FLYMPH FORUM

Dear Fellows,
Has anyone back-tracked to "flymph.com" lately? I was prowling around there yesterday and found (again) the pictures of the flymphs tied by the great Pete Hidy. They are fantastic in both proportion and all around bugginess. They have inspired me to immitate Petes work. There are many on this web-site that inspire all of us to do our best at the vice. Trouble is...there's too little time to try them all! Thank you gentlemen for all the choices and styles you bring to this unique forum. Sometimes you just have to grab a pattern and growl.
Does anyone else feel "inspired" ?
Feeling courageous in the den,
Dougsden

P.S. Thanks Mark and Jim and all who founded this wonderful web-sit. Where else can you enjoy such beautiful patterns and excellent discussions about such a wonderful subject?

DOUGDSDEN

I totally agree with all your accolades about these sites!

I also return from time to time and look at what Jim has posted. One thing I note is the use of tinsel on many of these flies. Many of the flies posted on the flymph forum are very artistic and the use of material may be very subtle. I don't recall any major discussion that treats the use of variety of tinsel ribs that can change how effective the fly is when fished in different conditions. Looking at Hidy's flies you can see many that have very wide ribs compared to most posted here. Here is my tie of a Rick Hafele March Brown flymph that illustrates a wide rib.


How many other tiers here vary just the rib on their flies for different reactions from the fish? I have almost all my tying years had multiple flies in my boxes that vary color, size, and/or texture of the ribbing used while all the other materials in the fly are constant. Many times the switch from gold-silver or flat-oval or large-twist or none at all has made all the difference in fishing.

Tight lines everyone!

Dear Roadkill,
This is really neat! Thanks for posting the picture of this fly. Oh yea! Subtle differences....
how many times this has made such a difference in a perfect days fishing or an average days!
Our finny friends down below really are quite sharp when it comes to eyesight! Again, thanks!
Dougsden

I use wires, tinsels and various twists in different colours and shades,
not only to make the gauge of the tinsel fit the size of the fly but to vary the gauge
on any particular fly.

Ribbing is hugely important on wet flies, I only omit a rib on some few flies, mainly traditional,
and on some very small stuff.

I had the importance of a ribbed body pointed out to me by a great authority one early summer afternoon in good daylight.
That particular day I managed to find a long lasting rise and they (the great authority) would refuse a plain bodied fly, while taking an otherwise identical fly with a wire rib.
Thereafter, my experiments tended to show that a ribbed was preferred almost exclusively, even if it blended with the body colour.

I appreciate that we are talking wetfly and surface emergers here but would dare to add that a friend wanted me to tie him some dries for Sulfurs in the UK.
He gave me a recipe with an all-important wide gold rib on a #12.
He insisted that I could do anything I liked with the recipe so long as I retained the wide gold rib.
I did not like the fly at all, aesthetically, yet it was effective.
It was half as effective as my variant which I tied for him; this one having a double twist rib of light gold twist, the two ribs touching, but in open spirals.
My friend, who is a seriously competent caster, reckoned that every trout he covered accurately rose to it; the difference between mine and the original was the modification to the rib.

I now tie many of my flies with a nylon monofil rib to reinforce and catch light.

I will now have something to do this afternoon, reading 1,000,000 pages from my library to see if I can find relevant discussion.

Dougsden, re eyesight, I think their eyesight is mazing, I have taken wee wild browns at two AM in white water on a Copper Wire Hare's Ear 18, sunk, tied short; awesome creatures. that fly is about ten turns of wire with a pinch of hare, just ribbing and fluff;
a real killer fly


My 2cents
Roy

Roadkill wrote: How many other tiers here vary just the rib on their flies for different reactions from the fish? I have almost all my tying years had multiple flies in my boxes that vary color, size, and/or texture of the ribbing used while all the other materials in the fly are constant. Many times the switch from gold-silver or flat-oval or large-twist or none at all has made all the difference in fishing.

Tight lines everyone!

My experience is
the darker the water - the brighter the rib, dropping spates favour the Butcher
as the water fines down, replace with Gold Butcher
As it drops toward normal level drop to a spider with open spiral rib (wide) then reduce the gauge of the rib as everything settles to low water.
Twists are great for visibility, catching the light at multiple angles.

Much experimenting to do

Later,
Roy

Roy'

I agree with your thoughts entirely. Even on a sunny day a passing cloud can change a flies effectiveness depending on the rib. I was fortunate to learn about changing my ribbing from the man who taught me to tie over 50 years ago. Sometimes I think there is too much spakle and a more subtle rib is more effective. An even more important lession on the water was that variation in retrieve was even more critical than the fly itself.

My favorite tan caddis low-water dry incorporates a simple gold twist rib that makes a good fly into a great fly most of the time.

I also enjoy using a Hare and Copper. I think copper has been underutilized by many tiers and that the Copper John has made more people aware of wire colors.

I do love a hare's ear
the copper wire nymph I was using is this one -
this particular fly may have been a bit more hairy to start with,
it has 54 fish so far, it is now in Hans' museum
I thank you for your excellent photography, sir

http://www.danica.com/flytier/rchristie ... s_mask.htm

The 'rib' is fine black wire, type unknown e.g. copper
dating back to the 1960's when i found an ancient big spool of it.
Lasted years and thousands of flies, tied streamside,
some tied in the dark, when I could still tie flies


On passing clouds, The influence of light is the magic of the game.
Oliver Kite could catch fish on bare hooks,
I have heard the the copper wire on his Bare Hook Nymph was only added for
purposes of legality, as a bare hook cannot be construed to be a fly
I have used both successfully.
What was a challenge, catching fish on bare hooks, soon palls into boredom.
I found myself thinking, should I use a lighter/darker hook, bigger/smaller hook.
Not exciting.

Playing with light is the name of the game, clouds are our friends

Roadkill and Roy,
Well said gentlemen! It gives me alot to think about and experiment with. Ribbing is that neccesary evil. In many ways, it's what defines the look of a good fly either a wet fly or nymph. I am liking how you guys are calling on your experience on the water as well as what we consider the "status quo". Fascinating stuff fellows. Keep up the great work. We will keep tuning in!
Dougsden

Roadkill wrote: I also enjoy using a Hare and Copper. I think copper has been underutilized by many tiers and that the Copper John has made more people aware of wire colors.

I've found that - A very effective fly on my rain-fed peat-stained small river is GRHE tied as a dry with a red game cock, and a copper rib instead of gold definitely makes it much more effective.

I seem to remember I first read of that in a Gierach book, can't remember which one, but he said something like: it makes them look more 'antique'. He put it very well anyway, as he does so much....

And I don't know why, but the copper does make it look like it really 'belongs' in this river.

Andrew.

Or graduate the ribbing


Graduate


Speck Of Gold


Speck Of Gold (soaked)

Cheers,
Hans W