represent. To catch fish your flies should also behave like the natural. This doesn't mean it must undulate through the water like a swimming nymph (although some patterns do) or burrow in the silt like a big Hexagenia nymph. But if the nymph is of most interest to the fish when it is in the surface film you should use a light hook. If your fly is meant to represent a nymph or larva dislodged from its anchorage you need to use a heavy hook, maybe with lead wire or a beadhead to get it down to the bottom.

 

OK, so most of us just tye Hare's Ear or Pheasant Tail Nymphs on Mustad 3906B hooks like the patterns indicate. And we catch fish! But you will catch more fish if you find out what insects are active in your local waters and make an attempt to match them with your flies. A knowledge of insect emergence and behaviour can only improve your fishing.

[kimjensen 0]

Hi.

 

Thank you very much for all your suggestions.

I'm not completely new to fly tying (semi new) my focus has just not been on flies for the river since i have fished for seatrout.

I have done some research, but it's hard to find out were to start, because some look very difficult to tie. And i'm really glad for all the suggestions.

rockworm:

It would probably be a good idea to look at the insects and try and copy them, but i don't believe it is necessary to count legs and tails to catch more fish.

[Rob H 0]

Here is some food for thought. This site will be coming down soon so I figured I'd share it while it's still up and running.

http://www.thehomepool.ca/flytying.html

[flytire 0]

i would say the nymphs you "must have" are the nymphs you have in the waters that you fish. hatch charts should be helpful

[FisherOfMen 0]

I have heard from expert tyers to stick with a Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear in 10-16 and Pheasant Tail in 14-20. I would agree that this is pobably one of the best selections for simplicity and effectiveness. Don't be afraid to add your own variations onto these two flies, either. Doing so will expand your arsenal without much effort.

[Piker20 0]

Its true that knowing whats in your water and tying a replica that catches a fish is one of the best things we can achieve as tiers. But for a fly that can travel a wide variety of waters you need to look for the fly that gives a general appearance of something the right size shape and colour. The GBHE and PTN do this and I would add a dawl bach and a slim red buzzer. Pat O'Reilly wrote a book called Match the Hatch were he argues for carrying 7 patterns that give a close approximation to most things you might face. He doesn't try to say 7 patterns are all you'll ever need but it is a thought to carry. If you look at the czech nymph boys and the flies used in world championships, they don't match the hatch in the various waters but do cover the size, shape, colour depth fished speed fished closely enough for a fish to think it may be edible.

[bpetersen 0]

Hi Kim. being new myself I found that like others have said, the pheasant tail is a good effective pattern that is fairly straighforward to tie but will help build other skills. also a zebra midge pattern is very simple with the only items needed being a hook, bead, thread and some copper wire. I myself found that taking a class is a good place to start. I ended up paying 60 bucks for 6 two hour sessions with all materials included plus the use of their tools.

 

Brian

[wongrs 0]

My 2 cents:

 

1) Gold ribbed hare's ear (with and without bead) aka hare and copper in New Zealand

2) RS2 (google it) - there's a great tutorial on the hopperjuan blog

3) Prince nymph

4) Stonefly pattern (lots of good patterns on here) - size and colour depends on nymphs in your area - A Kaufmann stone is a good place to start, the only other thing I'd add is to use a weighted pattern to get it to the bottom

5) Good scud pattern

6) Free living caddis larva pattern aka green rockworm

 

All of the above in sizes #12 to 18 except for stoneflies which are likely sizes #6 to whatever.

 

These are patterns that have been consistently good for me in the waters that I've fished (upper NY state, Alberta and New Zealand). I suggest collecting a list of proven patterns in your box (as your doing through this thread) and then picking up rocks as you are fishing. You can adjust your patterns based on size, shape and colour of nymphs you find under rocks. I also carry a small cheap fishtank net with me (when I remember) and collect samples. It's helpful to put your flies next to the actual bugs to see how similar they really are (see below). As suggested, hatch charts can also be really helpful. Based on my samples below, I quickly learned that my ties weren't anywhere close to the heptagenia and stonefly nymphs that were prevalent in the NY stream I was fishing in. Sometimes the fish are cooperative enough that flies don't have to be an exact match (i.e. impressionistic) and on those days, having an exact match is probably more important for the fly fisher/tier rather than for catching fish.

 

Hope this helps. I can send a few pics of stonefly nymphs patterns if you are interested (PM me if so).

Rich