The Woven Body Nymph by BILL REISS
On the way home from a family vacation in Maine some seven years ago, we
stopped off at L.L. Bean. While I was over at the fly counter I noticed
an unusual, realistic-looking nymph. The salesman explained that it was
a woven- bodied nymph. It intrigued me so I bought a Yellow Stonefly. I
got busy at my vise right away and after about the fourth or fifth try,
I turned out something that looked presentably similar. Upon success I immediately
tied another three and stowed them in my fly box for future use.
The next spring I decided to try one. I don't claim to be the best nymph
fisherman going, or even close for that matter, but after about 5 minutes
I landed a nice rainbow. Unfortunately I couldn't stay much longer, but
since then I've taken many more trout on those flies. Here is my dressing
for the woven bodied Yellow Stonefly Nymph. Start off by clamping a No.
10 longshanked hook in your vise and attach the thread at the tail position.(
Make sure you use dark thread so there will be a dark stripe down the back
of thc finished nymph) Cut a section of white-goose-wing quill about l/8
inch wide.
Tie it on top of the hook and clip off the excess (Fig.1)
Next tie in some yellow floss. I like to leave the floss on the card so
I don't waste any. After you have clipped off the excess wind the floss
up the hook to get the rough shape of the body and back down to smooth it
out (Fig. 2). Then tie it off and half-hitch it.
Now bring the thread toward you from under the hook and than back over the
top of the hook until it is level with the ground and hold it there (Fig.
3). Next grasp the floss under the hook and bring it up on the far side
of the hook staying to the right of the thread. Cross the floss over the
thread to the left and bring it down behind the hook, changing hands whcn
neccssary (Fig. 4).
Make sure that the floss is tight against the hook and hold it there. From
this position you can regulate the height of a little knob you make by pulling
on either the floss or the thread. (You will make a series of these knobs
and they should be the same height all the way up the body. forming a straight
line on each side.) After you have found the height or the knob, hold onto
the floss and bring the thread toward you on top of the hook. Wrap three
turns going in this direction, making sure that they slant toward the eye
a little bit (Fig. 5). As you come toward yourself on the third turn don't
bring the thread down in front of you. Instead pull it toward you and hold
it level with the ground.
Holding the thread there, bring the floss toward youfrom under the hook
and up on the right side of the thread.
To form the second knob, cross the floss back over the thread and bring
it down right to the hook on the left of the thread, staying in front of
the hook (Fig. 6). Find the height of the knob and then make another three
turns, this time in the opposite direction. Again make sure that you slant
them toward the eye Or the hook. As you cross over the top of the hook on
the third turn, hold the thread directly away from you and level with the
ground. Take the floss from under the hook and bring it up on the right
side of the thread. Cross it back over the thread as you did before. Pull
it tight, regulate the height of the knob, and then change directions again.
If you-have done this right, no black thread will show on the bottom and
the top will be yellow with back stripes. Continue on up the body in this
manner until you get to the bump, or wing pad. At this point tic down the
floss but don't slip it off yet. Select a long brown hackle and tie it in
by the tip (Fig. 7) After you have half-hitched it, brush the hackle back
and continue with the. body on up to within about 1/8 inch of the eye. Tie
it off and half-hitch it. Try to make the last knob on your side of the
hook so that when you reverse directions with the thread you arc wrapping
the way you usually would. When the floss is bound securely, clip off the
excess as close as possible. Next wind the hackle forward keeping it as
bunched as you can, to the thread. 'Tie it off, half-hitch it, and then
trim the hackle fibers on the top and bottom so that they remain only on
the sides. Next select a long, thin strip of white- goosewing quill. Lay
it across the top of the hook and tic it in by crossing it with thread a
few times ( Fig. 8) .
After that is tied in, stroke both sides back and make a few turns to hold
them there. You can tic in another strip Or goose-wing quill, but it really
doesnt make that much difference. Now just wrap the head, making sure that
you cover the gap between the eye and the shank; a gap can fray your leader.
Now all that's left to do is to lacquer the head, tail, and goose-wing quill
strips.
As far as I know, this method can be used on most large nymphs such as stoneflies
and hellgrammites. You'll begin to master the technique of the woven-bodied
nymph after about the fifth try. Then you'll find it really isn't that hard.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| Nic Blackwell | /\ |
| HUGHES-LINK Corp. | / \/\ |
| Binghamton NY |--------/ / \--/\___________ |
| nblackwell@link.com | >> HEAD for the HILLs >>>|
| ftp://ftp.geo.mtu.edu/pub/fishing/from_nicb/flys.htm |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=