I’m never one to tout flies that I haven’t tried, so let me make it perfectly clear that this fly is still in development. Hopefully it will get field tested very soon (rain, rain stay away…). The driving force for this nymph is to get a natural mottled effect for my sulphur nymphs. I’ve tried hand blending dubbing, but I just don’t like doing it that way, it doesn’t feel elegant enough. Some shades of pheasant tail provide a very nice effect for sure – but I didn’t happen to have any of that on hand, so I dug into what I had and this is what I came up with – mallard dyed wood duck, mixed with turkey tail. I think it gives a nice looking mottled body. Is there a need for a new sulphur nymph? Probably not. But as you fly tyers know there doesn’t have to be a practical reason to try new things at the tying bench. Coming up with new combinations of materials to tie on a hook is it’s own reward, and if it actually catches fish, well that is bonus.
Turkey Mallard Sulphur Nymph:
Hook: Size 14 to 18
Thread: Rusty Brown Uni-thread
Tail: Mallard dyed wood duck flank feather fibers
Abdomen: Fibers from a turkey tail and mallard dyed wood duck flank feather twisted to form a “rope” and then wrapped onto hook.
Wing Case: Turkey tail
Abdomen: Amber dubbing
Legs: Grouse feather (partridge would work) – try to find nicely mottled feathers.
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