Frank Sawyer's Nymphs

[Terrestrial12]

Bumping an old thread. I just love Mr.Sawyer! I love his simple and straight to the point approach. I've been on a real sawyer kick recently and have cross referenced several books reading all of his writings but it more or less all the same. I have a few questions I was hoping some of you experts could answer for me.
First...what is the difference between the gray goose and the Swedish? The old pictures in books are terrible and he doesn't give any dressing info in any of the books I have. Modern tyers that happen to own his flies only ever show the big 3 so I'm kind of at a loss.
Second...how does the bow tie buzzer work? I get how it woul work if you had a tight line or were drawing in line slowly and it's a really awesome and innovative idea! Bu if it's supposed to hang an inch or 2 below the surface wouldn't the buzzer separate from the hanging bowtie and slide down your tippet?
Third....is Sawyers book worth buying? I'm building a library and I'm usually able to buy used copies of all the great old books for under 10 bucks. That's kind of my salary cap. Sawyers book is usually around twice that. I don't mind paying more if I know the book will be really good but I've noticed in all my other books that sawyer has a chapter in its always the same content with maybe Slightly different wording. I don't want to buy it if it's just the same stuff I have in multiple other books.

[tworod]

How the bow tie works.

https://sportingroad.com/2020/04/29/fra ... e-buzzard/

[DUBBN]

I am one of the few that does not believe in the Frank Sawyer "magic".

I would take the American version of the PT over the Sawyer style every day. The Killer nymph? Mediocre at best.

Any time you have to use a specific wool, or specific wire, or specific Pheasant, I think the pattern is a bust.

I see reports that individuals caught a fish with a Sawyer PT. I have never seen a report that said have a Sawyer PT or go home.

Pheasant Tail nymphs are awesome. We would have had them with or without Sawyer.

Ofcourse, this is my opinion. I do not have a lick of data to back it up.

[Mike62]

Do we credit the late Al Troth with the 'Americanization' of Sawyer's nymph? I've fished both versions, Sawyer's and the variation, and I'm with Wayne; the PT, in it's original garb, gets out-fished every time. That being said, I still tie Sawyer's version (sort of) just because it's fun, ...and it does have its moments.

I tie my PT's a little bulkier and on a curved shanked hook.

[Terrestrial12]

DUBBN I actually agree too. I do like the the sawyer PT and have caught plenty of fish with it but that's not to say I think it's the best by any means. I LOVE the gray goose but I tie them with thread usually, unless I'm feeling nostalgic, and I think both need some dubbing or peacock or something under the wing case. But it evidently worked really well at the time. I think it's because the nymphs sawyer was matching were small and delicate as he put it. So maybe better on his water than ours. I am one that is fascinated and obsessed with the killer bug tho. I think it's an incredibly effective fly but I do find it kind of annoying that sawyer himself sung it's praise while admitting even back then that 477 was really difficult to find and saying the pattern didn't fish near as well using a substitute. I can't speak on that because I've never been able to bring myself to buy a card or even a piece of Chadwicks but I have a couple substitutions that I think look pretty damn close and fish really REALLY well. One of those substitutions is .99 cents for a skein haha either way it's more the history and nostalgia that I love than the actual flies themselves. Do u know anything about the Swedish or his books?

[Terrestrial12]

Also I find it pretty funny that sawyer seems to get all the credit for the PT nymph but openly admitted he wasn't the first to do it. Just the one who made it popular. The English version anyway.

[DUBBN]

This has been my best producing PT type nymph for a few years.

CDL tail
Pheasant body.
No wingcase

Size 16 and 14

[letumgo]

Wayne - What hackle is that? Is it ostrich?

Lovely pattern.

[DUBBN]

Wayne - What hackle is that? Is it ostrich?

Lovely pattern.

No Ray, its the fluff at the bottom of any Dun, Brown, or natural Brahma hackle. Rooster or hen. I apply it in a split thread.

[letumgo]

Brilliant! I’m stealing that idea!

Thanks Wayne.