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GLOW IN THE DARK PICTURES

Twenty or more years ago, when the bead head nymph craze first started, most of the beads used were bright gold. Then, a few years back, the great angler and tyer from New Zealand, Gordon Hill, introduced his Super pattern, the Nymphomaniac, which, of course, has a black bead head. This made sense to both Carl Richards and myself, as we've taken hundreds of macro-photographs over the years and have never seen a nymph with a bright gold head. However, the gold bead has always worked quite well, so a couple years ago, I started experimenting with other colors and quickly discovered that bright colored glass beads, especially chartreuse and pink, worked equally as well, and even better at times. I feel the reason for this is the "instar phenomenon" that nymphs go through. In order to grow they must shed their nymphal skin and this happens 20 to 30 times during their lifetime. It creates a situation where they split out of their dark exoskeleton and, for a very short period of time, totally change color and become a very yummy morcel for the trout, similar to bass preferring the soft shell version of cray fish.

Normally, I'll use my stomach pump at least 5 or 6 times during a day of fishing, and I've noticed some of the specimens I examine are much lighter in color, usually, more whitish or pinkish in color, than the normal nymphs. Possibly the fish are "triggered" by this molting process. Anyway, I've done quite well with the glass beads and bright colors.

Carrying this a bit further, I had a very successful season last year using Glow-in-the-dark flies, both in freshwater and saltwater - and - during both daytime and at night. They are not only great for Snook and Tarpon in south Florida but also for trout and bass in Montana. They add an exciting new dimension to your angling skills. Give 'em a try!

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