Nymph and Emerger Coloration

[pmjasper]

Well since I've gotten back into fly fishing last fall I've tried to do some research on the coloration of some of the more common hatches here in NJ and NY state. While many of the books and online sites I have viewed show mayfly duns in great detail, the nymphs and their specific coloration seem to be more difficult to find. When I've searched for Hendricksons, Light and Dark Cahills, Sulphurs, Quill Gordons, etc. most books give varying degrees of coloration, such as, "nymphs may be a dark brown to a lighter cream coloration". This seems to be such a wide spectrum from dark to light that I was wondering if there may be a more accurate source regarding nymph coloration. I've also incurred some slight difficulty in the fact that the sources I have viewed will often mention the duns with their common names such as sulphurs, hendricksons, etc., while the nymphs seem more commonly referred to in their scientific genus. Thus I've been trying my best to match up common duns with nymphs.

I was also wondering when you guys tie your emerger patterns do you utilize the dun coloration, the nymph coloration or a combination of both? One source I looked at stated that it was important to utilize a trailing shuck of the nymph color and a body of the dun color, as the emerging dun is hatching. This seemed to make sense but some of the emerger patterns out there seem to resemble the nymph coloration and thus I was wondering what those here on the board thought. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[babyblue]

PMJ,
The book Nymphs by Ernest Schwiebert should do fine.

Don't go crazy with coloration. Most of the nymphs I use are Pheasant Tails of different sizes. All my duns are tied with a trailing shuck. I learned a long time ago it is more about presentation and recognizing what stage of emergence is going on than color.

Rich

 

[McAwful]

pmjasper,

Color variation can happen from bug to bug, and river to river. The best thing you can do is put down the rod and pick up the emerger and the camera! I see far too few fly fishermen studying their surroundings. The pictures and recipes you are looking might be different than what you are trying to match on your river. I know it is hard not casting at eating fish. The way I look at it is ten minutes not casting (to catch and photograph an emerger or dun) will be paid back in time fighting a fish...

If you are looking to get really color specific, dun for the body and nymph for the emerger is not going to cut it. The shuck is not the color of the nymph in allot of cases. The color of the nymph is actually a combination of the insect seen through the translucent skin or shuck. These colors may also vary over the course of the nymph’s life. I have caught nymphs right before emergence where I could see the adult all crammed into an almost transparent skin. This can cause a huge difference in coloration. Also, the dun often times darkens over a few minutes after emergence. Depending on the insect and how quickly it is able to leave the water, this can be a big factor.

If you are endeavoring to get this specific about your stream and insect observation, I have one important tip that is often overlooked. For the dun of an insect, you need to look at the underside of the insect. It is often much lighter than the sides and top of the bug in question. The trout are looking up, so this is what they see.

Good luck,

McA

 

[pmjasper]

Thanks so much for the information. It's not that I'm looking to create a fly for every little color shade of nymph but being fairly new to the fly fishing game I wanted to make sure that I did have the basic coloration down for the different species at hand. For instance, if the majority of tiny BWO mayfly nymphs, size 18-22, were predominately darker in color, I wouldn't want to waste time tying or fishing a small light colored nymphs in the areas where they are predominant. That's why I was looking for a basis for the more common nymphs like Hendricksons, Sulphers, etc.

Coming from the spin fishing regime, I know that I wouldn't want to grab a weedless topwater frog and start throwing it on opening day looking for trout, since it would be out of place for the environment. Thus, becoming more familiar with nymphs and emergers, I would like to have a better understanding of, in areas highly populated with Hendrickson nymphs, what color nymph I should be using.

 

[McAwful]

pmjasper.

Good timing on your Hendrickson Nymph question. The best time to fish the Hendrickson nymph is in January and Febuary. This is obviously well before the Hatch in NJ. All you need is a size 16 or 18 Phesant Tail. The size is smaller because they are immature nymphs. I noticed they were all over the place several years back while collecting little black and brown stone nymphs in the SBRR and Rockaway. I have not looked for this Behaivor in other states, but imagine it would be the same. I have not researched the reason immature Hendrickson Nymphs are so active at this time of the year. I often find them in slow back eddies where the small stones are crawling out to hatch. I would love it if someones knows why they crawling all over well before emergence.

I usuall use a #14 PT, PT Softhackle, or Flashback PT closer to the hatch for the Hendrickson nymph. If it ain't broke...

McA


McA

 

[pmjasper]

Thanks again. It seems that the consensus says to stay with generic nymphs, and that's fine with me, I just want to make sure I have the appropriate sizes and colors for the nymphs in the rivers I fish.

BTW...since getting back into stream fly fishing this past fall, I've probably had more fun seining nymphs, since all I have caught to date is one tiny creek chub.