SOME MORE FLY DRESSING 125 



THE DRESSING OF NYMPHS. 



Various plans have been devised for the making of 

 imitations of nymphs. Years before anyone — so far as the 

 books record — was really aware what a large proportion 

 of the food of trout was taken in the nymph or larval stages 

 the Half-stone was a successful fly. As I have said, I have 

 no doubt it was meant for a nymph. Years ago I had the 

 run of an old Westmorland fly book full of hackle flies, all 

 tied with silk bodies and a bunch of dubbing at the shoulder 

 under the hackle. These, but for the excessive length of 

 the hackle, might have been nymphs. And many patterns 

 described by Theakston in " British Angling Flies " were 

 more like nymphs than the winged fly they are supposed 

 to represent. So it would seem as if some anglers had 

 had their suspicions; but it is only comparatively recently 

 that any deliberate effort to represent nymphs has been 

 made. T. E. P., in the Angling Supplement of the Field 

 of April 1, 191 1, described a series of flies undoubtedly 

 meant for nymphs, and very effective they looked, though 

 rather long in the hackle. The nymphs of Dr. Mottram 

 ("Jim-Jam"), entirely without dubbing or hackle, I have 

 already referred to. I for some years earlier had been 

 feeling my way, via Tup's Indispensable, to the achieve- 

 ment of a series of nymphs. These have been hackled 

 — mostly with cock's hackle — tied as short, and setting 

 as close, as possible, and the bodies have been dressed 

 with dubbing. The dubbing has always consisted of, or 

 contained, seal's fur, as many of the nymphs are full of 

 lights and glistenings. Partly for the same reason, and 

 partly to prevent the tearing out of the dubbing by the 

 trout's teeth, a fine gold or silver wire ribbing has been 

 generally used. 



