Newbie Nymph Questions

[brianakee]

I am new to fly tying, and I have a few questions about some of the nymph patterns.

EZ Nymph
I have been tying the EZ Nymph pattern from the Beginning Fly Tying section by Al Campbell. The first couple them that I tied had too long of pheasant tail fibers. The fibers extend about 1 hook length past the bend of the hook.
My question is should I cut the fibers back to the appropriate length?
My instincts tell me that we want to be using the natural tips of the pheasant tail fibers and that we should try to keep them intact.


Pheasant Tail Nymph
With regards to the Pheasant Tail nymph pattern, would it be reasonable to substitute loosely dubbed rabbit dubbing for the peacock herl that makes up the Thorax?
What about the color of the Thorax? Would it be reasonable to substitue different colors on the thorax (Brown, olive, tan, ginger, etc...)?


Hare's Ear Nymph
Most of the recipe's that I have require dubbing from specific hare's mask parts. Would it be reasonable to substitute natural rabbit dubbing from one of the WAPSI dubbing dispenser kits?
What about other sources like wool yarn? I have some wool yarn bits from another project that are fairly coarse that would be a good color for this pattern.


Ribbing Wire
Do the standard ribbing wire materials corrode?
Would it be reasonable to use copper wire from an electric motor as ribing material?


Thank You

[Normand]

I am new to fly tying, and I have a few questions about some of the nymph patterns.

EZ Nymph
I have been tying the EZ Nymph pattern from the Beginning Fly Tying section by Al Campbell. The first couple them that I tied had too long of pheasant tail fibers. The fibers extend about 1 hook length past the bend of the hook.
My question is should I cut the fibers back to the appropriate length?
My instincts tell me that we want to be using the natural tips of the pheasant tail fibers and that we should try to keep them intact.

Do not cut the tips, just cut the butts shorter until you get the length correct

Pheasant Tail Nymph
With regards to the Pheasant Tail nymph pattern, would it be reasonable to substitute loosely dubbed rabbit dubbing for the peacock herl that makes up the Thorax?

Yes you can substitute as required

What about the color of the Thorax? Would it be reasonable to substitue different colors on the thorax (Brown, olive, tan, ginger, etc...)?

absolutely

Hare's Ear Nymph
Most of the recipe's that I have require dubbing from specific hare's mask parts. Would it be reasonable to substitute natural rabbit dubbing from one of the WAPSI dubbing dispenser kits?

Absolutely. nothing is carved in stone

What about other sources like wool yarn? I have some wool yarn bits from another project that are fairly coarse that would be a good color for this pattern.

give it a try. again, nothing is carved in stone

Ribbing Wire
Do the standard ribbing wire materials corrode?
Would it be reasonable to use copper wire from an electric motor as ribing material?

Ive never had wire corrode

yes you can use wire from motors and even old lamp cords


Thank You

see my comments above

[ScottP]

Like Normand said, nothing is carved in stone. Substitute and modify the patterns to your heart's desire, although I'd have serious reservations to not use a peacock thorax on a pheasant-tail; that stuff has magical fish-attracting powers.

Regards,
Scott

[EdD]

I am new to fly tying, and I have a few questions about some of the nymph patterns.

<massive snip>
What about other sources like wool yarn? I have some wool yarn bits from another project that are fairly coarse that would be a good color for this pattern.

<more snipping>
Thank You

Wool yarn can be used as yarn, have its component yarns pulled out and used for their smaller size, or used for dubbing. If the yarn is used intact or unraveled, it can be used for tails, wings, pinchers, etc... if it is straight enough. It can also be curled, if desired.

Dubbing can be made by cutting lengths and mixing in a small coffee grinder. ('Ware the hazzards of "fuzzy coffee"!) Also it can be stripped off and used in long lengths. This wool can be blended by hand with other yarn or with other material. If you have another hair that will bind with it, you can cut the other hair short and add it to mohair fibers, or whatever you are working with, to make a spikier dubbing. Synthetics can also be mixed in to add sparkle.

Good luck and Have Fun!
Ed

[brianakee]

..although I'd have serious reservations to not use a peacock thorax on a pheasant-tail; that stuff has magical fish-attracting powers.

Maybe I am putting too much thought into this, or maybe not enough.

I have been trying to understand why one material is used over another in a given pattern. So it seems that in the case of the pheasant-tail, the use of peacock herl is not really about shape/size or sinking quality, but more about presentation. Thanks for the insight.

[bspitt]

with everything said above. However if you have already tied nymphs with the tail fibers too long you can trim them shorter. But remember next time to trim the butts and measure 1st before you tie em in.
The nymph with trimmed tails will not look near as good us humans, but I have fished plenty of trimmed ones and the fish dont seem to mind

BP

[brianakee]

This wool can be blended by hand with other yarn or with other material.

That is exactly what I was thinking. Blending some of my rabbit dubbing, which is fairly fine, to some of wool yarn, which is a bit more coarse. It seems like it would present well for the rabbits hare pattern or a scud pattern.

Good luck and Have Fun!

I am having fun already, thanks!

[Normand]

Maybe I am putting too much thought into this, or maybe not enough.

I have been trying to understand why one material is used over another in a given pattern.

the pheasant tail nymph designed by frank sawyer consisted of only 2 materials:

pheasant tail and copper wire.

see here

http://www.danica.com/flytier/fsawye...tail_nymph.jpg

heres some pheasant tail nymph history

http://www.flyguysoutfitting.com/pheasanttailsbs.html

http://www.flyfishingdevon.co.uk/eth...d%20trout.html

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Al Campbell did a wonderful job putting that series of tutorials together. If you would have asked Al those same questions you would have gotten the responses above. Experimentation and substitution were all part of the learning process with Al.

I have found that two materials have almost magical fish attracting qualities. Pheasant tail fibers and peacock herl. Any fly that uses both materials is a sure winner in my book and I would fish it with confidence. With that in mind I usually tie the PT Numph with both materials as described. I do add a little pearl flashabou over the abdomen and wing case though. There's that pesky experiment substitution thing again.

REE

[WarrenP]

You have received very good advise already and I just wanted to point out that the EZ-Nymph would look and work better if you did not cut the pheasant tail tips off, but, if you do, you would have another good pattern from Al Campbell called the "SHWAPF" and on it you will see that he cuts the tips off to just behind the bend of the hook. On the EZ-Nymph, you may need to either use shorter pheasant tail herls or increase the size of your hook so that once you have the wrapping done the tips will come out to the correct length for you.

You are doing great and just keep at it and by all means, have fun...