Beginner Nymphs?

[Candyman 0]

I'm new to the forum as this is my first post. I did some searching on the forum posts to see what was out there in terms of beginner nymphs and didn't really find anything. I just got a vise and a fair amount of materials with the exception to hackle...etc. I wanted to know what would be good beginner nymphs and streamers to tie as a novice and aren't that expensive to begin with until I get a handle on tying...etc. I tend to be a dry fly guy but they are probably a little harder to deal with and I'm starting to nymph so I would like to create my own flies.

 

Any suggestions one what I might start with?

 

Thanks.

[chugbug27 0]

http://flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/

 

Thats a good beginner resource.

 

But a really good beginner nymph, to me, would be a zebra nymph. Midge larva are also easy and effective.

[Dave G. 0]

Hares ear nymph is the first instructional nymph in a book I have. From it comes all the basic steps needed in the body to move on to tying dry flies or for that matter other nymphs. Then the gold ribbed hairs ear. You can buy hairs dubbing rather than pulling hair from a rabbit skin. The traditional tie is brown but you can get the dubbing in various colors. I tie them brown/tan and also olive personally. And I weight them, obviously for the steps taken to tie dry flies you don't use the weight.

 

A good second nymph to have in your nymph arsenal is a Pheasant Tail.

[flytire 0]

thread midges

 

brassies

 

miracle nymphs

 

buckskin nymphs

 

pheasant tail nymphs

 

ap nymph

 

bloodworm

 

top secret midge

 

gold ribbed hares ear

 

perdigon nymphs

 

skinny nelson

 

zebra midge

 

wd 40 nymph/midge

 

rs2

 

partridge and orange

 

killer bug

 

scuds

 

wooly worm

 

wooly bugger

 

frenchies

 

walts worm

 

silly mop flies

 

san juan worms

 

caddis larva

 

ants

 

zug bug

 

mole fly

 

f fly

 

cormorant fly

 

black beauty

[Poopdeck 0]

Let's start with good easy nymph patterns that catch a ton of fish and are time honored and battle tested.

 

1) Gold ribbed Hares ear

2) Bead head hares ear.

3) Phaesant tail

 

After tying these you can pretty much tie any other nymph your heart desires. There is nothing difficult in fly tying be it nymphs, streamers or dry flys. Only a very few things may try your patience but there is nothing difficult. Have at it.

[j8000 0]

wooly worm and pheasant tail nymphs were great starters for me in nymph world.

[Hogan 0]

All great suggestions by other tyers likely more experienced than I. I would have say, if you dont want to buy more materials, find a recipe that uses what you have and tie em up. The tie you pick first will be the beginner fly.

[fishingbobnelson 0]

Google "nymph tying videos" you will get some good patterns and instructions too. Like this one:

[rockworm 0]

Candyman- I won't give you any specific patterns because the previous replies will do you good! But I suggest you do a bit of research into what insects you can expect to find in your water. Do you know what mayfliy-, caddisfliy-, stonefly, diptera-- species you will encounter and when? If you know the schedule of the major hatches you can find out if the nymphs/larvae/pupae will be available to the fish. The nymphs of some mayflies live beneath the mud at the bottom of the stream and are available to the fish for, maybe 30 seconds, before they rise to the surface and fly off as an adult. The nymphs of other species become restless and swim about aimlessly for hours or days before hatching. Find how your insects behave before they hatch? Do the nymphs swim to the shore and crawl up a reed to get into the air or do they rise up from the bottom to burst through the surface of the water like a neptune missile? The pattern you use need only be approximately the right size, shape and colour. But it should be presented to the fish as the natural would.

[DarrellP 0]

If there are stone flies around, try a girdle bug or Brooks stone. Ugly, but effective. You need something light (GRHE), dark (PT), and a peacock nymph of some sort (half and half) Brassies work well, Wooly worms Squirrel nynphs.

[Philly 0]

No ones mention the lowly green weenie. Easy to tie. Very effective. Another one would be a mini-mop fly tied on a size 10 or 12 hook. A little more complicated than the green weenie, but still an effective fly.

[tjm 0]

I don't tie a lot of different nymph patterns (hares ear & pheasant tail mostly) but of the one's Ive seen, I think all but the various realisticstone flies are beginner easy. Some books start with a chenile Montana, and that is as basic as you can get.

[ihang10 0]

http://flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/

 

Thats a good beginner resource.

 

But a really good beginner nymph, to me, would be a zebra nymph. Midge larva are also easy and effective.

Everything he said.

[NohackleHS 0]

Here's what I would do if I were you. If you have access to a local fly shop, buy the fly you want to learn how to tie. Let's say it's a gold rib hare's ear. If you don't have access to a shop, buy a couple from a reputable online fly shop. Once you have the fly, buy the materials you think you will need. Take your best shot at tying the fly. When you are done, compare your fly versus the purchased fly. Assuming you have the correct materials, there are two basic reasons that your fly won't look as good as the purchased fly, your tying technique and your fly's incorrect proportions. Perhaps your fly's body looks scruffy and inconsistent compared to the other fly. This probably means that your dubbing technique needs to be worked on. Perhaps your wing case is much smaller than the purchased fly. This is a problem with proportions. Is the body of your fly much fatter than the purchased fly? This could be a problem with your dubbing technique as well as bad proportions. By critiquing your fly you can narrow down what you need to work on. So it's not so much the fly you choose to tie but what you learn from tying it.

[DarrellP 0]

Here's what I would do if I were you. If you have access to a local fly shop, buy the fly you want to learn how to tie. Let's say it's a gold rib hare's ear. If you don't have access to a shop, buy a couple from a reputable online fly shop. Once you have the fly, buy the materials you think you will need. Take your best shot at tying the fly. When you are done, compare your fly versus the purchased fly. Assuming you have the correct materials, there are two basic reasons that your fly won't look as good as the purchased fly, your tying technique and your fly's incorrect proportions. Perhaps your fly's body looks scruffy and inconsistent compared to the other fly. This probably means that your dubbing technique needs to be worked on. Perhaps your wing case is much smaller than the purchased fly. This is a problem with proportions. Is the body of your fly much fatter than the purchased fly? This could be a problem with your dubbing technique as well as bad proportions. By critiquing your fly you can narrow down what you need to work on. So it's not so much the fly you choose to tie but what you learn from tying it.

Amen. Other than a class, this is THE BEST WAY TO LEARN, IMHO.