There some other ways to get motion in nymphs without messing with articulated bodies.

Henry Ramsay in his book "Matching Major Eastern Hatches" shows an Isonychia nymph that is tied on short shank hook with a long marabou tail / extended abdomen.

At the inspiration of JohnScott (who used to be a regular here, but hasn't been around for a while), I started tying furled extended body ("FEB") nymphs. It was kind of the same concept as Ramsay's ... Short shank hook with the thorax and longer extended abdomen / tail. John had a method for incorporating tails into the extended body, but I could never get that to work consistently. So I just omit the tail and furl a piece of yarn for the abdomen. I really like the furled nymphs. They seem to have enough body to hold their form, but still have a nice wiggle. Here's an Isonycia nymph tied in this style that has worked very well for me.

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