AGOSTINO RONCALLO’S RAFFIA-BODIED EMERGING NYMPH

Introduction

I like flies simple and slender and am constantly looking for easier and quicker to tie patterns. Here’s one that’s really easy to make and works very well. It’s an emerging nymph tied parachute-style and is made mostly of synthetic raffia, a commonly available material in many colours.

Dressing

Wrap tying thread around a grub hook to the point where you will begin to build the body of the imitation, which is roughly half way down the bend.

At that point tie in two small tufts of raffia cut in thin strips. For the sake of improving the imitation I use two colors. Tie the lighter shade of raffia under the shank and the darker shade above.

After fixing those in place, take the thread forward along the shank equal to the distance of one segment of the body of imitation.

Pull the two tufts of raffia forward, lock them on the shank with two turns of thread placed more or less at a right angle to the shank of the hook. Move the tread forward again over a distance equal to another segment of the body, pull the raffia forward and repeat the process until you reach the point where you will tie in the wings and thorax of the fly.

At this point, pick up both sections of raffia, pull them above the hook, and secure with a few cross wraps of thread as the wings. Make sure they are well secured.

At the base of the wings, tie in three peacock herls and a cock hackle.

Twist the peacock herls and wrap them around the shank and the wing root to form the thorax.

Wrap the hackle around the base of the wings and the tie off.

Determine the height of the wings, and with scissors trim off the excess raffia. Tie off behind the eye and the fly is finished.

I use synthetic raffia because I have a large quantity of it and it is easy to come by, but of course many other fine synthetic materials or yarns would be suitable for this purpose.

As you can see from the photo below, a CDC feather can be used instead of a cock hackle with superb results.

Agostino Roncallo