PALE MORNING DUNS (part 7)
| Sysadmin Note |
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Click here for Part 6. This is Part 7 in the series |
PMD PATTERNS - NYMPHS
Many anglers don’t like to fish nymphs, which is a personal choice that each angler must make. However, I would like to point that 85% of what the trout eats is under the surface of the water. Personally I would cultivate an interest in mastering fishing the nymph.
Notes: Weighted patterns are tied on TMC 200R, the weight used is .011 lead fuse wire wrapped through the thorax. The patterns with no weight are tied on TMC 101. The patterns tied on TMC 2457, are of medium weight. These patterns are tied on a heavy hook, but with no additional weight added to the hook. I am only going to list the hooks on the very first nymph. All the rest will be tied on the same hooks. The thread and the sizes are also the same for all nymphs, unless otherwise listed.
PMD Nymphs
- Hooks:
- TMC 200R Sizes: 14-20
- TMC 101 16-20
- TMC 2457 14-18
- Thread: 12/0 Lite Dun
- Tails: Wood Duck Flank Fibers
- Abdomen: Turkey Wing Quill Fibers, dyed PMD
- Wing case: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/Olive, Dark, tied Sawyer Style
- Thorax: Dubbed, Scintilla #15, Pale Yellowy/Olive, picked out
PMD Nymphs, Brown
- Tails: Wood Duck Flank Fibers
- Abdomen: Turkey Wing Quill Fibers, dyed Brown
- Wing case: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/Olive, Dark, tied Sawyer Style
- Thorax: Dubbed, Scintilla #15, Pale Yellowy/Olive, picked out
PMD Nymphs, Dark Olive
- Tails: Wood Duck Flank Fibers
- Abdomen: Turkey Wing Quill Fibers, dyed BWO
- Wing case: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/Olive, Dark, tied Sawyer Style
- Thorax: Dubbed, Scintilla #15, Pale Yellowy/Olive, picked out
PMD Spec Golden Olive
- Tails: Wood Duck Flank Fibers
- Ribbed: Dark Ultra Thread, Fine
- Abdomen: Dubbed, Scintilla Special Golden Olive
- Wing case: Pheasant Tail Fibers dyed Yellow/Olive, dark, tied Sawyer Style
- Thorax: Dubbed, Scintilla Special Golden Olive, picked out to form legs
Sawyer Pheasant Tail Nymph
- Hooks:
- TMC 200R Size: 14-20
- TMC 2457 14-18
- TMC 101 14-20
- Thread: 12/0 Brown
- Tails: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/olive
- Abdomen: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/olive
- Wing case: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/olive, dark
- Thorax: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/olive
Sawyer Copper Pheasant Tail Nymph
- Hooks:
- TMC 200R Size: 14-20
- TMC 101 14-20
- TMC 2457 14-18
- Note: There are no unweighted versions of this pattern. The reason for tying this imitation on the different hooks is simply body shape.
- Thread: 12/0 Brown
- Tails: Natural Pheasant Tail Fibers
- Abdomen: Natural Pheasant Tail Fibers, thin strands of Copper wire, twisted together and wrapped
- Wing case: Natural Pheasant Tail Fibers, dark, tied Sawyer Style
- Thorax: Fine Copper Wire, layered to build up the thorax
Sawyer American Pheasant Tail Nymph
- Thread: 12/0 Brown
- Tails: Natural Pheasant Tail Fibers
- Abdomen: Natural Pheasant Tail Fibers
- Wing case: Natural Pheasant Tail Fibers, Dark, tied Sawyer
- Thorax: Peacock Hurl Fibers
Sawyer Flashback Pheasant Tail Nymph
- Thread: 12/0 Brown
- Tails: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/Olive
- Abdomen: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/Olive
- Wing case: Krystal Flash Fibers, tied Sawyer style
- Thorax: Dubbed, Scintilla #15 Pale Yellowy/olive
Black Sawyer PMD Nymph
- Thread: 12/0 Dark Dun
- Tails: Wood Duck Flank Fibers
- Abdomen: Black & Olive Pheasant Tail Fibers
- Wing case: Black Pheasant Tail Fibers, Tied Sawyer Style
- Thorax: Dubbed, Scintilla #15 Pale Yellowy/Olive
Soft Hackle PMD Nymph
- Hook:
- TMC 2457 Size: 14-18
- TMC 101 14-20
- TMC 200R 14-20
- Thread: 12/0 Sandy Dun
- Tails: Hungarian Partridge Back Feather Fibers, Mottled Brown
- Rib: One strand of Olive Krystal Flash
- Abdomen: Dubbed, Harrop’s Fine & Natural, PMD
- Wing case: Hungarian Partridge Back Feather
- Legs: Hungarian Partridge Back Feather, mottled brown
- Thorax: Dubbed, Harrop’s Fine & Natural, PMD
PMD Soft Hackle
- Hook: TMC 2457 Sizes: 14-18
- Thread: 12/0 Sandy Dun
- TMC 101 14-20
- Tails: Wood Duck Flank Fibers
- Body: Turkey Wing Quill Fibers, dyed PMD
- Thorax: Scintilla #15 Pale Yellowy/Olive
- Hackle: Lite Dun, Hen Hackle
- Head: Dubbed, same the thorax
Note: This pattern should be tied sparse and forward on the hook.
PMD Flymph
- Hook: TMC 100 Sizes: 14-20
- Thread: 12/0 Sandy Dun
- Tails: Lite Dun Hackle Fibers
- Abdomen: Turkey Wing Quill Fibers, dyed PMD
- Thorax: Sheared Beaver, PMD
- Hackle: Lite Dun Hen Hackle
Note: This pattern can also be tied with a Brown Abdomen or a BWO Abdomen.
PMD Subsurface Nymph
- Hook: TMC 2457 Sizes: 14-18
- Thread: 12/0 Sandy Dun
- Tails: Pheasant Tail Fibers, dyed Yellow/Olive
- Abdomen: Dubbed, Sheared Beaver dyed BWO
- Wing cases: Yellow Dry Cell Fly Foam, two strips
- Thorax: Dubbed, Sheared Beaver dyed PMD, picked out
Note: This pattern is designed to sink below the surface 3 to 6 inches. Remember I mentioned that sometimes the nymphs begin to hatch out below the surface.
If you tied all of these patterns in the various versions, you would have 39 variations of PMD nymphs. These are what I consider to be the best of the best. However, there are a great many other nymph patterns for PMD’s that I am sure would work equally as well. But I have been using these patterns for a long time and have continued to modify them as the need arose.
Often anglers change their patterns because one falls out of popular favor, or another pattern becomes the new hot item. I have found that learning to properly present the imitations under all conditions is much more important than finding new patterns!!
On the Henry’s Fork of the Snake there lives an angler whom I consider to be the most talented angler and hatch oriented fly tier in the west, his name is Rene Harrop. I have known Rene for a number of years and found him not only to be a talented fly tier but also a thoughtful angler. Rene talks about the tier’s frame of mind when the angler/tier is filling the PMD Boxes. I agree. I rely on my fishing journals, my marked stomach samples and the videos I record dealing with the PMD Hatches.
I also review what has been written by others and the patterns they have designed for PMD’s. Rene believes and I agree that PMD Duns are not the most inviting stage to the trout due to the fact that duns tend to leave the water very quickly. On occasion you get one of those days when the weather conditions are perfect when the duns are on the water for long periods of time and thus the trout become aware of duns and feed on them. However, 90% of the time the duns leave the surface of the water quickly, becoming a poor target for the trout. The most important tool that the angler/tier has is the ability to observe and the ability to hunt. Rene Harrop is the ultimate trout hunter.
Therefore, nymphs and emergers become the most important imitations during the hatch. Another factor that the angler must consider is where to place the imitation. A lot of anglers believe in long drifts to the trout, drifts of eight to ten feet. However, a lot of trout can be taken by putting the fly twelve inches above the feeding fish.
Once you have mastered the skills you need to understand the feeding trout and the imitations the next most important item for the angler to master is the ability to solve situational angling solutions. This takes the ability to observe and then understand what you have observed. Again remember the statement: “It’s not how many hours a day you fish, but how many hours a day you fish effectively”. Slow down and take your time!!! Speed does not mean you will catch more fish. It means you will become more frustrated.
| Editor's Note |
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| Rene´ Harrop has an excellent new book entitled Learning from the Water,
Stackpole Books, ISBN 978-0-8117-0579-0, Hardcover - $39.95 |
| Sys Admin's Note |
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| Click here for Part 8 |