This Months Video: Hendrickson Themed Blue-Back Nymph
If you go back a bit in time say to 2008 I believe, you might find the first time I tied the Blue Back Nymph on video. The fly itself is nothing groundbreaking, just a general mayfly nymph imitation using some different materials but built around the chassis of a hares ear recipe. It really is hard to beat any variation of a Hare’s Ear nymph when push comes to shove, as the options are rather vast. Every spring if I am in a nymph fishing mood and I know it’s close to Hendrickson time, one of the other variations of a Hendrickson nymph I will often carry comes is a Blue Backed nymph.
The Blue Back on this pattern is meant as a trigger, and is a representation of the wing case splitting as these emerge through the water column when they transition from a nymph to a winged adult. The nymphs literally split their wing cases float to the surface in this manner, and if you happen to be there and witness the event, the trout often take notice as well. A well drifted nymph imitation will frequently get hammered with regularity as many of the fish will position themselves in the most opportune of feeding lies.
I often carry a handful of different nymphs and wet fly patterns for just this occasion, and this is one that typically get’s the job done. Today we will tie a variation of the Blue Back that puts a little more emphasis on not only a more realistic color approach to the tails and legs, but equal amount of emphasis on our split thread technique which we will utilize in the thoracic region of the fly.
An age old technique gets highlighted this month. If you have followed me over the years, you might recall struggling with these in a tying class I hosted, or reached out after watching one of my nymph videos back on Vimeo. Today we will break the tying sequence down hopefully in a way that will help you in mastering a rather quick and easy way to spin a loop once you get the hang of it. There are a few key points that you need to take into consideration whenever you are tying in this manner, so take note. Once you practice this technique a bit, and become a bit more comfortable with it, you will find that is a far superior way to spin sparse dubbing loops on some of your smaller flies.
Many will often shun this method for making a dubbing loop an opt for a thread loop or wire brush technique instead. Those are both very viable options for sure, but whenever you want to get a little more of a buggy look on a fly smaller than a size 14 you will quickly learn that controlling and limiting bulk becomes a bit difficult; enter the split thread method.
You will need to understand a couple of guidelines first in building solid split thread dubbing loops in order to have success. For starters you need a thread that will split; anything that isn’t corded and bonded will work. So if you are a fan of Uni thread you will have to temper your emotions a bit, and opt for another brand unfortunately as you won’t be able to split it. Some threads I prefer are UTC 140 or 70, Veevus power thread in 140, 6/0, 8/0 or 10/0 for starters. What you will also find, is that the smaller the diameter the thread, the more difficult it will be to easily split. I suggest practicing with threads a bit larger before diving right into the smaller stuff. If you are tying just bugs, try a 6/0 on a bare hook a handful of times until you feel comfortable with it, then move down to a smaller size.
As stated before, this method involves forming a dubbing loop by splitting a single strand of thread, inserting the dubbing into the thread, and then re-twisting the thread back into a single strand. This will make a rather low bulk dubbing loop that is ideal for smaller flies, or those that need to be a bit more sparse.
Another thing to note, is this technique is really best whenever you are going to spin smaller quantities of material into the loop. If you need to spin a significant amount of material into a loop, you might find that excessive re-twisting of the thread can cause breakage leaving you with a mess and a busted tying thread.
You must also be very precise with your application of dubbing as once it is spun into the thread, unlike a dubbing loop you cannot simply cut it away. So like carpentry, measure twice cut once in terms of how much dubbing you apply. This too comes with a little practice, but not much is required. I have tied so many nymphs and dry flies over the years that I can literally apply the proper amount with my eyes closed once I spin a bug or two. Figure out the amount you need on the first bug then you are on auto pilot.
What you will find with this style of dubbing loop construction is it works well with dubbings of all shapes and sizes for the most part. Soft, spiky, coarse, synthetic (as long as it isn’t too long) will all work in this manner. I often prefer to use this method with spiky dubbings like hares ear, squirrel or a mix of both with a synthetic on many of nymph patterns; of which we will employ today in a sweet little Hendrickson nymph variation.