1. Troutnut Forum
›
2. Photography
›
3. articulated stonefly nymph

I wanted to embed this image in another thread but I dont know how, so I am posting here and linking instead

Very nice, James! The wingcase markings are a ringer for Drew's Agnetina nymphs!

Beautiful flies, McJames. I love the abdomen especially, but it looks like the thread ribbing is sliding around on the second nymph. Perhaps a different material for the over-body is needed, something less slippery. Or, you could just cover the thing in Flexament.

-Shawn

oh crap! wow Don't sneak that in my aquarium or I might mistake it for a rare stonefly species and ask Lloyd or Roger to help me ID it! :) :)

That is one heck of a fly, WELL DONE!!!!

DOS,Yes,I thought of the depth variable.What if???Two equally skilled anglers fished tandem nymphs through the same stetch,same time time/conditions,with the only variable being one fished a rigid point fly and wiggle dropper and the other does the opposite?As close to double blind experiment as it gets.

I say we give it a try Greenghost. Shall we fish your water or mine? Either way we'd be fishing!!!!

McJames,

Absolutely stunningly beautiful nymphs! You are a consummate realistic tyer. But am wondering if they would be any more effective if you were fishing a riffle with another guy, with equal skills, who is using non-articulated stonefly nymphs.

Very nice, Mcjames!

Have you put those up on Hacklehead.com yet?

Mcjames -- gorgeous stones dude! If I were a trout I would gobble them up.

Trust me I am a very average tier (about 2 dozen failed prototypes in my trash to prove it), I just spent alot of time on this. I got quite obsessed for some reason. Shawn you make a good point-- I used vinyl from an old 3 ring binder for the over-body and it is slick. I should coat it.

I imagine the benefit, if any, of wiggle vs. rigid is marginal. But given my very average fishing skills and knowledge base, I need all the help I can get!

Mcjames,

"I used vinyl from an old 3 ring binder for the over-body and it is slick. I should coat it."

Send me your home address and I'll send you some black and yellow Swanundaze ribbing. I don't believe it is available any longer. It is flat on the side you wind onto the hook and radiused on the exterior. I used to come in opaque and translucent colors and wide and medium widths.

Matt,

A while back, Louis located a source (Canadian, as I recall) for Swannundaze. I grabbed all he would part with (probably a lifetime supply) for the overback on my scud pattern. If anyone is interested, he might still have the contact info.

I have forty packages of various colors and widths. The packages I have are marked;

F.A. Johnson Inc.
Lyndhurst, NJ 07071

I bought these about twenty years ago. If you don't tie that type of body often each package can last pretty much your life of tying.

I still have some of those old packages as well, but most of the Swannundaze that Louis located has a "Super Fly" label. It still says that it is a "product of USA," so I have no idea who manufactures it now (or even if they still do).

I know you have a bit of a religious attachment to your Swannundaze scud pattern, Gonzo. Have you found that it fishes significantly differently from one tied with a normal soft-plastic back, all other parts being equal? What I'm really asking is if it's worth my trying to get a hold of this stuff.

-Shawn

I not sure what you've heard, Shawn, but the attachment isn't religious, it's just fine gold wire.



After reading the description of your Scud Dun in the "April Fool's" thread, I frankly don't know how to answer that. What are you planning to do with it? No, wait, don't answer that. I don't think I want to know.

(Shawn, for a serious answer, check your PMs.)

WBranch that's very generous of you! I'll make you a deal: in exchange for the Swanundaze, I'll send you some wiggle patterns, and you can conduct the wiggle vs. non wiggle tests that everyone is clamoring for.

WB, I also have a few packages of Swannundaze with the Frank Johnson marking. My favorites are the translucent colors that I use over threads, flosses or fur dubbings for bodies of stonefly nymphs and caddis pupae. I find that if you gently heat a strand of Swannundaze it becomes more pliable and easier to work with (it can be a bit stiff) and you can stretch it thinner to make small flies.

In the photo mcjames sent the abdomen of the larger of the two stoneflies looks very much like it could be made of Swannundaze.

the abdomen is actually made of some kind of plastic cord from my kids' beading kit. It really is a garbage fly