Micro Nymphs for Grayling tied with catgut biothread

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This is an old series of catgut micro nymphs tied 6 years ago for grayling in North Transylvania.  I tied them on small hooks from size #14 down to #18. I was  impressed by  natural shades and colors,  how looks the material when  is wet and I was impressed by   the  texture very close to the insects texture and translucency .

Bellow is a  step by step for these simple but fantastic nymphs:

step 2 in tying a micro catgut nymph

 

step 2 in tying a micro catgut nymph

 

step 3 in tying a micro catgut nymph

 

step 4 in tying a micro catgut nymph

 
step 6 in tying a micro catgut nymph

 

small caddis pupae tied with catgut on size #16 hook

 

I  left the catgut for 5 min in warm water  ( body temperature ) until  started to be translucent and soft.  Normally the material is stiff and hard like a metallic wire but after keeping it in water started to be soft and easy to work with. I used a neutral  thread (a white)  but   colored fly tying threads can  be used to give an interesting shade. Small pinches of dubbing was added from time to time to provide a hairy body look.

And now here are the nymphs tied with this material:

closeup at a nymph body tied with catgut

 

micro catgut nymph for grayling

micro emerger tied with catgut for grayling

micro nymphs tied with catgut biothread

nymphs tied with catgut

And how look the flies when are wet :
translucent nymph body tied with catgut biothread

wet micro catgut nymphs - close up photo

wet bodies of nymphs tied with catgut

It is impossible not to love them !

For those interested in recipe here  it is:

Hook: Daiichi D1130 #14-18

Thread: white Uni 8/0 or Trico Uni Thread

Body: Catgut Biothread in natural color

Dubbing: Mad Rabbit Dubbing in natural color

1 Comment
  • Tom
    September 8, 2016

    Great post, thanks for the tipps! 😀
    Cheers
    Tom

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