To Weight or Not to Weight...

[mAngler]

that's my question. Refering specifically to nymphs....

I've never been able to decide whether to weight the nymphs I tie or not.

Do I not weight any of the nymphs I tie, and just use split shot on the leader, as needed?

Do I weight all the nymphs I tie with lead ( or lead substitute )?

Do I only weight some of the nymphs I tie... If so how to tell them apart from un-weighted nymphs? ( I know some tyers always finish the heads with a specific color thread, eg red, if the nymph is weighted - this bothers me on an aesthetic level )

If I'm only going to weight some of my nymphs, would it be better to use beads/beadheads, so that it is always obvious which nymphs are weighted and which are not?

I'm in a quandry with all these ideas runnning through my head, and haven't been able to come up with a method that I'm happy with.

I'm curious how you other tyers approach this thoroughly perplexing problem.


mAngler

(Before someone asks.... Yes, I have been accused of over analysing things before)

[MontanaMoose]

Hello mAngler, you'll be a lot better off if you weight all of your flies, except dries of course.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[MontanaMoose]

Hello mAngler, you'll be a lot better off if you don't weight any of your flies.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[Normand]

you may have to 1) weight the fly, 2) weight the fly and use a metal bead & 3) use a weighted bead head fly and add splitshot to the leader or a combinations threreof.

if you dont like red thread head (the fish dont care) then use brown thread for all weighted flies.

be creative and learn which situation requires which flies and/or combinations of weight.

just an idea!

[Rick Z]

If you are fishing moving water you will need weighted flies to get them down.
If you are in still water you can do better with unweighted flies.
I have never found the color of thread to effect the effectiveness of any of my flies.
I use different color thread to make the weighted flies.

This is my nickles worth.

Rick

[mAngler]

Thanks Montana Moose, I see I'm not the only one who is schizo when it comes the the subject of weighting nymphs....


Ok, so in review...

leave some unweighted
weight some ( finish with different color thread )
beadhead some
weight and beadhead some

I'm going to need a bigger nymph box.....

[DShock]

I never put lead wire on my fly hooks. I use beads if I want weight, heaviest being tungsten.
My SA intermediate or fast sink fly lines do the sinking for me.
Doug

[WarrenP]

Well, I am going to add my pennys worth ....

I fish rivers all the time and I use weight in all my nymphs. I really do not like to use beadheads so I use lead or a lead subsitute under the body.

If I was having your problem with this decision I would probably have 2 fly boxes for my nymphs only. One box would contain weighted nymphs and the other box would have their twins with no weight. Mark the boxes as to which one is weighted and which is not and that would solve the problem.

Now if you remove a weighted nymph and put it into the wrong box, that will be another problem!

[DShock]

So if a unweighted nymph mated with a weighted nymph, that would cause you to buy ANOTHER box?

[mAngler]

Ok, now we're talking.... Getting down the to meat of it.


In review...

leave some unweighted
weight some ( finish with different color thread )
beadhead some (brass)
beadhead some (tungsten)
weight and beadhead some

Multiple fly boxes for the different weighting "strategies"

I'm going to need a bigger vest....