Peacock sword or hearl

Use the sword......makes a much nicer looking tail than herl!

Use the swords for the tail as mentioned.  But I'd recommend using oval tinsel for the rib, it'll be easier and look neater.

Great tips

thanks

Saltylfyfisher,
 
Never heard of that does it look different too?

Thanks for the response back to steely. Couldn't have said it better myself.

ORIGINAL: flirod4evr

It makes it look tighter, thats about it. You know how when you wrap 2 or 3 strans of herl there is a gap from the width of the quill, this eliminates it. Also as said before It is a little more durable.

ORIGINAL: Sculpin 14

I tie all my nymphs without using tinsel or ribing, as far as I'm conserned its a waist of time, I really dont think is makes much difference, plus when was the last time you've seen nymph with shiny gold, siver, or copper on them.......

Never saw one with a hook hanging out of its butt either.

Some of my best, well all of my best, patterns have very un-natural features.  Sometimes its better to stand apart a little bit than to look like everything else drifting by.

I'm not saying I don't use synthetics, I just think its quicker to tie a fly with out shinny ribbing, like hare's ears, princes, zugs, p.t., ect, now scuds and such I do use ribbing but usually mono., copper johns are about the only thing I use ribbing for unless I am in a swap I usually tie the pattern to the original recipe....

You know the ribs wouldn't be there if they didint serve a purpose. As salty said it imitates air bubbles. Real nymphs because of there exoskeloton reflect light, almost all of the materials we use for nymphs don't...except for the tinsels and bright ribbings. Think of a lafontaine's sparle emergent, with it's bright antron/z-lon etc. case on the outside. This looks nothing like the trapped air bubble in the pupas exoskeltal shuck they use to emerge to the suface. To the trout it looks exactly like it. Even if thes materials we put in our nymphs and streamers and dry flies doesn't look like anything to us it looks like something in nature to the trout. Again, think of a royal wulff. Have you ever seen a mayfly with brite white wings and a body with bright green fat ends and a skinny red center? No? neither have I nor has the trout because it doesnt exsist. But time and time again flyfisherman all over the world catche many trout on this tried and true pattern. I guess what I'm trying to say is it might not look like anything to us but it looks like something to the trout, you can't look at a pattern through a persons eyes because we arent trying to fool people into thinking this white wulff is a white mayfly we are trying to fool the trout. When you start being able to see a pattern or any type of fishing tackle through the fishes eyes you stop being good and start becoming great. How do you think all these great patterns that dont immitate specific insects came about, the creater saw the fly through the eyes of the fish and not through his own. Just somethin' to chew on.

Often the rib serves other purposes also. It can be the the material that holds the fly together such as with peacock. The ribbing material  helps the fly stay together after several hits. Everyone to =day seams to want to go towards more realistic flies such as the wiggle nymph. Here we have someone who actually goes the other way by ommitting the ribbing which is the body segments.

ORIGINAL: Pgh Kid

Often the rib serves other purposes also. It can be the the material that holds the fly together such as with peacock. The ribbing material  helps the fly stay together after several hits. Everyone to =day seams to want to go towards more realistic flies such as the wiggle nymph. Here we have someone who actually goes the other way by ommitting the ribbing which is the body segments.

Wiggle nymphs are not new!  I was showed how to tie them over 30 years ago.  They are only new to some tyers because someone has put it on the "net". And that they are the next best thing to sliced bread.  Like every thing else, things go out of style and then come back in style