Humps Sulphur Nymph

[allan_s]

Sulphurs have started here in Central PA and I have been using sulphur nymphs to great success for a couple weeks. I have been using a generic dark sulphur nymph and one of my own creation. As soon as the hatch really takes hold though, it seems like Humphrey's sulphur nymph just slays the trout.

I have yet to find a nymph that can outfish that nymph no matter where I am at (Spring or Penns) in May. Yet, I don't run into anybody else that uses it. Now I don't know a lot of people who nymph a lot, most of my family are religous dry fly fisherman and think I am a no good 'dredger' lol, but I was curious if anybody else here likes to use them?

 

[StarvinMarvin]

 

[PENZZZ]

Joe tied one of his sulfur nymphs on his TV show back in the early 90's (I have the shows on VHS). That nymph has always produced on Monocacy Creek.

Jeff

 

[freestylefisher]

Can you fellas post a recipie and a pic of the nymph

 

[FrequentTyer]

freestylefisher wrote:
Can you fellas post a recipie and a pic of the nymph

This video is a bit slow, but it shows the basic pattern pretty effectively. This is essentially how I tie these flys, but I use fine wire and varnish in place of the lead foil. It would be interesting to know if you guys tie differently. It is a very nice fly.
PENZZZ, you should get those VHS tapes converted to digital and post on youtube. I'm sure that a lot of folks would love to see them.
Mike.

 

[freestylefisher]

Thanks

 

[JeffK]

Just an aside. The lead over dubbed cotton method to get a flat nymph is used with the George Harvey stonefly nymph and works really well for March Brown nymphs as well. It is a great technique for a number of nymph patterns to get a flat body that sinks.

 

[BelAirSteve]

Interesting - never saw that video. What strikes me is that the thorax is SO big - takes up about half of the hook gap. I know sulphurs have a wide thorax, but that fly looks way out of proportion.

 

[Chooch]

JeffK wrote:
Just an aside. The lead over dubbed cotton method to get a flat nymph is used with the George Harvey stonefly nymph and works really well for March Brown nymphs as well. It is a great technique for a number of nymph patterns to get a flat body that sinks.

Agreed, but the guy in that video does a pretty poor job of reproducing the technique. Lashing lead wire to both sides of the hook shank also flattens out the profile of the fly and is a much quicker and easier technique.

 

[FrequentTyer]

Chooch wrote:

JeffK wrote:
Just an aside. The lead over dubbed cotton method to get a flat nymph is used with the George Harvey stonefly nymph and works really well for March Brown nymphs as well. It is a great technique for a number of nymph patterns to get a flat body that sinks.

Agreed, but the guy in that video does a pretty poor job of reproducing the technique. Lashing lead wire to both sides of the hook shank also flattens out the profile of the fly and is a much quicker and easier technique.

I guess it really depends on what you are trying to achieve. The Harvey/Humphrey method, that I actually think is the Rosborough method, gives a wide and flattened body with a minimal of additional weight. Rosborough just saturated dubbing with varnish and squeezed it flat. You'll add more weight with lead foil, but still less than lead wire. This gives you a fly that behaves naturally and rocks in the water due to the plane-like action of the body. Lashing lead to either side of the hook will give you a wider body, but not as flat. The profile is more oval, and may not rock as well. Also the additional weight of the lead moves you further away from neutral buoyancy, so the behavior is not as natural.
I know all the beadhead guys are going to say I'm nuts, but I have always felt that unweighted nymphs on a weighted leader fish better because they behave more like the natural which has close to neutral buoyancy. Maybe I'm just more confident in the unweighted patterns, but I suggest trying both methods and see which you like better.
Mike.

 

[osprey]

The lead foil method of tying lead foil over soft material like cotton or loose dubbing and then squeezing everything flat works really well and even after fighting and releasing a fish where the fly might get deformed a little , a simple squeeze with your fingers will make everything flat again......I like this method and use it all the time....Always thought this was a George Harvey gig.

 

[JeffK]

The lead wire over the cotton gives more weight than two pieces of lead lashed to the side IMHO. A George Harvey stonefly really gets to the bottom quickly.

Unweighted vs weighted nymphs is an old, old debate. Practitioners of both catch a lot of fish. For most high sticking I do I like that the leader goes right to the weighted nymph. That gives a better feel for the strike for me. The biggest issue with weighted nymphs is what to do when the fish are shallow or at the surface? Heavily weighted nymphs just hang on the bottom or sink through the "zone" and maybe times a weighted nymph just wouldn't fish well.

 

[allan_s]

I watched the tutorial from Youtube provided above. I think he makes it way to thick, but whatever floats your boat.

I prefer a nice tapered body for mine. I don't even put cotton/dubbing under my weight, I just add lead and smash it down. Works well enough for me, but I do know/admit the way Joe advocates tying it gives more action.

BTW, I have been using this in tandem with a dark sulphur nymph in the afternoon and have been smashing fish left and right on Spring Creek the past week or so.

As to the unweighted/weighted debate. I feel that unweighted or very lightly weighted fly gives a better presentation than heavy weight/beadhead. Even though I believe this, I only use unweighted nymphs in low/clear water conditions.

An unweighted nymph or two with a couple microshot can be very very deadly in these situations, whereas I have found that sometimes the weighted/bh flies the fish reject.

I tie the Humps Sulphur nymph with a black or gold bead and they work very well, in the right conditions.