Nymerger
Flies and Photos by Martin Westbeek,
Oisterwijk, Netherlands

If you want a small, basic and very effective pattern with a minimum of materials, the Nymerger may be the way to go. A friend of mine went to fish the Sierras in summer, and I sent him a couple of Nymergers to try out in low-water conditions. The pattern took fish where other patterns failed. And if the trout are sipping small stuff from the water, the Nymerger is my first choice. The colors I use are tan, natural grey, black, and olive. For visibility the tan one is the best. I learned about the Nymerger from Darryl Martin's Micropatterns, and it's a fun no-frill tie. A hook, thread and CDC, and we're ready to go

Materials: Nymerger

• Hook:  TMC 102Y #19.

• Thread:  8/0 tan.

• Everything else:  Tan CDC.

Tying Steps:

1. Start the thread halfway down the shank and tie in 8-10 CDC barbs for a tail.

2. Clip the tail in a V-shape, turn the bobbin anti-clockwise to make the thread untwist, and take the thread back to the halfway point.

3. Tie in a bunch of long CDC barbs. Take the thread back to the point where the tail starts. Untwist the thread again and take it back up to the halfway point, making a nice, smooth underbody.

4. Take the bunch of CDC fibres, fold it over and secure. Don't pull the fibres too tight; a little air trapped under and between the barbs helps in floatation. Now take the thread towards the eye.

5. Tie the fibres hard against the eye, make one wrap behind the eye but in front of the CDC barbs, take the thread behind the CDC bundle. Dub the thread with CDC cut coarse; again, you may want to have a little air inside the dubbing, so don't dub on the CDC too tightly.

6. Dub the thorax to where the body starts.

7. Pull the long CDC barbs back over the thorax, not too tightly. Secure with one wrap only, and make a three-turn whip finish, placing the finish wraps exactly on top of one another.

8. Lift the long CDC barbs up and cut off above the bend of the hook.

9. Take a dubbing brush and brush out the CDC thorax to the left and the right, so that they extend as legs.

10. Finished fly, top view. ~ Martin Westbeek