FLYMPH FORUM

Tim's Bitch Creek Nymph




This fly was tied by our friend Tim Didas (tjd).

Tim = If you find time, between your studying, could you tell us about this fly?

Hi Ray,

Nice photo, thanks for posting...you , better than most know how "photographically challenged" I am, in more ways than one!

That fly is a basic stonefly nymph, tied large and heavily weighted for fishing fast water.

I generally tie it on #2, #4, and #6 hooks, hook shown is a Tiemco 5263 #4.
Weight: Lead or lead-free wire, appropriate for the hook size. Cover weight with Flexament or other tying cement to prohibit oxidation.
Thread: Black Uni 8/0.
Underbody: Build up into a torpedo shape using black yarn.
Tails: Black Sili Legs, Sexy Floss, etc.
Abdomen: Medium Black Chenille.
Thorax: Tie in a large soft hackle, I like furnace or black. Dub cottontail rabbit back fur, with plenty of guard hairs mixed in (or other dark fur) and wrap thorax. Palmer hackle through thorax, tie off, and dub more rabbit in front of hackle for a fur head.

This is a big fly with a good profile and lots of built in movement. It's a great fly to fish in heavy runs and pocket water, and a good bet for conditions such as those we'll encounter "back east" on opening day. When the water is up, cold, and off-color, fish the seams on a short line next to the bank. Please let me know if there are any questions. Ray, We may be fishing some of these next weekend, judging by the weather. Thanks again for posting the photo!

Tim

Ray and Tim, I love this. Reminds me of the big stone fly nymphs "in the round" that Charlie Brooks published in his Nymph Fishing for Larger Trout.

I wonder if it might be confusing to call such an obvious deep nymph pattern Flymph Style. Here's a quote from ATWF & FF:

FLYMPH FISHING is that technique which, by comparison to the “chuck-and-chance-it” use of the winged wet fly, or the hard-bodied or weighted nymph fished deep, strives to simulate the hatching nymphs of the mayfly, caddis fly, or other aquatic insects as they struggle up toward the surface or drift momentarily in or just under the surface film.

You probably called it a flymph because of the soft hackle legs, and the absence of a wing case. Maybe others like the idea of giving the flymph name to nymphs that have round hackles and no wing case. It would broaden the flymph category, but gets further away from the original concept that is described in the quote above. Interesting to think about this.

Thanks for showing us Tim's excellent fly.

Lance - Oops. Sorry. Good point. I have changed the title of the initial post to be more accurate. Thank you for the correction.

I'm going to tie up some of these for my trip in June after Yellowstone. thanks for the additional 411

Lance,

All good points, and thank you for your insightfulness.

This fly was inspired by Charles Brooks, and I do consider it a soft hackle fly/nymph, of sorts. In the type of fast water where I've found this version of the fly to be most effective, tying in the round makes good sense.

I fish an unweighted version which adheres more to the spirit and intent of the flymph later in the year, when the large nymphs migrate to shoreline and climb rocks, trees, and structure prior to hatching. Tied unweighted, and with a soft, flowing hackle, it is actually quite a graceful fly...sort of.

Good points, all.

Best,

Tim

After reading the discussion, I've moved this topic into the new nymph sub-forum.

Tim - Thanks for taking time to provide the recipe, tying instructions and fishing advice. All valuable contributions.

I like the technique, so I threw one together. Size 8

I like my Stones a tad on the beefy side.

Wayne - That dog will hunt! Beautiful golden stonefly imitation. I like the way you've configured the legs. It will be kicking and wiggling all over the place.

Wayne,

That's a great looking nymph. Perfect for the conditions that I expect to see today in western New York. I drove by two streams that I may try today, both bank-full and cloudy. Fishable...but it won't be fun!

I find that there is a point of diminishing return with respect to weighting a fly like this. Sometimes I will tie them unweighted, and add weight, as needed, to the leader. Often, weight has to be added to the leader, even with a weighted fly. That's why I don't get too carried away with the "extras" on mine, realizing that they may be sacrificed to the bottom on the first drift.

Ray, great job moving the electrons around!

Best,

Tim