Effective Nymphs

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The Epeorus pleuralis nymphs are reaching full size and they are very active in the riffles. The Mr. Rapidan Bead Head Nymph will catch many trout now.

The late Charlie Brooks was the finest nymph fisherman I’ve ever know.  Not only did he convince me of the effectiveness of his tactics as we fished together but he convinced me of the superiority of his style of tying nymphs.  Basically he liked fuzzy nymphs.

For example, one evening Brooks stopped by my motel room to meet me for dinner and saw the dresser in my room was covered with hundreds of my soggy nymphs drying out after I slipped and fell in.  Eying my woven super realistic nymphs, Brooks said, mostly to himself, “It is amazing how your taste in nymphs change the more you fish”.

Today all of my trout nymphs have fuzzy bodies.  In fact, when I’m on the stream I usually use the needle on my clippers to pluck the dubbed bodies on such flies as Hare’s Ear and Red Squirrel to make them even fuzzier.

If you look at the gill covers pulsating on live nymphs in the water you’ll see why this fuzzy tie is so effective.