[Flyfisher for men]

As part of my learning, I'm trying to tie a generic nymph that comes in the manual of the kit I purchased . What I find is that the nymph's rear ends up more like a round belly than a tapered cylinder. Any suggestions on correcting this?

[Jose]

I do this: Before wrapping the body, make sure to use less dubbing on the thread end hanging nearest the fly and more towards the center and then less again, so the dubbed thread looks something like this ---:::::::::--- This way, as you tie from the hook bend out, you are using less dubbing on the end and it naturally tapers toward the middle. Hope that helps a bit. Also, I always use less dubbing than I think I need. (Note: I'm no expert- just $.02 worth)

[Wyatt]

The Instructor at one of the tying classes I went to said use less dubbing and then less again, if yo need to fatten up you can take an extra wrap or 2, it is still taking me awhile to get the hang of the right amount for the size fly I'm tying, and as Jose said start extremly thin and fatten up as you go.
Wyatt

[dshort]

Depending on what kind of tails you are tying on the nymph, if you cut them off towards the rear of the fly it can leave a bump in the body that will make the fly fatter at the rear. You could try leaving the butt ends of the tail longer....maybe extend them to the point on the hook where the thorax starts, which will leave a smooth base to dub the body of the nymph. Then build up a thorax area that is fatter than the body. The fat thorax with the slimmer body will give the fly a tapered look. Hope that helps.

What is the name of the pattern you are trying to tie?

[Flyfisher for men]

Thanks for all the help. I'll try to put the advice into practice.


D-short, it really isn't a specific pattern. It's an "all-purpose nymph" that has the basic look and profile of a hare's ear, pheasant tail, etc. If you think of gold-ribbed hare's ear without the ribbing, it's pretty close.