Restocking the boxes with some great and trusted nymphs: Winter Tying Sessions No.1

So over the next few weeks and months I am restocking my fly boxes with my most trustworthy patterns for next season and as I come across thew good ones Ill post them here in our Winter Tying Sessions so you can have them for next season too. 
To begin I have two perdigons that are a must in my box, I tie them from size 22, 2 mm beads right up to 3.5 mm beads on a Dohiku size 16 jigs or 301 hooks. I always use Dohiku hook I feel they are the best on the market and they take a good sharpen which is important for getting more than one session from your nymphs.
Now I am not a angler that fishes perdigons a lot they can be good alright at times but I do think they have a time and place where they work best, so don't become over reliant on them or spend a heap of time tying random nymphs during the winter just to fill boxes for the sake of it.

These are simple nymphs but they are also tried and tested over the last two seasons. They can be fished in the smaller sizes under a dry fly also. I do find they work best in the hard streamy water when you are euro nymphing and they can be successful in the slower water also under the dry. 

Nymph No.1

Hook: Dohiku Jig or 301 22-16
Bead: White Slotted or countersunk Tungsten 2mm-3.5mm
Thread: Black Tommi-fly Uv reflective tying thread
Tail: Dark Coq de Leon
Rib: White Tommi-fly Uv reflective tying thread (Spin well before winding up the body)
Resin: Solarez Thin UV Resin (put on first coat all over the fly then put your colour resin or marker on the bead and body then re coat for a second time)

Nymph No 2

Hook: Dohiku 301 20-16
Bead: Copper countersunk Tungsten Bead 2mm-3.5mm
Thread: Purple tying thread
Tail: Dark Coq de Leon
Rib: Hot red or hot orange Tommi-fly Uv reflective tying thread (Spin well before winding up the body)
Resin: Solarez Thin UV Resin (put on first coat all over the fly then put your colour resin or marker on the bead and body then re coat for a second time)

The second fly is based on a fly from the great river angler Eammon Conway from Tain Fly Rods, his results on rivers fishing this style of nymphs is outstanding to say the least.
I do love the Tommi-fly UV threads for doing the majority of this style of fly tying and its ideal for fine ribs and hot spots. It is a fine floss with very intensive colours. I also find it retain it intensity when covered with the resin where other flosses like glo-brite can be too heavy and become kind of translucent when covered.
 On our next winter tying sessions we will be looking at some of my most trustworthy Hares Ear nymphs and caddis grubs, make sure and check it out.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and enjoy tying these flies; if you would like to stock up your boxes for this coming year make sure and contact me through facebook or email. If you have any questions or queries please feel free to contact me. Also make sure and check out my website www.piscari-fly.com for all your tungsten beads, Dohiku barbless hooks, Tommi-fly products,the amazing Syndicate Fly Rods, Reels, leaders and much more. Thanks for reading.

Its All in the Head....What matters most the body or the bead head?.

Recently I posted a question on social media: "What is more important to you the body of the nymph or the bead ?" The results were close enough with 46% voting that the bead is most important and 54% voting that the body is the important aspect of the nymph. For me I am finding more often over the last few seasons that I am more focused on the bead size and colour rather than the dressing behind it when researching what is catching.

Over my last few fishing trips through out Europe, I have noticed a lot of anglers tying there nymphs in a style that has large beads and very small bodies. This observation lead me to this question and wondering if the body of the nymph truly mattered a great deal in the nymphs make up.  Yes you can argue the point it has it purposes of moment and coloured hot spots to help attract fish. For me to understand how important it really is we would have to see actually how successful would a plain bead on its own with out a body.

The bead serves several purposes on a hook, one to find the depth of a fish and secondly the colour options also give it the ability to attract fish takes. So one morning I decided to head to the river and fish just beads on a hook, no body, no tails, no thread, just a bead super-glued on to a bare hook.

Using my normal nymphing rig and fishing no different that any other time, I cast the body-less nymphs into the stream and it didn't take long till I began to get my answer. Within a 20 minute period I had successfully landed up to 18 fish ranging in sizes from six inches to nice lumps around the ten inch mark. The takes were just as aggressive as normal ones and I caught the fish in fast and slower water where the fish had time to inspect the bait.

Now I am not saying that we should abandon the nymph bodies all together, as on any given day one thing will work better than another. However this dose show us that the emphasis on the bead can be crucial and it can be the factor that catches the fish. It is also something that I will have in my box for next year and do some more fishing with to see how it fairs out over a longer period of time on the rivers. This is something for you to mull over during the winter tying months as you prepare for next seasons fishing and are filling your boxes with your favorite patterns .
Check back soon as over the coming weeks ill be looking at some Winter tying and preparations for next season, I will be posting some of my favorite patterns that I wouldn't be without going into 2019.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this post. If you have any questions or queries please feel free to contact me. Also make sure and check out my website www.piscari-fly.com for all your tungsten beads, Dohiku barbless hooks, the amazing Syndicate Fly Rods, Reels, leaders and much more. Thanks for reading.