Murray’s Strymph™ Fly Pattern & Tying Instructions

The Murray’s Strymph™ is a versatile fly pattern designed to imitate a variety of minnows and aquatic nymphs. This tying recipe follows the original Murray’s Fly Shop procedure, including the materials, proportions, body construction, and tying techniques used to build the Olive Strymph.

Murray’s Olive Strymph™ Materials

• Hook: Mustad R74AP (formerly 9672), size 6
• Thread: 3/0 Prewaxed Monocord, olive
• Body: Tanned Rabbit Skin, 1/4 skin, olive — must be on hide
• Tail: Ostrich Plume, olive
• Collar: Indian Speckled Saddle Skin Hen Back
• Weight: Non-Toxic Wire, medium

How to Tie the Murray’s Olive Strymph™

1. Prepare the hook. Place the hook in the vise and cover the entire shank with thread. Coat the thread with cement, then wrap medium non-toxic wire over approximately three-fourths of the hook shank. Overwrap the wire with thread and coat it with cement.

2. Prepare the ostrich herl tail. Select a bunch of strong ostrich herl with thick, full side filaments for the tail. Use about twenty ostrich herl fibers on a size 6 hook. Break off the weak tips with your thumb and index finger.

3. Tie in the tail. Tie the ostrich herl onto the top of the hook shank just above the bend. Cut off the excess butts. The finished tail should be approximately the same length as the hook shank.

4. Form the spinning loop. Wind the thread forward to the middle of the hook shank and form a two-inch-long spinning loop. Hook the spinning tool into the bottom of the loop.

5. Prepare the rabbit fur. Cut the rabbit fur from the hide. Handle it carefully, changing hands as little as possible, so you can insert the fur into the spinning loop perpendicular to the thread.

6. Spin the rabbit-fur body. Spin the loop while keeping the ends of the fur sticking out to the sides of the loop so that only the central portions of the fur fibers become locked within the twisted threads. Be sure there is no fur within the upper half-inch of the loop.

7. Wind the body. Wind the clear portion of the loop to the bend of the hook. Next, wind the fur-filled loop in adjacent wraps to within 1/8 inch behind the eye of the hook. Secure the loop with tying thread and cut off the excess.

8. Shape the rabbit-fur body. Trim the fur body into a general minnow shape: flat on the bottom, fuller on the sides, and longer on the top. The top should slope from a fat head to a slimmer body where it meets the ostrich herl.

9. Add the collar. Tie in a speckled Indian hen saddle feather in front of the body. Wind the feather only two turns and tie it off.

10. Finish the fly. Cut off the excess hackle tip, shape the head, and apply a whip finish. Coat the head with cement.

Murray’s Olive Strymph™ Tying Note

To make the fly durable, the author places a small drop of head cement at each tie-in and tie-off spot when tying the fly.

Learn to Tie the Murray’s Olive Strymph™

The Murray’s Olive Strymph™ combines a carefully shaped rabbit-fur body with an ostrich herl tail and hen-feather collar. Follow the material list and tying steps above to reproduce the original pattern and proportions.