Here’s the latest installment in an ongoing series of videos called “One-Minute Fly-Tying Tips and Techniques” from Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions. Each video teaches a single tying skill, from the most basic to the advanced. Ultimately, the series will serve as a sort of encyclopedia of tying skills that will be a valuable resource for anyone who sits down at a vise to create a fly.
When you’re tying nymphs patterns, you might think that where you add the weight makes a huge difference in how the fly is oriented when it drifts downstream. As Tim explains here, almost all nymphs end up drifting perpendicular to the stream bottom. Tying on a jig hook certainly helps, but mostly because the hook point is less likely to snag the bottom.
Fascinating! So nymph flies drift with a completely unnatural posture. Unless trout see them as trying to swim to the surface. Makes lots about nymph patterns seem “silly”. Just one more reason to stick with film flies.