Cat's Whisker nymph.
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 7:17 pm
Our good Stateside friend, fly-fisher & fly tackle expert Iasgair has invited me to contribute to the fly-tying section and although I have not tied a fly since before lockdown, thought that I might take up the challenge and see how we get on..
So here we go.
This is my version of the "Cat's whisker" nymph. Contrary to my usual style of fast-water, weighted nymphs-and inspired by Ian's beautiful tying of un-weighted ones-this is usually fished just sub-surface and seems to work well anywhere.
You might like to have a go at this yourself. The materials are not set in stone so you can use whatever you like that looks near enough.
This is what I have used:-
1. A size 16 hook. I like the Kamasan ones because of their sharpness and fine wire, but you use whatever is to hand.
2. Any light coloured fine thread. My preference is for lighter colours because I cannot see black too well now.
3. Fine copper or gold wire-or gold thread. I have a lot of fine copper wire so if anyone wants some, send a PM.
4. Some tail or wing fibres for making the fly tails. Pheasant, bustard, turkey or grouse will do.
5. Some thin raffia or rolled up cellophane from a sweet wrapper.
6. A bit of dyed ostrich herl.
7. A couple of very small 'Furnace' hackles. These have two colours as you see.
8. Some wool or fur dubbing.
Here is everything set out:-
You will now be wondering as to the contents of the packet and why my fly has its name..?
This is the vital ingredient and to get it, you will need one of these...
A word of warning. 'Frank' is a very big tabby (with a touch of Bengal in there) and may look placid at rest, but is not one who allows liberties taken.
Check out the paws and associated built in hardware.. Any attempt to help yourself to his radar scanners might not be met with a friendly response..!
Fortunately, he sheds his whiskers quite regularly, which are all saved and put to this use- as in the packet.
Start the fly by tying in the thread and winding down to about halfway. I use a thin white board as a sightscreen behind the vice, which helps a lot.
A piece of white card is good enough. I apologize if the pictures are not clear or in the wrong order. they were taken with a phone camera and am not particularly au fait with those..
Now tie in the body materials in this order:-
Firstly, the tail fibres, then the rolled up cellophane or sliver of raffia, the wire, the herl and finally, a whisker. You tie the whisker in at the tip, not the thick part.
Holding all together so that it doesn't twist around but stays on top of the hook, whip down to where the hook starts to bend-or even a bit further.
Holding the whisker with the fingers first, wrap it around so that each turn butts together. When about halfway, hold with hackle pliers and continue. Cat's whiskers are incredibly tough and rigid so don't let it unwind!
You should tie it to about halfway up the hook and secure well with the thread.
Then rib with the herl, ensuring that the turns do NOT butt together; they must be open and have a gap between them.
Now pull the raffia over the back tightly and tie in.
..and openly rib with the wire..
Tie in a hackle..
..and spin up some dubbing on the thread.
Put on three turns of dubbed thread and tie in tightly.
Wind three turns of the hackle openly through the dubbing and tie in.
To finish, pull the raffia or rolled cellophane over the top and secure with thread.
A small drop of head finisher completes the job.
A lot of top tyers go for neatness. My flies look tatty but I can assure you that trout-and grayling or rudd-are quite unappreciative of the fly-tyers art!
If you trap a few fibres or hairs in front of your fly, it really doesn't matter, in fact, it may even add to the attraction.
Here is the finished effort, plus "one I made earlier" using the ends of the whiskers as tails and omitting the herl.
Trout's eye view..
Happy tying!
wm+
So here we go.
This is my version of the "Cat's whisker" nymph. Contrary to my usual style of fast-water, weighted nymphs-and inspired by Ian's beautiful tying of un-weighted ones-this is usually fished just sub-surface and seems to work well anywhere.
You might like to have a go at this yourself. The materials are not set in stone so you can use whatever you like that looks near enough.
This is what I have used:-
1. A size 16 hook. I like the Kamasan ones because of their sharpness and fine wire, but you use whatever is to hand.
2. Any light coloured fine thread. My preference is for lighter colours because I cannot see black too well now.
3. Fine copper or gold wire-or gold thread. I have a lot of fine copper wire so if anyone wants some, send a PM.
4. Some tail or wing fibres for making the fly tails. Pheasant, bustard, turkey or grouse will do.
5. Some thin raffia or rolled up cellophane from a sweet wrapper.
6. A bit of dyed ostrich herl.
7. A couple of very small 'Furnace' hackles. These have two colours as you see.
8. Some wool or fur dubbing.
Here is everything set out:-
You will now be wondering as to the contents of the packet and why my fly has its name..?
This is the vital ingredient and to get it, you will need one of these...
A word of warning. 'Frank' is a very big tabby (with a touch of Bengal in there) and may look placid at rest, but is not one who allows liberties taken.
Check out the paws and associated built in hardware.. Any attempt to help yourself to his radar scanners might not be met with a friendly response..!
Fortunately, he sheds his whiskers quite regularly, which are all saved and put to this use- as in the packet.
Start the fly by tying in the thread and winding down to about halfway. I use a thin white board as a sightscreen behind the vice, which helps a lot.
A piece of white card is good enough. I apologize if the pictures are not clear or in the wrong order. they were taken with a phone camera and am not particularly au fait with those..
Now tie in the body materials in this order:-
Firstly, the tail fibres, then the rolled up cellophane or sliver of raffia, the wire, the herl and finally, a whisker. You tie the whisker in at the tip, not the thick part.
Holding all together so that it doesn't twist around but stays on top of the hook, whip down to where the hook starts to bend-or even a bit further.
Holding the whisker with the fingers first, wrap it around so that each turn butts together. When about halfway, hold with hackle pliers and continue. Cat's whiskers are incredibly tough and rigid so don't let it unwind!
You should tie it to about halfway up the hook and secure well with the thread.
Then rib with the herl, ensuring that the turns do NOT butt together; they must be open and have a gap between them.
Now pull the raffia over the back tightly and tie in.
..and openly rib with the wire..
Tie in a hackle..
..and spin up some dubbing on the thread.
Put on three turns of dubbed thread and tie in tightly.
Wind three turns of the hackle openly through the dubbing and tie in.
To finish, pull the raffia or rolled cellophane over the top and secure with thread.
A small drop of head finisher completes the job.
A lot of top tyers go for neatness. My flies look tatty but I can assure you that trout-and grayling or rudd-are quite unappreciative of the fly-tyers art!
If you trap a few fibres or hairs in front of your fly, it really doesn't matter, in fact, it may even add to the attraction.
Here is the finished effort, plus "one I made earlier" using the ends of the whiskers as tails and omitting the herl.
Trout's eye view..
Happy tying!
wm+