Back in the sixties and seventies, nymphal patterns were pretty simple, usually a dubbed body and either a clump of ostrich herl or a duck quill segment for the wing case. Nowadays, with all of the new tying materials especially, the Rub-A-Dub and Generation X dubbings, plus the multitude of beads available, it's a whole new ballgame. One thing I feel strongly about is bead color. Most nymphs have shiny gold beads in the recipe, However, I have macro-photographs of hundreds of natural nymphs and I've yet to see one with a gold head. So, I use black beads in most of my artificials. By far, the deadliest nymph I've ever used is the Nymphomaniac, designed by Gordon Hill of New Zealand and I'm sure one of the main reasons for the patterns success is the Black Bead Head. 
  
 When Anglers observe fish feeding on the surface, they automatically think the trout are taking adult flies, but more often than not, this isn't the case. Use of the stomach pump usually reveals that floating nymphs, emergers and stillborns are the targets. From our study for "Selective Trout", we found these patterns to be extremely important. 

Nymphomaniac
A MUST for your fly box.

Steelhead Wiggle Nymph

Original Wiggle Nymph

Hex Wiggle Nymph

Hendrickson Floating Nymph

PMD Floating Nymph

Duck Quill Emerger

Trico Emerger

Duck Shoulder Emerger

Free Wing Stillborn PMD

Stillborn Midge

Trapped Wing Stillborn PMD

Home  |  Flies  |  Fly Tying  |  Fly Tying Instruction  |  Fly Fishing  Accessories  |  Fly Fishing Books/Videos
Fly Fishing Schools  |  Fly Fishing Trips  |  Pics & Tips