tying PT Nymphs

[poopdeck]

I have seen two different ways of tying PT nymphs. One way uses one bunch of pheasant tail for the tail, body, wing case and legs. This way needs the legs trimmed to size.

the other way uses a separate bunch for the legs and they do not need to be trimmed. This method uses more material but has finely tapered legs.

My question is does the taper on the legs really matter making the use of more material and more tying worth the effort. I'm also curious as to your preferred method of tying PT nymphs.

 

[Tiogadog]

http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox/print.cfm?parentID=71


I use one bundle. I tie them exactly the way Charlie Craven does in the above link except that I prefer a dubbed thorax over one made of peacock herl.

 

[lv2nymph]

The original:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=416Os9V84n8

 

[shortrod2]

I tie three varieties.

1. The Sawyer PT (see lv2nymph's post), no legs. Small sizes.

2. American PT. One bunch of fibers for tail and abdomen, and another for the wing case and legs.

3. BHPT. No PT fiber legs.

 

[GenCon]

I do them pretty much like short rod does. Except on a larger size# 14. I use brown partridge for the legs. I just like the way it moves in the water.

GC

 

[ebroesicke]

to answer your question directly, no it does not matter. fish have an IQ of (roughly) 6, and regularly eat twigs, rocks, leaves, foam indicators, things with hooks in them etc. They likely don't examine the taper of a 1cm piece of feather. having said that, tie the one you have the most confidence in, 'cause that does make a difference.

 

[lv2nymph]

ebroesicke wrote:
tie the one you have the most confidence in, 'cause that does make a difference.

All of the above in Ebr's post is very true. Especially this. ^^

 

[BelAirSteve]

I think this might be one of those things, particularly in the smaller sizes, that are more for the tier than for the fish. I tie most of my PTs as soft hackles anyway, so who am I to say!

 

[mattofcarlisle]

I use PT for the tail, then tie in turkey tail, spinning or winding it around the thread, thereby making a rope. Wrap that forward past the halfway point. Winding the turkey around the thread increases the durability and eliminates the need for wire. As for the thorax, I usually go Frenchie style and dub it & tie it off. But if you want to go the traditional wing case route, you can back it up to the mid point and tie in some PT or turkey.

 

[poopdeck]

Well I'm slightly surprised to hear that seemingly most don't tie in legs at all. Since I'm all about simple, off with the legs, but maybe I will trim a few of them to.

I agree with the confidence factor. I simply have not been fly fishing long enough to have confidence in anything. I jumped in with both feet and have been learning to fly fish, cast, tie flies, and furling leaders all at the same time. Maybe not the best plan but it keeps things interesting.

 

[troutpoop]

I'm not a huge nymph guy but when I'm done tying the PT or frenchie style of nymph I take my dubbing needle and pull out some fibers from the bottom side of the fly from the dubbing, there you go, Legs.

 

[nfrechet]

tell 10 tyers to tie a pt nymphs and you'll probably get 10 different pt nymphs

i use 1 bundle of pt fibers and don't bother with legs. they catch trout and that's the objective.

 

[dsmith1427]

^ +1. And they all work for me. About the confidence thing, fake it until you make it.

 

[KeithS]

Now I won't worry so much about forgetting the legs

 

[tctrout]

Here are a number of different variations I tie of the PT nymph. For the most part, I rarely tie in legs and prefer that due to the ease and little time involved in the overall pattern. However, when I dub the thorax, I typically use Velcro to pick it out (hence giving the appearance of legs @ times).

TC

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW8ut5oX5cY[/youtube]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNJczJeW9xk[/youtube]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS5YglswOes[/youtube]

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHpafheRQxE[/youtube]

 

[MKern]

If I use a flashback material for the wing case I will use small PT fibers from the tip or bottom of the feather for legs. Sometimes I will also use less desirable fibers from crappier feathers. (I try to only use the first/main tail feather for PTs)

For a PT wing case I cut another section of fibers and tie it in so can fold them back for the tapered legs.

 

[MD_Gene]

A very experienced guide and fly tier once told me, "There are flies that look good in the box and you show your friend and there are flies that you catch fish with". I'm sure there is overlap and you got a lot of good responses to your question. Have fun.

 

[poopdeck]

Well that's good news since my flies redefine the term butt ugly

 

[redietz]

poopdeck wrote:
Well I'm slightly surprised to hear that seemingly most don't tie in legs at all. Since I'm all about simple, off with the legs, but maybe I will trim a few of them to.

Sawyer specifically designed them to have no legs, because he observed Baetis nymphs tuck their legs when swimming. I think the "American" version got tarted up because it's hard to sell such a simple looking fly.

I've got to agree about confidence, though. All the versions catch fish; it's just a question of which one gets tied on.