Building a soft yarn nymph body?

[gingerdun]

Applause to Mark for getting the website functioning again.
Mike, thanks for the dental floss tip. While the forum was down I rec'd an email from Bruce Corwin who also suggested using dental floss. One thing is certain, I was not going to use precious silk for that task. I happen to have plenty of floss, so I'm going to try it.

Lance

[Mataura mayfly]

Lance, another aspect of the dental floss is it can be had in differing colours, leading to interesting "bleed through" of the underbody if the top layer is fairly sparse.
Wrapping the white/clear dental floss over green "spearmint" flavoured variety gives you a nice olive translucent body- not too far from the original Greenwells dressing.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Jeff,

Do those Kiwi trouts prefer to floss with "Minty Fresh" or "Plain"?

[gingerdun]

REE, I was wondering the same thing.

All I got is the mint. They better like it.

Lance

[hankaye]

Mataura mayfly, Howdy;

Have you tried the Cinnamon flavor. ... down right zippy!!!
Has a reddish tint to it.

hank

[Mataura mayfly]

Jeff,

Do those Kiwi trouts prefer to floss with "Minty Fresh" or "Plain"?

Well you see Ron, If you use the plain over the mint green floss- you cover both bases!

Now if there were an aniseed flavour.........

[Norm Frechette]

Draper fly kooks from partridge. If you can find them!

[BruceC]

So as long as we seem to be drifting (no pun intended) away from soft hackles to some extent, here's another method I learned from fly tier Greg Heffner of NY. He will take the tine from a plastic fork and lash it to the hook creating a perfectly tapered nymph body shape. It's light and can be easily sculpted with a nail file if necessary.

[gingerdun]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for the fork idea. Why not?
As for drifting away from soft hackles, I gave that considerable thought. My conclusion is that we have not strayed at all. Here's why:

When I read Charles Brooks' NYMPH FISHING FOR LARGER TROUT, I was struck by how flymph-like his nymphs are. He tied many of them in the round without wing-cases, which end up looking a lot like Pete Hidy's flies. Pete was no stranger to palmering either. When Dave Hughes and Rick Hafele visited Pete, he showed them how to tie his thorax flymph, which is not so different from Brooks' classic nymph patterns. And Pete's friend, Polly Rosborough, also wrote in his fuzzy nymph book about the importance of life-like movement and translucency of materials, sounding very much like the conversations he had with my father. Polly went one further, saying that the softness of his fuzzy bodies felt more natural to the trout at first bite, giving that extra fraction of a second to set the hook before the trout realizes he's been tricked, and spits it out. I have no doubt that Pete's increasing interest in wool and mohair bodies late in his life was influenced by Polly, Brooks, and others.

While Pete and Leisenring both commented on matching the emerging, transitional stage, they were also clear that the flies might be taken for damned near anything, from a loose nymph, to a terrestrial. This ambiguity and versatility is the strength of the soft hackle, no? I'd be cautious about building too small a fence around the soft hackle idea.

Lance

[Mataura mayfly]

Norm, the Draper hook (designed by Keith Draper, NZ fly tying icon) is meant to represent a nymph with a tapered yet flat profile. You are correct with the "if you can find them." I do not know they have been made since the 1970's. They gave a wider flatter body that did not encroach on hook gape.

That plastic fork tine is a neat idea, going to have to give that one a try!