THE
GREEN
NYMPH

THOUGH WE admire the beautifully-tied nymphs we see in other anglers' fly-boxes and credit the care exercised in their creation we find our humble, simple Green Nymph to be a pattern with a number of uses. It isn't very handsome, but we catch a lot of fish with it. Like the Rabbit Fur Fly it seems to fit a variety of trout feeding-patterns.

It is good when fished to trout looking for tadpoles; to those feeding on damsel or dragonfly nymphs or those concentrating on Mayfly nymphs, or on scuds.

If the nymph is greased or treated with fly floatant it is a great fly for taking trout feeding on corbie grubs newly flooded out of the ground by rising lake waters.

The Green Nymph is an excellent choice when polaroiding. Simply cast it to the fish and don't move it once the trout shows that it has seen it. Let the fly settle to the bottom and watch carefully for the take.

During a mayfly hatch, fish the nymph with a greased leader, either on, or just under the surface according to the behaviour of the fish and the stage of the hatch. At other times the nymph is good when used as a searching fly, fished wet and retrieved slowly.

In tying the Green Nymph we use a green-brown wool, one that looks more brown than green. I first found the wool of this colour in a piece of an old carpet that was shedding its tufts at one edge. Trying to simplify the nymph pattern, I used some black possum-tail hair to make a tail and a thorax all in one stroke. That's all there is to it.

DRESSING
Hook: No.8 or 10 round bend.
Tail and Thorax: Brush-possum tail hair, in one length if possible, the
grey hair-roots forming the tail.
Body: Green-brown wool.
Silk: Black Naples.

Now for the method. Using black Naples or Gossamer silk whip the hook down to the bend and half-hitch. From a black brush-possum tail cut a clump of hairs as close as possible to the skin. The black hair has grey roots hidden in the soft under-fur. Discard the short fluffy under-fur by rubbing the hair roots between thumb and fingers and tie the hair in with the greyish roots projecting about 10 mm or so from the bend. These greyish hair roots tend to trap little bubbles of air and, when trimmed to a point, give a general impression of tail gills.

Keeping the long black tips projecting over the eye of the hook, bind the hair down along the shank to a point just behind the eye and half-hitch the silk.

Next take the silk back in open turns to the tail and half-hitch.

Tease out some green-brown wool, spin it onto the waxed silk and dub a plump body to where the long ends of possum hair were tied down. Clear the silk of surplus wool and half-hitch.

Now for the thorax. Take the silk back in open turns for about 5 mm and half-hitch. Fold the long possum hairs back and tie down. Take the silk forward in open turns again to just behind the eye; half-hitch. Fold the long hairs forward and tie down. Clip off the surplus hair, and make a neat head. The nymph is now finished except for varnishing the head and the hair thorax. The result is a greeny-brown nymph with a long, greyish tail and a big, black thorax.

Robert usually takes the hair back only once and clips the surplus ends to leave a tag he says represents wing-buds. Oh, well!

If a quick-sinking pattern of the nymph is needed for fishing fast streams or deeper water then the hook shank can be weighted with an under body of thin copper or lead wire. Modified in this way the Green Nymph proved to be a killer in New Zealand streams.

SUMMARY
* Whip hook with silk from eye to bend.
* Bind on hair, roots projecting as tail, dark tips projecting forwards over the hook-eye. Return silk to bend with open turns.
* Dub on body.
* Fold long hair at front backwards and forwards once, or twice, tying down hair at end of each fold.
* Clip off surplus, make head and varnish the head and thorax.
* One tip; use the longest possum hair you can get. It is then much easier to form a good thorax to the fly.

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