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Jan 2003
by Rich Johnson
Fly of the Month: Casual Dress Nymph
Notes: Notes: About the time I started to become serious about my fly tying, I came across a smallish book just released as the "New, Updated (3rd) Edition" of E.H. "Polly" Rosborough's Tying and Fishing the Fuzzy Nymphs. In many ways this small volume, and the ideas presented within, influenced both my tying techniques and my way of thinking about how flies should appear underwater and behave when fished. Fuzzy nymphs as a type of pattern are generally attributed to Rosborough, and according to his book, his first pattern was created in 1932. The Casual Dress Nymph, born in 1960, has survived it's creator and continues to be one of those popular "go to" patterns when you just want something big and buggy looking. In his book, covering 25 patterns, Polly saves the Casual Dress Nymph for last; perhaps he knew it was the best.
The following photos/text shows how I currently tie the Casual Dress Nymph. I would recommend reading Tying and Fishing the Fuzzy Nymphs if you are an avid nymph fishermen, or wish learn ideas for more productive patterns.
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Hook: 3XL Streamer/nymph; size 4 and smaller
Thread: 6/0 Black
Weight: .025
Tail: Muskrat hair
Abdomen: Muskrat hair
Thorax: Muskrat hair
Head: Ostrich Herl, black
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1) Although Polly suggested a #4, 3XL hook for this fly; I find I prefer a #8 for my fishing. Lead the shank from above the point of the hook to a spot two eye widths behind the eye. Reverse the lead and bring it up onto the first layer to create a thorax area. Bind down with your thread, making sure to create a taper off the front of the lead, and where the thorax meets the abdomen. Leave the thread at the rear tie in spot, just above the point of the barb. |
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2) You just need one material, muskrat fur - on the skin. If at all possible get a piece that has fur from the middle of the back to the belly. (Split a skin lengthwise.) As you can see from the photo this will allow you to have access to hair that has everything from very long and distinct guard hairs to fur that has almost no noticeable guard hairs. |
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3) Cut a small bundle of hair from about midway down the side of the 'rat. There should be guard hairs slightly longer than the under fur. Tie this hair to the shank behind the lead creating a level underbody. |
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4) Apply dubbing to your thread. The fur should come from the belly side of the hide, where the guard hairs are small. Blend the hair well before applying it to your thread. Create a noodle that is sharply tapered at both ends and fairly fat without letting the fur become lose on the thread. (Yes, Virginia, this takes practice.) Capture the bottom of the tying thread with a dubbing hook and bring your thread back up to the shank, creating a dubbing loop. Spin the loop, while at the same time applying more twists to the noodle to get it ever tighter. |
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5) Start wrapping the abdomen with the fur noodle. You'll know you've done well when you can see segmentation created by each wrap.
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6) With practice, and/or luck, you'll end up with the last of the noodle just coming up onto the thorax area. Place four or five wraps of thread at this spot.
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7) Now for the fun part!! Pre-cut a bundle of hair from the 'rat at the middle of the back area. It should have lots of long guard hairs in thick under fur. Hold this bundle in your left hand, pinched between your index finger and thumb. Create a dubbing loop about 6" long, holding the loop open with your second finger of your left hand. Make sure to close the loop at the shank with wraps of thread. Bring the thread just off the front of the thorax and let the bobbin hang. (As always - reverse for southpaws.) |
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8) Now switch the loop to the second finger of your right hand, and use your index finger and thumb to close the threads coming off the shank. (If you'll notice, you can open and shut the gap in the dubbing loop with your finger and thumb.) Open the gap and insert the fur bundle you've been holding in your left hand. You can control the length of the hair by where you place it in the loop. Now, carefully switch hands again, and distribute the hairs along the first couple of inches of the loop. Do this while maintaining pressure on the dubbing loop with your left fingers and thumb. |
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9) At this point I prefer to trim away the excess butts from the hair I've distributed along the loop. This can get tricky and requires a slow steady hand. Serrated scissors help a lot also. (I'm still holding the loop closed with my left fingers and thumb.) |
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10) Pinch the dubbing loop tightly just below the hair with your thumb and index finger. Get a dubbing hook into the loop and release your second finger. Maintaining your pinch, spin the dubbing hook and get a whole bunch of twists into the lower portion of the loop. |
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11) Keeping the dubbing hook "inline", and under some tension, release your pinch on the thread. Voila! - fur hackle. (I will, at this point, usually work the twists up the thread with my fingers to make sure the hackle is as twisted as possible.) |
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12) Moisten your fingers and pull the hair fibers to the rear as you wrap the thorax area. |
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13) Once off the thorax area tie down with several wraps of thread and trim any excess material. |
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14) Tie in one or two black ostrich herls and wrap as a head. Tie off, trim, and whip finish.
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The finished fly. Tied differently than the original, but still one of my all time favorite patterns to tie and fish. As a last note: one of the reasons that Rosborough call his patterns fuzzy nymphs is that he would give them a roughing-up with a hacksaw blade. It works, but thank goodness we have Velcro hooks nowadays as I was always cutting my thread. Try roughing your nymphs up a bit before you take them out of the vise. You may be pleasantly surprised. |