Best Nymph

[Red Owl]

I am currently reading Lee Wulff's "Trout on a Fly" and he said a plain gray nymph with a little peacock herl at the head worked great but he couldn't sell them. People wanted, gold ribs, hackle, etc.
I have seen these minimal patterns but never used them. Any thoughts?

 

[s fontinalis]

I say tie up a couple and give them a shot your next trip, there's no positive answer like a fish on the hook.
Personally i havent seen them, but i've tied a couple of hears ears with very grey fur, they worked a treat.

 

[Rip Tide]

The nymph that I use most often has just a lead base, dubbed fur picked out, and a wire rib to hold it together.
No tail, no legs,no abdomen/thorax division, no wing case, no beads
It looks "buggy" but without any additions that may appear out of place
IMO each "addition" is something that the fish can key in on to decide if the offering is a fraud or the real thing.

I don't remember who, but a wise person once said that Most of what a trout eats is 5/8ths of an inch long and brown"

 

[milt spawn]

I caught my first flyrod fish with a fly that looked like navel lint, and I think there is a recipe out there with that title. milt.

 

[Jimmie]

Good enough for me. I'll be tying some.
Makes sense when looking at stomach pump samples. There always seem to be some that color.

 

[iciclecreek]

The prince is my favorite on the rivers and creeks i fish. Its like the parachute adams of wet flies

 

[ghost_reaper]

I second the prince nymph. I also used a Pink Squirrel from time to time.

 

[planettrout]

Many years ago, on the Roaring Fork River, I watched a guy above me catch fish after fish. When I couldn't stand it any longer, I asked him what kind of nymph he was using...

He made it from the fur of his Siamese cat...

PT/TB

 

[latshki]

Many years ago, on the Roaring Fork River, I watched a guy above me catch fish after fish. When I couldn't stand it any longer, I asked him what kind of nymph he was using...

He made it from the fur of his Siamese cat...

PT/TB

this has happened to me before too, a guy was just landing fish after fish and I asked him what he was using, a nymph he tied from his dogs hair, but what ever works works

I like to use a simplified PTN and a combo fly of pheasant tail and hares ear, I think it's called a double standard if I'm not mistaken

 

[silver creek]

I am currently reading Lee Wulff's "Trout on a Fly" and he said a plain gray nymph with a little peacock herl at the head worked great but he couldn't sell them. People wanted, gold ribs, hackle, etc.
I have seen these minimal patterns but never used them. Any thoughts?

That pattern imitates a caddis larva either inside or outside it's case.

http://www.bouldermountainguide.com/i/Insects/IMG_4775-1-Caddis_Larva-640-W.jpg

Change the body color to match the natural. Green is probably the most popular body color for the net spinning caddis.

 

[mudbug]

If you have ever fished the San Juan then you have probably heard of the Yong Special which is a well known fish catcher on that river.

Just some Coates & Clark sewing thread, black tying thead for the head, and some head cement.

 

[caseywise]

here it is-
#1 gold ribbed hairs ear
#2 prince nymph
#3 copper john

honorable mention- pheasant tail,zug bug


casey

 

[silver creek]

Tying Instructions:

http://www.mlsff.org/cgi-bin/Patterns/Recipes/F85/Yong_Special.pdf

There is another popular fly, the Yong Flasher:

fish the San Juan with Andy Kim

 

[s fontinalis]

I like to use a simplified PTN and a combo fly of pheasant tail and hares ear, I think it's called a double standard if I'm not mistaken

Great video of [ame="http://vimeo.com/26551626"]Double Standard[/ame]

 

[latshki]

thats the one! great fly for sure!

 

[vitesse304]

when all else fails, a plain pheasant tail, no bead, no flashback works for me.

Most flies these days are tied to entice the fisherman. The simplest flies tend to work better on days when fish seem to have lockjaw.

I probably catch more fish on simple tied flies like pheasant tails, yong's specials and basic thread midges.

 

[dhayden]

95% for me would be one of these:
Mercer Micro May Fly
Red Copper John
Pheasnt tail (on the 2487 hook)

 

[Tracker12]

I tie a very simple fly that is a killer. Simply a muskrat dubbed body with peacock herl head. I have not been fly fishing long but I am finding that the sparse fly's seem to work the best for me. Another is a peacock herl wrapped body with a partridge soft hackle.

 

[wt bash]

An important thing to bring up is what might look buggy or even real on the vise can appear totally different to a trout. In my opinion the Hare's Ear with copper wire and no bead is a skunk killer another is the Wolt's Worm. Its supposed to imitate a crane fly larvae but trout typiclly only see that after high water events yet the pattern kills even in low and gin clear conditions.

 

[lthrnk03]

Great thread! Loved the video of the double standard