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Creating an artificial nymph is the easiest type of artificial fly
DARK HENDRICKSON NYMPH HOOK:------------Nymph hook 2 or 3 Xlong (10 – 16) We have used the Dark Hendrickson fly These artificial flies To weight a Dark Hendrickson Affix a nymph hook in your vise. Spiral the thread onto the shank as has been illustrated in the instructions for the Dark Hendrickson Dry Fly THE TAIL Cut half a dozen fibers from one of your mallard dyed wood duck flank feathers. Tie them in as you would a dry fly tail, but let them flare outwards just a bit. They should be almost as long as the hook shank. Clip the excess butts. THE BODY The body, or abdomen of a nymph has a gradual taper until it reaches the front third of the entire insect. From this point to the head it is called the thorax. The thorax is wider and fuller than the abdomen. As you have been taught during the procedures for the Dark Hendrickson Dry Fly Wind the thread two thirds of the hook shank toward the eye, forming a taper as you do so. WING CASE The wing case will be tied in next. However, it will not be formed until the fly is almost complete.Take one of your slate gray mallard duck quills and cut a section of fibers from the center of the feather, measuring approximately 1/8” wide. Lay it flat on top of the hook shank (shiny or underside up) with tip pointing toward the eye and the butt toward the rear. While you are holding it in this position, tie it down with three turns of thread. Make sure that you do not crimp the quill section. It should lay flat and come form around the tie-in area. Take a dubbing needle and lightly coat ¼” of that portion of quill nearest the body. Forget about the wing case for now. THE THORAX Spinning muskrat fur onto the thread and winding it around the shank will create a thorax area. This time, however, you will need more than the normal amount. Make the thorax approximately twice the thickness of the abdomen by spinning, and winding the dubbed muskrat fur on the thread. As you build the thorax area, force some of the fur up against the base of the wing case feather. This will give you a more pronounced hump when the wing case is pulled forward later. When you have formed a properly shaped mound of fur for the thorax, bring the operation to an end with the thread hanging about 1/16” from the eye of the hook. THE LEGS The legs of the nymph are tied in next. We’ll do it the easy way. The method employed will be exactly the same used for tying in a “throat” for a streamer, salmon or wet fly. (Therefore, should you one day come across a pattern which calls for a throat, this is the way to do it.) With the bobbin still dangling from the hook, remove the hook from the vise and re-insert it…upside down. Snip a small section (8 – 10 fibers) from your mallard dyed wood duck flank feather (as you did for the tail), keeping the tips aligned. With the tips pointing toward-but mot quite reaching-the point of the hook, tie them to the shank with three turns of thread. Clip the excess butts. Remove the hook and re-insert it to its normal upright position. The legs should now protrude from under the shank at about a 45 degree angle. Now grasp the wing case feather, which has been left idling, and pull it forward over the thorax and past the eye of the hook. Allow it to slightly surround the upper sides of the thorax, in addition to covering the top. Pull the section forward with your right thumb and forefinger and, as you hold it taut, take two turns of thread around the quill and shank (with your left hand digits), just in back of the eye of the hook. Clip the excess butts.
Through there are a variety of methods of tying nymphs, some of which get more complicated than necessary (especially stone flies), the procedures you have learned in the foregoing are so fundamental and useful that you can apply them to nearly all nymph patterns listed. One other nymph pattern you may wish to tie right away is the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear GOLD RIBBED HARE’S EAR NYMPH (10 – 16) HOOK:-----------Nymph hook 2 or 3 Xlong MUSKRAT NYMPH (Size 10-16) HOOK:-----------Nymph hook 2or 3 Xlong Click here to return from Nymph to home page Large Mouth Bass Airport Parking Shop LandBigFish.com Fishpond Boulder Outdoor Center Sports Packages
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for our tying model for 3 reasons.
