TWN (Tom's Working Nymph)
Tying instructions:
Start with weighting with thin wire along the shank of the hook. Use thin wire and live the space for the thin tail!!! and thin whip finish ! Tie the tail first-with olive thread, then take the bobbin with the black galaxy thread.Then tie in the black thread at the tail and live it with the bobbin on the non-tying side of your vise... (I use the galaxy black thread now because teeth of browns and marbles are very sharp and it is a big help using strong ribbing thread) Form a nice abdomen with the olive thread to the 2/3 of the straight hook part... Now take the bobbin with the black thread and spin it just like the D. Martin's dubbing device... Rib the abdomen with the spinned black thread and secure it with the olive thread at the beginning of the thorax. Tie in the black neoprene stripe at the beginning of the thorax on the top of the hook... Put some olive dubbing on the olive thread (no loops please!) and wrap it over the future thorax (make a small elipse) Pull the neoprene over the thorax and secure it with a whip finish. Pull some "legs" out of the thorax with a bodkin or something... Apply several (8!!!) coats of any head cement over the n VOILA
TWN is this way finished in fact you can tie one in very short time It is very simple and good imitating fly and I use brown and tan versions also, but olive is my #1 ! I tie them and use them as my "9 to 5" pattern ;-) If I were to use only one fly from now on, it will be TWN! It is very effective here and I hope that it will perform well at your favourite lake(s) or river(s) too.
Ways to use it:
Sight fishing. - long leader, 10' or more and presenting the fly in front of the fish. Then a simple "Leisenring lift" sometimes makes wonders!!!!!!But sometimes you simply MUST NOT move the fly at all....in clear waters-usually!!!!!!!! Blind stillwater: OK my favourite also: Use 20' leader (fluorocarbon tippet&leader!) with or without indicator at 1' from the line , or even better "nymph taper" line - with "sausage" indicator!! In bright colours that can slide through the rings while landing fish!!!!This is for our crystal clear lakes #1 tactic for shy trout.. Wait untill TWN reaches depth (bottom??) then use occasional strong lifts and pauses moving teh fly for 3' or so every 30 -60 seconds---or very small moves 2'' or so for smaller flies every now and then.... Strikes occur mostly after long quick retrieve! Strike indicator is better than just the line for indicating strikes!!! Sometimes I use Biostrike at 18'and pull it down to land the fish!
Blind running water: With or without indicator on 8-10'' leader(1' from the line) - absolute dead drift!!! Bead head version: Great for very fast waters, deep waters, or muddy "after teh rain" rivers while waiting for them to drop and clear up. BH version is very effective in usuall conditions as well, but I have my reasons to avoid using it. In clear water conditions and wary trout - version without bead head is CLEARLY A WINNER here! (in our rivers - Krka, Unec, Radovna, Soca, Idrijca etc...)
Here's a story from Krka:
It was a sunny afternoon in the end of November 1995 on Krka river 30 minutes from my home in Ljubljana. Rainbows are opened untill December there. I was fishing with my small IMX #2 7'9'' rod and catching & releasing rainbows under 15''with Tectan premium tippet 0,09 mm without any problems (guess teh name of the fly). I knew fishing will not be easy because of the end of the season and spooky fish in one of the most known trout rivers in Slovenia. In last months we usually catch small number of fish under 15''and I used to organize a competition among my Ffing buddies at that time...Well the competition was over and I stilll had some days to fish there (daily licences) Crowds are already gone and solitude is the name of teh game. I approached the part with slow water between two bushes and tried to cast when I saw a nice rainbow already running away from the fisherman who was not careful enough - ME! I decided not to make the same mistake again, because this fish was over 17'' and it could be quite a challenge... OK-next hole between bushes: I crawled on my knees without watching the water in my camo shirt and neoprene and managed to cast the TWN 10' from the bank. After a few moments I started retrievingthe fly when I felt that the fly stopped. Instantly I pulled back to eventually set the hook. NOTHING HAPPENED. I thought I nailed the bottom, stood up and started reeling in the line from the grass. When I approached the bank I spooked even bigger rainbow than some minutes before. Anger was coming to me when I saw my reel spinning as the fish dissapeared (I use Loop traditional silent reel #1). I knew the fish had my fly in it's mouth instantly and slipped in the river up to my chest. Some pulling away from bushes and some strange fighting with cork grip of the #2 rod finally produced a 60 cm male rainbow on 0,09 mm tippet. Something to remember for a lifetime. And this is not a G.Loomis add ;-)