Tying flies that don’t really imitate anything specific, but might contain a hint of this or that is always fun for me. When a fly isn’t supposed to represent a specific prey base, I almost feel as if I have license to be a bit creative at the vise. As expected, the results have been mixed.
The Muskrat Nymph, tied below by Tim Flagler, is one of those searching patterns—an attractor that can mimick any number of aquatic bugs, but not one in particular.
Tim’s pretty specific with the ingredients in the pattern above, but I’ve already decided that I’d make a few tweeks to the fly, just because of what I have available at the table. Creative license, you know.
At any rate, this is a fly that can be fished, as Flagler points out, in any number of ways. With some weight, it can go deep, and with a bit of floatant, it can be fished in the surface film. It’s a solid pattern to consider when you’re not sure what the fish are after, but you know they’re feeding. Give it a whirl at the vise and see how it works for you.
— Chris Hunt