green drake nymph

If there is a hatch more eagerly anticipated than the Green Drakes in Pennsylvania, I can’t imagine what it might be.
This bead-headed nymph pattern, tied locally for Penns creek, was the top pick for the high-water conditions of this past weekend.
I thought I might come back with stories of big browns rising to my Green Drake duns, but this was not to be. Not only was the hatch just getting under way, but I was informed by the local drake experts that nymphs and spinners are by far the most important stages to have imitations for. If you wanted a third, the emerger was it. The nearly empty nymph selections in the fly shops were a confirmation of this, as were the great variety of duns available for purchase. What follows is the pattern with one minor change that will make buying some cream-colored soft hackle unnecessary. (it was wound behind the bead for legs)
Note:This fly can be tied in both standard, and bead-headed versions.


Green Drake Nymph (Beadheaded)

Tying The Green Drake Nymph Fly Pattern

Hook:Mustad 79580 size #8 (or size to suit)
Bead:5/32" gold-plated.
Thread:Tan 6/0
Tail:Pale tan/cream hackle fibers (mallard flank good substitute)
Rib:Small copper wire
Back:Thin Skin B199 Bustard Natural (about 1/16" wide)
Gills:base of a partridge feather
Abdomen:Tan rabbit fur
Wing Case:Thin Skin as before, only wider (about 1/4" wide)
Thorax:Tan rabbit fur
Fit bead onto the hook. (Pinching the barb may be necessary) Make several wraps of lead behind to secure. Bind the lead down as shown.



Tie in the tail fibers, the copper for the rib, a thin strip of the Thin Skin and the fluffy portion of the partridge feather as shown. (In that order)



Dub the abdomen forward, a little more that 1/2 way up the shank.



Lay the feather forward under tension, and tie it off. Pull the Thin Skin forward and tie off. Wind copper rib forward, being careful not to tie down any of the "gills."



Tie in the wider pc. of Think Skin, facing back. Dub a full, "chunky" thorax. Pull the Thin Skin forward and tie off behind the bead.



Using a dubbing brush, pick out some of the fibers from the sides of the abdomen to suggest legs.





The finished fly

the cdc parachute midge larva

Tying The CDC Parachute Midge Larva Pattern

Hook:Tiemco #2487 size#16-#24 (or any scud hook)
Thread:Rusty Dun 8/0
Body:Olive/Dun Goose Biot (from Stalcup Flies)
Hackle:2 Natural color CDC feathers, type 1
Wing:White poly yarn
Thorax:Olive Superfine dubbing




With the hook in the vise as shown, wind thread back well onto the bend.




Pull a biot from the stem and moisten it. Note:pulling it off the stem gives you more length to work with and also reveals the natural "notch" at the base. Make sure this "notch" is facing down when you tie it in and begin wrapping it.




Tie in the tip of the biot on the side of the hook shank facing you. Wind the thread forward and make one half-hitch knot to keep it from sliding towards the eye. Carefully make the first wrap of biot by hand as shown, this is so that you don’t twist the biot.




Now, grasp the butt end of the biot with your rotating hackle pliers and begin wrapping it forward. When you’re doing this, you’ll notice that there is a fuzzy rib on the leading edge of the biot that gets covered with each forward wrap.




When you’re nearing the end, you’ll be glad you have the extra length gained by pulling, rather than cutting the biot from the stem.




Tie off, and trim the butt end of the biot. Make several tight thread wraps.




Adjust the position of the hook so that the bare section of the hook is facing up. Align the stems of two type 1 CDC feathers as shown. Pinch the fluffy "marabou-like" fibers and pull them off.




Switching hands, stroke the fibers from "tip to butt" so that they are more perpendicular to the stem.




Holding the tips of the two feathers (still aligned) with your right hand, pinch the fibers on top and pull them from the stem.




Turn the feathers over, pull your pinched fingers apart slightly and insert the remaining fibers. Pinch them, and remove them from the stem as well.




I’m gingerly opening my fingers to show you what it should look like, this is a risky move done for demonstration only. (risky only because it could mean having to repeat the step…..)




Cut about a 2" length of poly yarn and separate it into about 4 equal strands. Stroke one of these tight, remove any fibers that don’t want to play nice and insert them between your fingers against the CDC.




CAREFULLY grab this bunch keeping the poly yarn on top and tie it onto the hook as shown.




Make a few "figure 8" wraps behind, and in front of the CDC/poly bunch.




It should now look like this, the CDC/poly bunch perpendicular to the hook shank. (note:photo is top view)




Stroke the whole CDC/poly bunch up and make a few horizontal wraps of thread. (like wrapping hackle on a parachute post) Now, dub the thorax of the fly as shown. Tie off, add a drop of diluted head cement to secure the knot.




Holding the poly up and tight, stroke the CDC fibers down.




With all the CDC fiber now pointing down, cut them to one length. (I run the scissors just below the hook shank as shown)




Pull the poly yarn up again, and cut to length.



The finished fly

sparkle pheasant tail nymph

 

 

Tying The Sparkle-Pheasant Tail Nymph Pattern

Hook:Tiemco #2487 (caddis/scud hook)
Bead:Gold 1/8" (size#10) 3/32" (size#16)
Thread:Black 8/0
Tail:Peasant tail fibers
Rib:Med./Small copper wire
Abdomen:Pheasant tail fibers
Sparkle:Pearl Krystal Flash and white Z-Lon
Thorax:Peacock herl
Slip the bead onto the hook and make several wraps of .020" lead wire behind it on the shank. Trim wire and push it up against the bead. Tie in thread (i’ll often use black 6/0 for this step) and wind back and over the the lead wraps and secure them. Using the thread, create a taper as shown. This will help the pheasant tail fibers take a nice form when wrapped.


Wind thread back, and tie in the copper wire.


Trim approx. 8 pheasant tail fibers from a tail feather (ringneck pheasant) keeping the tips aligned as much as possible. Tie in as the tail and wind forward to secure it.


Trim approx. 10 pheasant tail fibers and tie in at the tail. Wind forward as shown, and tie off when you reach the black portion of the fibers., or about 2/3 of the way to the bead.


Wind the copper rib forward and tie off.


Tie in a pc. of white Z-Lon, approx. 2/3s of a strand.


Double up a strand of Krystal Flash and tie in, ahead of Z-Lon. Gently hold the Krystal flash in a rearward direction, and wind back your thread to the Z-Lon’s tie-in point. This will keep them facing back.


Tie in 4 pcs. of peacock herl and wind forward creating the thorax. Tie-off and trim the butts of the herl.


Trim the Krystal Flash to the desired length, and do the same for the Z-Lon. NOTE: I like the Krystal Flash to be slightly longer than the Z-Lon. Make several wraps of thread behind the bead, trim it and add a few drops of head cement.



The finished Fly

griffiths gnat

Tying The Griffith’s Gnat Pattern

Hook:Tiemco #101 size #18-#26 (any fine wire dry fly hook)
Thread:12/0 black
Body:Peacock herl
Hackle:Grizzly

Start your thread and wind back to the bend. Prepare a grizzly hackle feather and tie it in. I add a drop of diluted head cement too the tie-in point, but this is optional.





Tie-in your peacock herl.





Wind the peacock herl forward in tight wraps and tie-off just behind the eye of the hook.





Palmer the grizzly hackle forward as shown, tie-off.






The finished fly







A video for tying a griffiths gnat

red brassie

Tying The Red Brassie Midge Fly Pattern

Hook:Size#18-#20 caddis/scud style hook (this one a Mustad C49S size#18)
Thread:12/0 Black (8/0 would work fine)
Bead:Gold or Pearl 3/32"
Body:Red copper wire, size small
Thorax:peacock herl

Slip the bead over the hook, and secure with several wraps of thread.





Tie in red copper wire and wind the thread back well into the bend. Try to keep the wire from wrapping around the hook shank.





Wrap the copper wire forward in tight wraps that touch one another stopping short of the bead. Fold one peacock herl around the tying thread and tie it in. Wrap the peacock herl forward and form a slightly bulky thorax.





Make 2-3 wraps of thread through the herl to protect it from being cut when a fish’s teeth (or your hemostats) come in contact with it. Tie-off behind the bead.

dandelion fly

The Dandelion Fly


Hook:Tiemco #2487 (any curved shank/pupa hook) size #16-#18
Thread:Rusty Dun 8/0 for extended body, brown for the nymph body
Extended body:White Z-Lon
Hackle:medium dun
Rib on nymph portion:small copper wire
Thorax on nymph portion:peacock herl

Preparing the Z-Lon-using a lighter or candle, heat up the end of a full strand until it starts to melt.





Quickly roll it in your fingers to create a tapered end that captures all the strands.
Cut it off at about 1-1/2", stroke the fibers together to make sure they’ll all be the same length, and finish the end the same way. It is hot, wet your fingers before rolling if you need to.





Set your two vises up nose to nose, and clip one end into the vise on
the right. (right handed direstions)
Pull the Z-Lon tight, and grip it with the main vise on the left. Start
your thread as shown, about 3/4" from the jaws of the vise on the left, wind back about 1/2" in tight wraps. Option:I add a small rib of brown thread tied in at this point, but the original does not have it. It is an easy addition, but not necessary.





Wind thread back towards the vise on the right in tight, consecutive wraps stopping about 1/16" from the start point.






Prepare your pc. of hackle, making sure you have discarded the rigid portion at the base of the feather. (If you don’t, the force required to wind the hackle will cause the Z-Lon to spin away from you. Pinch it with your left hand while winding the hackle.) Add a drop of head cement, and tie in the hackle. Make about 4 turns of hackle, and tie it off with 2 wraps of thread.





With the bobbin hanging, add a drop of head cement to secure it and wait a few minutes until it sets. To tie the finishing knot, I make two large overhand half-hitches, and add another drop of cement to secure.





Remove from vise, and place the curved-shank hook in your main vise With the brown thread, tie on the small copper rib and wind back in tight wraps as before. I keep the copper rib on top of the shank. When you’ve reached about the middle of the bend, change directions and wind the thread forward. Wrap the copper forward, creating the rib as shown.





Tie off the copper, wind the thread forwar to just behind the eye of the hook. Tie on the extended body portion as shown. The wrapped portion is
rigid, tie on at the Z-Lon, leaving room so it will bend up when finished.





Wind the thread back over the Z-Lon to where the rib was tied-off. Tie in two pcs. of herl and wind forward. Tie off.





Gently pull the extended body back, and make 3-4 tight turns of thread to hold in a slightly upright position. Trim the portion behind the herl, and above the parachute to the length you like. I keep my parachute portion short, so that there is as little weight pushing the fly down as possible.

 The finished dandelion fly pattern

When fishing the fly, I add floatant to the hackle and extended body,
and moisten the thread on the nymph portion with some water from the
river.