The Universal Nymph
It's a beadhead, no, a hare's ear,...how
about a flashback pheasant-tail...could be sort-of-a prince nymph,
maybe a copper-john-alike or a biot-bug; whatever it is, it's
versatile!
By Steve Schweitzer
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The Universal Nymph
takes signature attributes from the prince nymph, hare's ear,
a beadhead, a pheasant-tail and a flashback to create a truly
versatile searching nymph.
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Some nymphs
work, some nymphs don't. It depends on the water you are fishing
and the bug life the water sustains. But in nearly all water worldwide,
a versatile searching nymph pattern is hard to beat when you scratch
your head on what to use. Enter the Universal Nymph. We in the
Labs at Global Fly Fisher did some expirimenting by taking the
most famous parts of the world's best generic nymphs: hare's ear,
prince nymph, biot-body, copper john, flashback, and pheasant
tail. What did we get?! The Universal nymph! Certainly we aren't
the first to figure this out, but we thought it would be nice
to be the first to share our latest creation from the Lab!
While the
fly looks complicated, it really isn't. Follow along in the steps
below and learn a few tying secrets on how to make your nymph
tying better.
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In
addition to a hook and a bead for the head, the materials
are simple:
fine copper wire, some sort of small brown feather (a partridge
feather is shown stripped and prepared for tying to the
middle-right), holographic mylar, golden goose biot, and
some rabbit or squirrel fur dubbing.
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The
Universal Nymph Materials
- Nymph
hook
- Brown
6/0 thread
- Bead
for head (optional)
- Natural
rabbit or squirrel dubbing
- Grouse,
partridge or chinese hen feather
- Holographic
or pearl mylar
- fine
copper wire
- Gold
goose biot
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Step 1.
TYING
TIP
To speed the tying process, prepare 6-12
hooks with beads all at once.
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In our tying
example, a #14 hook, de-barbed, is used. Place a bead (if desired)
on the hook prior to tying on the copper wire. Tie the copper
wire on the top of the hook. This will aide in wrapping the wire
over the biots as shown in the next few steps.
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Step 1.
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Step 2.
TYING
TIP
Taper your dubbing to get a tapered body.
Try not to overlap dubbing turns as you build the body.
This will only make it harder to pick out later.
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Using hare's
ear or hare's mask dubbing, dub a tapered body directly up to the
bead. Use a little extra dubbing next to the bead to ensure it won't
move about by 'wedging' it in place.
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Step 2.
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Step 3.
TYING
TIP
Biots can be tricky to seat correctly the
first time. Be firm with your thread wraps using ample tension
to seat the biots correctly the first time.
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Match two
biots together so the points flair outward. Place them on the side
of the dubbed body, pointing rearward. Tie in at the bead to secure
the biots in the proper position.
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Step 3. |
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Step 4.
TYING
TIP
There is no need to wrap the fine wire tightly:
it's purpose is to hold the biots in place and provide a
ribbing effect.
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Now, wrap
the wire forward in a palmered fashion to secure the biots to the
dubbed body. Trim off excess biot.
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Step 4.
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Step 5.
TYING
TIP
Proper nymph proportion suggests that the
thorax should start at the mid-point of the hookshank.
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Using holographic
mylar, wrap a small piece to the top of the dubbed body from the
bead back to the mid-point of the hookshank.
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Step 5.
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Step 6.
TYING
TIP
To obtain a bushy dubbed body, loosely apply
dubbing to the thread.
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Loosely dub
a thorax using dubbing from a hare's ear or hare's mask. Pick it
out using a toothbrush or bodkin to desired "buggy-ness".
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Step 6.
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Step 7.
TYING
TIP
Prepare a few grouse feathers in advance
to have them ready when you need them. See the materials
picture above to get an idea on how to prepare the feathers.
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This is arguably
the most difficult part of the fly. Use a prepared grouse (or suitable
hen feather) feather as shown above in the materials listing section.
Place the 'V' of the feather straddling the beadhead as shown in
Step 7a. Secure it in place with 2 firm wraps. Now, pull
the feather stem away from the beadhead to obtain the length of
leg hackle you desire as shown in Step 7b.. There really
is no wrong or right length here, just personal preference. Trim
off excess feather and stem.
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Step 7a.
Step 7b.
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Final
Step.
TYING
TIP
Apply a drop of thin head cement on the
UNDERSIDE of the fly to secure the thread wraps. Placing
a drop on the top mylar will do little to making a durable
fly.
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Bring the
mylar over the top of the dubbed thorax, tie off at the beadhead,
trim and secure with a good whip finish.
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The finished Universal
Nymph.
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A
batch of Universal Nymphs looks downright buggy looking.
They can easily imitate a stonefly or a mayfly, or, just
be a really effective searching nymph.
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Submitted December 9th 2007
This pattern has become my go to pattern. It has taken many fish from brown trout on Central Ohio, Rainbows in the Smokys, to Great Lakes Steelhead. You can't buy it and any shops and not many folks know about it. My fishing buddy and I never give out the pattern name or recipe. It is our secret weapon and hard fished waters. Thanks for the pattern.