How to Tie Flies Part 2

Various feathers are used for wings of dry flies, such as breast feathers from mallard, teal; partridge, grouse, black duck, wood duck.

Hackle tips, starling, duck, turkey, goose, pheasant, wing feathers, etc.

Two whole feathers of the proper size, with the natural curve are used for fan wings. The tips of two feathers, or a section may be cut from two matched feathers. All of these wings are tied on in the same manner as previously explained. See Diagram 2 for flies tied with different style wings.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Drawing of hackle size chart at bottom of page.]

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NYMPHS AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION

NYMPHS

Nymphs are larvae of all aquatic insects. Together with minnows, crawfish, etc., they represent about ninety per cent of the trout's regular diet. Considering this fact, it is obvious that nymphs will take trout throughout the entire season. It will greatly surprise the novice to learn of the great amount of underwater insect life present in any stream. Next time you go fis.h.i.+ng, hold your landing net close to the bottom, in a foot or so of fast water. Reach upstream and loosen the stones and gravel. Raise your landing net, and notice the numerous nymphs that have been washed from under the stones, and have attached themselves to your net. Better still, make a screen about two feet square, from regular 14 mesh window screening. Hold this in the water, and have your fis.h.i.+ng partner go upstream, and with a regular garden rake, or some such tool, rake up the bottom, turning over the stones and gravel. This way you can capture many nymphs. Put them in gla.s.s bottles, take them home, and make copies of them. When next you {33} go fis.h.i.+ng open the first trout you catch, examine the contents of its stomach, and determine which of the copies you have made is the proper nymph or fly for the occasion. To fish with an imitation of the fly or nymph upon which they are feeding, will result in a heavier creel.

When nymph fis.h.i.+ng it is important to use a long, finely tapered leader.

A 4x is about right. Fish in the same waters, and very much the same way as with a dry fly except that the nymph is allowed to sink. Fish upstream, or up and across the current. In the ripples. Around boulders.

At the edge of fast water. Let the nymph drift with the current. Follow it with your rod tip, and be prepared to set the hook at the least hesitation of the line. Trout will sometimes take a drifting nymph and eject it, without being felt on the most delicate rod, so be ever on the alert when nymph fis.h.i.+ng. A nymph fished down stream, and retrieved with slow, short jerks, will often work very well. When fished in this manner, trout will strike quite hard, and usually hook themselves.

There are times when trout are rolling on the surface and it seems impossible to take them on anything. It is then that they are usually feeding on nymphs, just under the surface. I remember one such time on the Housatonic River in Connecticut last summer. Just at dark, I was standing knee deep in very fast water. Trout {34} were breaking all around me. I knew, they were feeding on nymphs, and tried in every way to catch them. The water was so fast, it was impossible to keep the nymph just the right depth below the surface. I tried every trick that I knew, but could not get a strike. Finally reaching my hand in my pocket, I discovered several large buckshot. Removing the nymph from the tip of the leader, I attached five of these large shots, to the very tip of the leader, with a piece of 3x gut tippet about four inches long. I connected the nymph to the leader about sixteen inches from the tip.

Within the next few minutes I took several nice trout, within rod's length of where I was standing. What actually happened, the lead was so heavy that it immediately sank straight to the bottom, and my taut line held the nymph suspended about two inches below the surface. The short gut between the nymph and the leader allowed the nymph to quiver much as the natural was doing. All the various common nymphs can be faithfully copied, by learning to tie the various styles of those herein ill.u.s.trated. Simply alter the sizes, and color combinations, according to those found in the waters where you fish.

Remember nearly all the nymphs have flat bodies, and dark backs. The bodies may be flattened by thoroughly lacquering them, and when nearly dried squeezing them flat with an ordinary pair of pliers; or by {35} cutting a piece of quill the shape of the body from a turkey or goose wing. Bind this on top of the hook for the foundation of the body, and build the body over this. When finished, lacquer the entire body.

Most any body materials that are used for the making of other flies can be used; however, wool is mostly used for nymphs. Silk floss wound over a quill foundation and then lacquered, makes a very smooth, realistic body.

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[Ill.u.s.tration: Diagram 6. Page sized diagram showing drawings of nymph construction.]

THEIR CONSTRUCTION (SEE DIAGRAM 6)

Start tying silk (A) an eighth of an inch from the eye of the hook and wind closely down shank, as previously done with bucktails, wet flies etc. Next cut a section (B) from a grey goose wing feather about one eighth inch wide, and tie on top of the hook as Fig. 1. This is to make the tail and also the back of the nymph. Bend (B) back and take a turn or two with (A) in front as Fig. 2. Tie in the ribbing (c) close to (B) Fig. 3. Next tie in body material (D) close to (C) Fig. 4. Wool yarn makes the best body material for this style nymph. Now finish the body as for a wet fly, Fig. 5, then pull (B) tightly over the top, finish off as Fig. 6. This makes a sort of hard sh.e.l.l over the back. Next turn the hook upside down in the vise, and lay {37} three horse hairs across, just in back of where the head is to be made, crisscross (A) between the hairs to spread them and make them look like legs, and your nymph should look like Fig. 7. Nymphs of this style as well as Figs. 8, 9, 10, 14 and 15 look more natural if the bodies are flattened. Fig. 8 is tied nearly the same as Fig. 7, the difference being that (C) and (D) are both wound over (B) about two-thirds of the length of the body, then (B) is turned back, the body finished as before, (B) brought forward loosely to form the humpbacked wing case, and (B) being cut off as was done with Fig. 6, and instead of the b.u.t.t end of (B) being cut off as was done with Fig.

6 it is split by crisscrossing (A) through it to form small wings as Fig. 8. Fig. 9 is made in the same way except that several strands of peac.o.c.k herl is used for the dark back, tail, and feelers.

Fig. 10 is a very effective nymph, the body made entirely of natural raffia (soaked in water before using), with black hair used for the tail and feelers The body coated with lacquer as before mentioned and pressed flat when dry; paint the back with dark brown or black lacquer.

Fig. 11 is made by close wound palmer hackle cut off on dotted lines. Fig. 12 is a fur body, made by spinning rabbit's fur or other fur on waxed tying silk and ribbing with gold; the tougher this nymph looks the more effective it seems to be. Fig. 13, the Caddis {38} worm can be more naturally reproduced with a common rubber band than any other way I know. Get a dirty, white, rubber band about 1/8" wide, taper one end for about 1/2". Lay two horse hairs lengthwise on top of the hook for the feelers, wind tying silk over them down the hook, tie in the rubber band by the very tip of the taper, wind the tying silk back to the starting point, and be sure that the tying silk is wound smoothly. If not, any roughness will show through the rubber band. Wind the rubber band tightly to about 1/4" back of the eye.

Wind back down and take one turn under the horsehair at the tail end, wind up to the head and tie off with the tying silk. This now makes three thicknesses of the rubber band. Form a large head with the tying silk, fasten securely and you have a very realistic Caddis worm. Fig. 14 is tied about the same as Fig. 7, with a considerable amount of speckled mallard, and peac.o.c.k herl used for both the front and back feelers as well as the legs.

Fig. 15. The Damsel Nymph has a body of dark grey wool with a back of dark brown or black lacquer. Wings, small red-brown wood duck breast feathers, feelers dark brown hackle, and a large black head.

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THE HELGRAMITE (SEE DIAGRAM 7)

The Helgramite Nymph, larva of the Dobson Fly, is such an excellent ba.s.s and trout food, that the making of this nymph deserves special mention.

As my personal way of making this particular nymph differs considerably from those previously explained, I consider it advisable to go into further details concerning the construction of this pattern.

I personally like the winged style. That is, with small imitation wings and horns, or feelers. This represents the nymph in its final underwater stage, just before emerging from the water as the Dobson Fly. I find black skunk tail the most satisfactory material for the body of this nymph. Either light grey swan sides, or light grey pigeon breast feathers for the wing and legs.

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[Ill.u.s.tration: Diagram 7. Page sized diagram showing drawings of helgramite construction.]

First wind the waxed tying silk up the shank of the hook beginning opposite the barb. Clip the fibers closely from a couple of hackle feathers. These are to form the horns. Bind these hackle quills to the top of the hook, so that the tip ends project about 1 1/2"

in front of the eye. Take a bunch of black skunk tail about the size of a match and bind it to the top of the hook, with tip ends towards the eye of the hook as in Diagram 7, Fig. 1. Next fold the hair forward and bind down tightly as in Fig. 2. Again fold the hair back and tie down as in {41} Fig. 3. Then again as in Fig. 4. Notice that each time the hair is folded back upon itself and tied down, that it forms a segment of the body, and that each segment increases in size, until your nymph looks like Fig. 5. At this stage turn the nymph over and tie a piece of light grey feather about 1/8" wide across the bottom, separate the fibers with the tying silk to form the legs. Now cut a small light grey pigeon feather with the centre quill, as dotted line in Fig. 6. Give this a coat of clear lacquer: when dry, tie flat, on the back of the nymph to form the first set of wings, as in Fig. 7. Cut another feather and treat the same way, tie these slightly forward of the first set of wings, and you have a Dobson Nymph that is very lifelike in appearance.

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Ba.s.s FLIES AND FEATHER STREAMERS

It will appear obvious from a study of Diagram 8, page (43) that the tying of ba.s.s flies and Feather Streamers differs so little from the tying of wet flies and bucktails that a detailed description will be unnecessary.

Ba.s.s flies are little more than large trout lies, the princ.i.p.al difference being the feathers that are used for the wings although the same feathers can be used as for trout flies. It is customary with commercial tiers to use two whole feathers for the wings, or the tips of two wings feathers, etc. Place the concave sides together and tie in the b.u.t.t ends the same as for a wet fly. Ba.s.s flies to be used as spinner flies, that is, flies to be used with a spinner in front, should be tied on ring eyed hooks instead of hooks with turned down or turned up eyes.

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[Ill.u.s.tration: Diagram 8. Page sized diagram showing drawings of ba.s.s flies.]

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[Ill.u.s.tration: Page sized photograph of flies tied by the author.]

Certain patterns of these flies have for a long time been famous as salmon flies in northern New England and Canada and the past few years have seen them steadily growing in popularity with anglers of Connecticut, especially for Rainbow Trout. The feathers {45} that are used for wings are saddle hackles, and from four to eight feathers are used, hackles of the same size are selected, the tip ends placed even, and the concave sides of those used for the left side are placed next to the concave sides of those used for the right side, in other words, both the right and left side of the wing will be convex, or outside of the feather. Any of the standard pattern flies can be tied as streamers.

Some of the patterns however, are very elaborate flies; the Supervisor, for instance, has wings of light blue with shorter feathers of green on each side, with peac.o.c.k herl along each wing, polar bear hair, jungle c.o.c.k shoulders, a silver body, and a red tag. This fly was developed a few years ago by Mr. Joseph Stickney, Supervisor of Wardens, State of Maine, to imitate the smelt, a natural salmon food. The original Supervisor did not have the jungle c.o.c.k or the peac.o.c.k heal. Mr. Stickney suggested the addition of these feathers to me last year, and I believe that this is now the approved dressing.

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[Ill.u.s.tration: Page sized photograph of feather streamers tied by the author.]

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FAMOUS BUCKTAIL AND FEATHER STREAMERS

SUPERVISOR: WINGS, Blue saddle hackle with polar bear hair, and peac.o.c.k herl down each side. CHEEKS, green hackle tip and jungle c.o.c.k. BODY silver. TAG, red wool.

TIGER: (light) WINGS, brownish yellow bucktail or red squirrel tail. BODY yellow chenille. TAG, gold. TAIL, barred wood duck.

CHEEKS, jungle c.o.c.k. THROAT, scarlet.