My nymph fly box

Most of these flies have some weight in them but none are bead heads. A very important selection of flies because it includes flies that have applications in both rivers and impoundments. Whilst the flies in my bead head box are big on “hot spots” most of my non bead head nymphs are more representational of the naturals they are intended to represent. As well as including traditional ‘nymphs’ in my nymph fly box I also populate it with other flies that I fish like nymphs.

 

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My Lake Box » Nymphs, , Chironomids, Corixia, Grubs, Shrimp, Snails,

 
 
 

Nymphs 

The word nymph has of course two fly fishing meanings. The first is “Juvenile, sexually immature stage of certain insects, usually similar to the adult in form, and which require an intermediate stage before becoming an adult. Mayflies, Caddis flies, Dragonflies, Damselflies, Stone flies and Midges are all insects that spend part of their life cycle in the water and have a nymph stage.” The second is flies tied to imitate the first i.e. “the nymphal stage of an insects life cycle”. I have narrowed down the selection of nymphs that I carry to just the list below.

Czech nymphs

The uncased caddis have quite a few similarities. They often adopt a curved fetal position and when they are free swimming they are more elongated still with a curved back but with a lifted head. The have short tail like filaments, have bodies of around seven or eight segments that may have abdominal gills at each segment, have darker heads with two or three segments and have 3 or more sets of legs below the head or toward the front of the grub.

Flash back fuzzy nymph

In fast flowing water or where you just want your nymph to stand out a little a Flash Back nymph is an option. Whilst this nymph is not tied to represent the nymphal (sub imago or pupa) stage of any specific insect it is a good “buggy” looking fly and readily accepted by trout.

Gold ribbed hares ear

This is probably up there in the top 3 or 4 best known nymph patterns. It’s a pattern that has stood the test of time and is suggestive of a wide range of caddis and mayfly nymphs and is best fished close to the bottom. It doesn’t matter if your in Argentina or Australia or any where between, past, above or below this is a true universal fly pattern.

 

 

Spiders tend to be much more lightly dressed than traditional nymphs and generally don’t have tails. They are tied to represent the the nymphal stage of an insects life cycle.

Black & peacock

Flies that represent spiders and beetles are very buggy and suggestive flies. Weather being used as a polaroiding fly, a static wet, one of the flies in a team of loch style flies, or a fly to cover rising fish spider type soft hackle flies may be taken as a snail, submerged beetle, drowned terrestrial, diving beetle or even a carixia.

Black buzzer

When browns and rainbows are feeding on hatching midges at the exclusion of all else it pays to have a few buzzers in your kit. This pattern has proven itself to be readily accepted in many countries.

Caddis grubs

Most caddis grubs make a retreat of silk with sand or detritus matter stuck to the outside. Similar in form this fly represents a caddis grub that has been dislodged from it retreat. Colors include cream, lime, fawn, and light browns and olives through to dark browns and olives.

Carrot wet fly

This fly came about as an extension of the idea of using very popular carrot dry fly and has turned out to be a great weighted attractor fly to use on the top or middle dropper when fishing a representation fly on the point to river fish.

Corixia / back swimmer

Given the similarity of form and function both of these aquatic bugs can be represented by the following fly. This fly is best fished on a floating line that has been greased to within a meter of the fly or under a dry fly. It generally works well just sinking in the water column or moving naturally with the water current. If unnoticed try a couple of short figure of eight strips punctuated by a long pause to represent the natural swimming action of both bugs or a gentle lift to mimic “the natural” rising to the surface to breath.

Czech nymphs

The uncased caddis have quite a few similarities. They often adopt a curved fetal position and when they are free swimming they are more elongated still with a curved back but with a lifted head. The have short tail like filaments, have bodies of around seven or eight segments that may have abdominal gills at each segment, have darker heads with two or three segments and have 3 or more sets of legs below the head or toward the front of the grub.

Flash back fuzzy nymph

In fast flowing water or where you just want your nymph to stand out a little a Flash Back nymph is an option. Whilst this nymph is not tied to represent the nymphal (sub imago or pupa) stage of any specific insect it is a good “buggy” looking fly and readily accepted by trout.

Foetal caddis grub

My preferred colours are light brown, light olive and hares ear each with slightly darker thoraxes and sand with a touch of orange or pink. All are tied with olive backs and heavily weighted so that they get down to where the fish are sitting.

Gold ribbed hares ear

This is probably up there in the top 3 or 4 best known nymph patterns. It’s a pattern that has stood the test of time and is suggestive of a wide range of caddis and mayfly nymphs and is best fished close to the bottom. It doesn’t matter if your in Argentina or Australia or any where between, past, above or below this is a true universal fly pattern.

Greenwells spider

Many English flies have a spider version and Greenwells Glory is no exception. An interesting aspect of this fly is that the wing has been tied in beard style so as to camouflage the pint of the hook. The combination of the buggy shape, the movement of the soft hackle in the water often produce a hit. There is also the added benefit that they are so easy to tie. All river fly fishers should have a selection of English Spiders in their fly boxes.

March brown spider

Where I fish, as the water warms up closer to lunch time your often find fish actively rising to March Brown Mayfly that are a mottled chocolate and dark grey in colour. I fish them in lakes to targeted rising fish, as a polaroiding fly and also as part of a loch style team and in river I find them a great swinging fly when fish are taking emergers just below the surface.

Partridge and chartreuse spider

Spiders are always a good option in rivers and whilst my “goto” spider is a partridge and orange the chartreuse version is always worth having on hand as an alternative. I don’t know what the trigger but from time to time trout switch onto chartreuse coloured flies and if you don’t have one in your kit your likely to fall behind or even worse, skunk the session.

Partridge and orange spider

This is undoubtedly my “go to” spider. Fish all over the world seem to find orange a trigger colour and along with the buggy shape, the movement of the soft hackle in the water this fly often produce a hit. There is also the added benefit that they are so easy to tie. All river fly fishers should have a selection of English Spiders in their fly boxes.

Partridge and pink spider

This is one of those flies that comes into its own on really bright days. The bright pink and the movement of the soft hackle in the water this fly often produce a hit. There is also the added benefit that they are so easy to tie. All river fly fishers should have a selection of English Spiders in their fly boxes.

PET shell prawn

Prawns and shrimp are crustaceans, of the family Isopod, and are endemic to our Australian estuary waters. They are toward the top of the food chain for a lot of coastal species of fish including bream, flathead and whiting.

PTN variant

This variation of Frank Sawyers pheasant Tail Nymph takes into account the shorter herl on pheasant tails that dominate the market these days and to include the substitution of peacock or coloured dubbing in the thorax and the addition of legs.

Red tag spider

This fly whilst being very different to a sparsely dressed north country spider has proven itself as a prolific fish catcher and has earned a place in my nymph fly box. I have no hesitation in tying it on either in combination with a traditional spider, a bead head nymph or heaven forbid a bead head version of a north country spider.

Scud

I use this fly to represent not only Scuds but also Olive Caddis Pupa which are of course a completely different types of creature. Scuds are true crustaceans of the family Isopod or Amphipods and generally you find them in shallow water in the detritus matter and around weed beds and drowned vegetation.

Snail – Chatto’s version

Snails are a food source for trout throughout the year. Having said that they are often overlooked by fly fishers. In colours imitating the naturals in the area to be fished they can be slowly twitched along the bottom or around the weed beds with great results. They are also a good ambush fly for trout foraging the margins. My standard choice of colours is a mottled brown and dark olive.

Willow grub

“Willow grubs” as they have become known, are often blown off the tree by the wind or simply fall off often finding themselves on the surface of the water where they are gorged on trout generally at the exclusion of all other passing tucker.

 

Chironomids 

When fly fishers refer to Chironimids they are generally referring to the grub or pupa stage of their life cycle. The term buzzer also refers to Chironomids but seems best suited to describing the insect when it has started to show its siphons. Toward the end of the life cycle Chironomids emerge and take to the wing in swarms of tiny non biting mosquito like insects often referred to as midge. Chironimids are found in both still and running water but I generally carry them in my lake fly box because that is where I am most inclined to use them.

WIP:
Epoxy marabou blood worm.

 

Corixia 

Corixia / back swimmer

Given the similarity of form and function both of these aquatic bugs can be represented by the following fly. This fly is best fished on a floating line that has been greased to within a meter of the fly or under a dry fly. It generally works well just sinking in the water column or moving naturally with the water current. If unnoticed try a couple of short figure of eight strips punctuated by a long pause to represent the natural swimming action of both bugs or a gentle lift to mimic “the natural” rising to the surface to breath.

 

Grubs 

Grubs is a generic term often applied by fly fishers to describe the lava of terrestrial insects such as beetles, moths and butter flies, grass hoppers and crickets. They often find themselves unwittingly in the water and on the trout’s menu.

Caddis grubs

Most caddis grubs make a retreat of silk with sand or detritus matter stuck to the outside. Similar in form this fly represents a caddis grub that has been dislodged from it retreat. Colors include cream, lime, fawn, and light browns and olives through to dark browns and olives.

Foetal caddis grub

My preferred colours are light brown, light olive and hares ear each with slightly darker thoraxes and sand with a touch of orange or pink. All are tied with olive backs and heavily weighted so that they get down to where the fish are sitting.

Scud

I use this fly to represent not only Scuds but also Olive Caddis Pupa which are of course a completely different types of creature. Scuds are true crustaceans of the family Isopod or Amphipods and generally you find them in shallow water in the detritus matter and around weed beds and drowned vegetation.

Willow grub

“Willow grubs” as they have become known, are often blown off the tree by the wind or simply fall off often finding themselves on the surface of the water where they are gorged on trout generally at the exclusion of all other passing tucker.

 

Shrimp 

I have extended the population of flies that I carry in my nymph fly box to include Shrimp flies because I fish them ostensibly in the same way that I fish my nymphs. Shrimp are well represented in both running water and fresh water throughout Australia and are significant members of Crustacea order of invertebrates.

PET shell prawn

Prawns and shrimp are crustaceans, of the family Isopod, and are endemic to our Australian estuary waters. They are toward the top of the food chain for a lot of coastal species of fish including bream, flathead and whiting.

 

Snails 

There are of course aquatic, semi aquatic and land based snails but generally as fly fishers we are more interested in the aquatic species.They are of course Gastropods and there are over 48 species in spread across Australia. They range in size from 3mm right through to 25mm.

Snail – Chatto’s version

Snails are a food source for trout throughout the year. Having said that they are often overlooked by fly fishers. In colours imitating the naturals in the area to be fished they can be slowly twitched along the bottom or around the weed beds with great results. They are also a good ambush fly for trout foraging the margins. My standard choice of colours is a mottled brown and dark olive.