The Skip Nymph
by Robin Pike
The Skip Nymph was created by Skip Morris. It combines the
best features of both the Hare's Ear nymph and the Pheasant Tail nymph.
The Skip Nymph was designed as a Mayfly imitation that provides a contrasting
silhouette that can be varied through the use of either darker or lighter
colours of dubbing. This pattern
is particularly useful when fishing the beginning of a mayfly hatch when fish
are keying on the rising nymphs.
Fishing this Pattern
As a searching pattern, the fly can be fished on intermediate sink, full
sink or floating lines. A good searching technique to try is to twitch
the fly in the water via trolling or casting and retrieving. I recommend
varying the retrieve/troll speed and occasionally pausing to determine
where the fish are and the preferred speed of presentation with this method.
As an imitator of the Mayfly nymph... I use a slow or intermediate sink
line, cast and let the fly sink till it's close to the depth where mayflies
are rising. This is necessary as you are imitating the rise (swimming)
of the nymph to emerge as an adult. In shallow areas it is possible to
use a floating line with the appropriate leader length to fish the nymph.
To imitate the swimming motion, I retrieve the fly using a slow hand twist
retrieve. While retrieving I alternate the number of fingers used in
the hand twist and thus alter the length of fly line retrieved. For example,
I use 3-4 fingers with regularly spaced pauses. This retrieve mimics
the natural motion of a mayfly nymph that swims and periodically rests
on its journey towards the surface.
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
HOOK: Tiemco 200R, or Mustad 9672, sizes 10-16.
THREAD: 6/0, Brown or Olive Brown.
RIB: Fine Copper Wire (Silver used)
TAIL/SHELLBACK: Pheasant Tail.
BODY/THORAX: Hares Ear Dubbing, Natural to Dark.
Tying Instructions for the Skip Nymph
Step 1: Attach ribbing material as shown and
position tying thread at the end of the hook.
Step 2: Create a dubbing 'noodle' by spinning the dubbing material around
the tying thread. Be very sparse closest to the hook and gradually increase
the thickness of the dubbing noodle as you get closer to the spool. Next,
wind the dubbing noodle towards a point that approximates 2/3 of the hook
length. The body should taper from where you started.
Step
3
Step 4: Position the thread at the hook eye
and create a thicker and looser dubbing noodle than what was used for
the body. Wind the dubbing backwards to the thorax/body interface. Next,
pull the pheasant tail over the body and secure with 1 wrap at the body/thorax
interface with your tying thread. While pulling the pheasant tail over
the body, wind the ribbing material forward to the body/thorax interface
to secure the shellback. Tie off the ribbing using 2-3 wraps of thread
and whip finish at the thorax/body interface. In Skip's original pattern,
the tail is made to V by removing the center portion of the tail. I prefer
to leave the tail as is but pick out the dubbing in the thorax.
This page and all of it's contents are the property of Robin
Pike.
Copyright 1999 - 2003.
