Isonychia Bicolor Nymph

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joaniebo	Isonychia Bicolor Nymph		Lead	[-]
Posts: 1929 10/05/2009 12:27	Tags : None Have just finished reading (again) Arnold Gingrich's "The Joys of Trout" and in the book, he states Preston Jennings dressing for the Isonychia Bicolor nymph. Since I found a few #8 and #10 Sproat hooks that someone on the rod forum sent me (Thanks - memory has faded as to the donor but THANKS again !) and the other specified materials on hand, I thought that I'd tie up a few for the heck of it. But, I can't seem to find a good pic of an actual fly tied using the Preston Jennings dressing. Thus if anyone has a good link or pic of the original Preston Jennings tied fly, it would be greatly appreciated. Cheers and Safe Fishing Bob
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quashnet	Everything except what you asked for	#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2819 10/05/2009 21:04 Moderatus Muscae	I don't think I've ever seen the nymph tied as described by Gingrich, with peacock thorax and brown partridge tail. It looks as though the peacock quickly migrated to the tail and the partridge became a hackle collar, as tied by Art Flick (who was on the Schoharie with Preston Jennings in the 1930's) and as given in McClane's Encyclopedia. Here is a Dun Variant (Isonychia) nymph tied by Art Flick. It shows a key feature; there is no thorax hump. A couple of caveats: 1) Flick didn't particularly like to tie nymphs, and 2) this is one of the very last flies tied by Flick before his death in 1985, so the quality is not what you might have seen earlier in his life. Sorry about the image quality: I had to copy it from an old photographic print of the fly, made only weeks after Flick's death. Flick's friend Al Brewster tied the fly to the same pattern, but tied fuller, as shown in these four flies from the 1980's. Quashnet's Paul H. Young Rod Database has photos and descriptions of490 PHY Co. rods, plus catalogs, accessories, etc. Thank you to all who continue to send me PHY rod photos and info.
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roycestearns		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 189 10/05/2009 22:29	Forgotten Flies has 3 different versions by PJ on page 202 All have a tapered bodies, two have peacock herl tails and one has a few strands of red feather from the golden pheasant breast. Last Edited By: roycestearns 10/05/2009 22:32. Edited 1 time.
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joaniebo		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1930 10/05/2009 23:41	I've been able to find some pics of the Isonychia Bicolor Nymph with the peacock sword tails but the dressing for the Preston Jenning's nymph is: Tail: Brown Partridge Body: A mixture of claret and dark red seal's fur Thorax: Peacock herl Ribbing: Round gold tinsel Hackle: A few turns of red or furnace cck's hackle Hook: A No. 8 or 9 Sproat Here's a scanned pic of a couple that I tried to tie today and I wanted to see a pic of an actual Jenning's dressing to see if I could get close to PJ's dressing. After I tied the above, I realized that I used a hen hackle instead of a rooster hackle (back to the drawing board in the near future). Cheers and Safe Fishing Bob PS - THANKS* to Royce for the pics & info. Last Edited By: joaniebo 10/06/2009 17:49. Edited 1 time.
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joaniebo		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1931 10/08/2009 17:36	Robert Thanks for the pics of the Flick / Brewster dressings. Don't know if the Brewster flies had wire ribs but tied a few today using the same dubbing mix as used on the Jenning's nymphs but with the Amber (gold) silk, peacock sword tails and the brownish-partridge hackles. Will look for other pics to try later on. THANKS. Bob PS - Now to try some with Royce's info ! :>)
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mvendon		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 37 10/09/2009 16:02	Hi Bob, I'm not sure what pic's that Royce sent to you, but the nymph your looking for is on page 203 of Forgotten Flies and is the #48 Isonychia Nymph. The hook is longer than the one your useing, the body is longer and much tighter and tapered up with no stray hair fibers sticking out (your color is right on), and the hackle is very sparse, maybe two turns at the very most. The tail is canted upward with the ends ending at the bend of the hook. Dressing from book is: Hook: #8 Sproat Tail: Tip of brown partridge feather Body: Dark red and plum seal's fur, blended Rib: #20 gold tinsel Thorax: Peacock herl Hackle: dark furnace cock's hackle, short Regards, Mark Last Edited By: mvendon 10/09/2009 16:06. Edited 1 time.
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Think Bamboo	Jennings Isonychia Bi Color Nymph	#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 34 10/09/2009 17:06	Preston Jennings' dressing of the Isonychia Bi Color nymph brought back many pleasant memories of the 1950/60 era. At that period of time I used to fish the Esopus Creek and stayed at the Rainbow Lodge in Mt. Tremper, NY, then owned and hosted by Dick Kahill and his wife, Blanche. On occasional week-ends and for the entertainment of his guests, Dick used to invite country singers in the evening, or fly tiers during the course of the day to demonstrate their art. On one occasion Preston Jennings was invited and during the course of his fly tying demonstration he tied an Isonychia Bi Color nymph plus some other ones. I was fortunate to receive two of his masterpieces, one of which is the Isonychia nymph which I shall insert in picture form in my next posting.. I have kept both flies in a bottle all these years and I shall be happy to show them to the readers of this forum before I will be finally mounting them. The Isonychia nymph is very productive on the Catskill streams. I use my own which I tie in the Jennings fashion. Please note that the seal's dubbing should be controlled without any strands of the seal's material sticking out. Also, Jennings used gold wire instead of flat material. I should be posting a picture of the Jennings nymph within a week. Gus Last Edited By: Think Bamboo 10/09/2009 17:29. Edited 3 times.
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Think Bamboo	Preston Jennings Isonychia Bi Color Nymph	#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 35 10/16/2009 16:12	As promised I am posting below a photo of Preston Jennings Isonychia Bi Color nymph. I had previously erroniously stated that Jennings used gold wire for ribbing on the nymph. The photo shows a narrow flat gold ribbing. I wish to apologize for my error. Nevertheless, all these years I have been using the wire type ribbing with great results, but assure you that I am switching over to the narrow flat type that the master used. After all, he designed it exactly as the photo shows and must follow his example as an honor to him. Bob, you can now go to work and tie some Isonychia Bi Color nymphs exactly as the Old Master did! Gus Last Edited By: Think Bamboo 10/16/2009 16:21. Edited 1 time.
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joaniebo		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1935 10/17/2009 10:33	Gus THANKS for the posts and pic. Have tried to tie a couple to match your pic but need to do a few more before I post a pic. Appreciate all the info, posts, pics and e-mails from all concerned. Interesting to see all the variations of this fly. Best Bob
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shakeylee		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 177 10/19/2009 09:52	bob,i like that hook you use in the first group of flies.is it a mustad 1911?
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joaniebo		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1936 10/19/2009 10:36	Shakey Nope, it's a Mustad 3906B ... been tying the IBN on the 3906Bs in sizes 8, 10 & 12. Have tied a few more to get close to Gus' pic (above) but need to do a few more (to get practice) before scanning another pic. Hope all is well. Cheers Bob
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shakeylee		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 178 10/19/2009 10:58	funny,it didn't look like a 3906b to me when i saw them.i had a pack on the table as i typed the question,hah!
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joaniebo		#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1937 10/21/2009 21:16	Gus Did a few using pheasant for the tails and both wire and tinsel ribs plus black thread ... also trimmed the dubbing a little closer to the hook shank... trying to get as close as possible to your pic. As an added note, it's my understanding that Preston jennings did an article in the July 1956 Esquire magazine where he stated his dressing for this fly. I was today advised that a color copy of the article was mailed to me, so once I receive it, I'll know quite a bit more about this pattern. Cheers and Safe Fishing Bob
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joaniebo		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1941 10/27/2009 09:19	As the "Elderly Gentleman"(?) can attest to (prior to when we "Gofish"ing), part of the fun I have with the old dressings / patterns is getting books and other information on the old flies and then trying to find as many of the original materials (or legal subs) in my feeble attempts to get close to the original pattern as I can with the materials and resources that I have available. What has been interesting to me in finding the old information is to see the variance in the materials and dressings called for in a specific pattern, even though the originator of a pattern may have stated and / or tied his / her pattern in several variations. In Arnold Gingrich's book called "The Joys of Trout", he states that when Preston Jennings wrote "A Book of Trout Flies", Jennings didn't include a dressing for the Isonychia Bicolor nymph (aka - Coachman Nymph), which I found to be true when reading "A Book of Trout Flies". But, Gingrinch did menton that Jennings wrote an article in the July 1956 issue of Esquire magazine called "There is a Royal Coachman". So being the totally anal son-of-a-gun that I am, I e-mailed Esquire magazine to see if I could obtain a copy of the Preston Jennings article from 1956. Low and behold, within a few days, I receieved an e-mail from Esquire Magazine stating that they had posted a color copy of Jennings' 1956 article to me, which I recently received. Thus, it appears that Preston Jennings may have tied his Isonychia Bicolor nymph in serveral variations, although his 1956 article does state: "My own dressing for the artificial Coachman Nymph is as follows: Tail: Brown Partridge Body: A mixture of claret and dark red seal's fur Thorax: Peacock herl Ribbing: Round gold tinsel Hackle: A few turns of red or furnace c*ck's hackle Hook: A No. 8 or 9 Sproat" For those as anal as me, I thought this info to be of interest. Cheers and Safe Fishing Bob
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cwfly		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1109 10/27/2009 09:35	Nicely done Bob, and between your posts and Gus's, an informative piece of history. Popular Science ran a nice article in October, 1939 about Jennings. It should be here. Charlie Last Edited By: cwfly 10/27/2009 11:09. Edited 1 time.
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afgantrout		#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 686 10/27/2009 10:55	Hi Gus, I saw your picture by C. Bogart, at the Gathering recently...sorry I couldn't make it. Your remarks about Kahill's awoke a memory. It must have been around 1960 that my parents took me to Phoenicia to fish the Esopus for my 14th birthday. I managed to catch a few yearling rainbows on wet flies. As it was September 21, I might have done better with an Isonychia bicolor (but I don't believe I was familiar with that pattern at the time!) Michael # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Petri heil! Kindly take a look at my angling art (and classic ephemera) www.michaelsimonanglingart.com
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Tom Smithwick	Isonychia nymph	#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 540 11/17/2009 10:51	I enjoy reading this section, but don't post, as I just don't tie at the level most of you do. In this case, I'm making an exception, as I have been fortunate to experience and observe some impressive emergences of this fly, and developed a simple pattern that really works, even though it's no classic. If you observe the nymph emerging, the "tails" are rapidly moving, and all that can be seen is a blur. I imitated that with a short, splayed out tail of reddish brown stiff hackle. The body of the fly swims in the water with a sinuous motion. I imitated that with a fur chenille body trimmed to a torpedo like shape. The fur is some sort of seal. I haven't seen it for a long time, but had the presence of mind to buy a lifetime supply when the fly turned out to be a winner. Those who have seen the hatch might point out that the natural has a prominent white stripe on it's back. I don't think the fish look for it, as they are usually seeing the nymph from below. I learned the fur chenille method from Poul Jorgenson's first book many years ago. The other two flys are cress bugs, one from mink fur, the other from gray fox.
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Eperous	Inpired - so I tried	#17	[url]	[-]
Posts: 177 01/14/2010 11:57	Inspired by this post, I tried tying a few Jennings' Isonychia Nymphs myself yesterday - also relying upon Schmookler & Sils Forgotten Flies, pg. 203, as noted above. Not having the exact materials, I focused on trying to match color, also utilizing the images already posted the the flow of this thread. Please ignore the fuzzy head, hoping this image/posting works ok - a first for me. For years I've been tying/fishing an Isonychia Ernest Schwiebert includes in his Matching the Hatch. Recently I've modified it slightly, so technically it's a hybrid. This has worked well for me on the Esopus, but now looking to offer those wild bows two slightly different Iso's to choose from. Both flies are unweighted, tied on #10 Mustad 9671 hooks. Thanks for the post, and I also enjoy reading Arnold Gingrich. Ed Last Edited By: Eperous 01/14/2010 11:59. Edited 1 time.
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Isonychia Bicolor Nymph

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