A classic named after André?
A decade or so ago, I was out fishing “Geritol Cove” at Lake Almanor, CA, during the hexagenia hatch. A guest (client) had canceled, and I was fishing with a group of guys from Chico, CA, that I knew and had fished with before.
Most of these guys fish two rods—both with sinking lines, usually an intermediate line and a fast-sinking line—for the hex. They troll the lines back and forth along the edge of the drop-off. One of the guys named Peter hooked two fish simultaneously (yes, it happens). He handed me one of the rods since I was close to him, and I played the fish to the net. The other fish he played to the net and landed. He looked at me and said, “Don’t look at my fly.” Well, I did, and I started to laugh.
Peter looked at me like I was a jerk. He thought I was laughing at him about his fly choice, but I wasn’t. When I kicked over in my pontoon boat to his float tube to hand him back his rod, I also showed him my box of flies. In the center row of my “Hex Box” was a row of perfectly tied Black AP Nymphs — the same fly that he had tied to his tippet. We both laughed. While laughing, we told one another not to tell anybody else about the AP.
HISTORY
Many folks believe that the AP in “AP Nymph” stands for André Puyan, but not so; it stands for All-Purpose. That other AP is André Michel Puyans, who was born on September 11, 1935, and passed away on October 25, 2005. Andy — which is what I called him — was by all accounts a master fly tyer, great fly-fisher, and a terrific teacher of his art. He was also a dealer of mine when I owned Saltwater Innovations in the 1990s.
Andy visited Saltwater Innovations in Chico, CA, one fall. He walked around the manufacturing facility in amazement. He saw the tying room, the finishing room, the paint booth, and everything else that we used in the manufacturing of everything saltwater. “The only thing you’re missing is the bottle of Scotch,” he said, smiling. That was a huge compliment. I will never forget it.
To do this article justice, I contacted several of Andy’s friends, partners, and fishing buddies. I wanted to get the history right about this great fly. (I want to thank Bill Kiene, Dave Inks, Lincoln Gray, Alan Christian, Phil Erickson, and Jim Adams for their assistance with this article.) Dave Inks and Alan Christian told me they think Andy developed the AP in 1963. In the years following the first AP Nymph, Andy made other additions to the fly and expanded the colors and materials to match a particular insect. In 1971, Dave Inks and Andy started Creative Sports in Pacheco, CA, and moved to Walnut Creek, CA, after they had a fire in the house where they were operating their fly shop. In 1974, Dave left the partnership, and Andy moved the shop to Pleasant Hill, CA. In the late 1990s, Andy sold the shop to a new owner and moved to Idaho.
The fly is designed and tied in a way that mimics many mayfly families. The only tip Andy ever told me about fly-tying — and we both talked about it many times — is that flies are usually overdressed, meaning too much material. Sparse flies, we agreed, catch fish — a lot of fish!
Andy’s original AP Nymph was tied on a Mustad 3906B hook with moose body hair for the tail, a blend of natural beaver and muskrat dubbing for the body and thorax, a copper wire rib, and moose body hair for the wingcase and legs. He also placed a small amount of dubbing as a head and then used a small thread head to finish the fly. He tied this same pattern in eight different styles that I have found, mixing some of the materials up and adding flank fibers to others. Those versions are The AP Nymph Olive, AP Nymph Hare’s ear and Beaver, AP Nymph Claret and Beaver, AP Nymph Natural Beaver, AP Nymph Natural Muskrat, AP Nymph Hendrickson, AP Nymph Pale Morning Dun, and the AP Nymph Brown Beaver. Andy also tied them in various hook sizes ranging from size 10 to 18. I didn’t have a chance to talk to Andy much about his AP Nymph while he was alive. But since his passing, I have used the fly in our day-to-day operations, especially at Lake Almanor.
LANCE’S SWIMMING AP
My Lance’s Swimming AP Black is tied closely to Andy’s original AP Nymph Black. I haven’t added anything different to the design; I have taken something away. I must admit I tie this fly with newer “synthetic dubbing,” not the beaver and muskrat blends Andy used.
I wanted to make an AP Nymph that had more movement in the water while I stripped it. I am not using it in general to match a mayfly. I am using it to match a Hexagenia, leech, Black Caddis, or some other food source available to Lake Almanor fish. Fish eat this fly because of its black silhouette, which stands out in low light, especially in the mornings and evenings, due to its black materials.
The Swimming AP is tied using the original hook that Andy used, the Mustad 3906B size 10. I use fifteen wraps of .015 lead-free wire for weight. I use black deer hair rather than moose body hair for the tail, thorax, and legs. I also use Mike Mercer’s Buggy Nymph black dubbing for the abdomen and thorax rather than the beaver and muskrat. I don’t dub my head like Andy did. I make a thread head only. I also don’t cut the tips off the black deer hair, leaving them for the legs. These legs are also longer than Andy’s original. They extend back from the head of the fly to the bend of the hook.
MATERIAL LIST
You can tie this fly in a variety of colors. I have tied and fished olive, brown, and gray with success, but black is the best.
- Hook – Mustad 3906B Size 10
- Lead Wire – 15 wraps of .015 lead-free wire
- Thread – Danville Flymaster 6/0 Black #100
- Tail – Deer Hair Black
- Rib – Copper BR Wire
- Abdomen – Mike Mercer’s Buggy Nymph Dubbing, Black
- Wingcase – Deer Hair Black
- Thorax – Mike Mercer’s Buggy Nymph Dubbing Black
- Legs – Deer Hair Black
- Head – Danville Flymaster 6/0 Black
- Cement – Sally Hansen’s Clear Fingernail Polish
TYING INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the hook in the vise.
- Place fifteen wraps of lead-free wire onto the hook shank. Push the lead wire so it is about ⅛ inch from the eye of the hook.
- Start the thread behind the lead-free wire, making a small dam of thread. Criss-cross the lead-free wire and make a small dam of thread in front of it. Wrap your thread back so it rests right behind your lead-free wire.
- At the end of the lead-free wire, tie in your clump of black deer hair. Wrap the thread back over the deer hair until it reaches the hook’s bend. The length of the black deer hair extending from the hook bend should be 2/3 of the hook shank. Wrap the thread back so it rests behind the lead-free wire.
- Tie in the copper BR wire and wrap the thread back over the wire until you reach the bend of the hook. Let your thread rest there.
- Place dubbing onto your thread. The abdomen should have a slight taper from skinny at the bend of the hook, rising slowly in thickness to the middle of the lead-free wire. Dub the body with Mike
- Mercer’s Black Buggy Nymph Dubbing. Then, rib the body with copper BR wire until the middle of the lead-free wire is reached. Tie off the rib and cut the wire.
- Tie in a clump of black deer hair at that point. The length of the deer hair should extend back until the end of the deer hair tail tips.
- Dub the thorax using Mike Mercer’s Black Buggy Nymph Dubbing so that the thorax is one thickness more than the abdomen at the widest point. Your thread should be approximately 1/8 of an inch away from the eye of the hook.
- Pull the black deer hair over the thorax, forming the wingcase. Secure the black deer hair at that point with a couple of extra thread wraps. Spilt the black deer hair evenly and, using your thread, tie the tips of the black deer hair back, forming the legs.
- Form a thread head, whip finish, cut the thread, and head cement with Salley Hansen’s clear fingernail polish.
RIGGING LANCE’S SWIMMING AP NYMPH
When I fish my Swimming AP Nymph, I really fish it two different ways. One is by casting and stripping the fly back. The other is by trolling the fly. On the cast and strip, I use the AP as a searching fly: a fly that mimics many food items to the fish. My line is usually an intermediate fly line with a sink rate of 1.75 ips (inches per second). I can fish this line shallow or deep in the water column simply by letting the line sink using a “count down” method.
For example, if I cast the fly line out and start to count to ten, the fly line should be 17.5 inches deep. If I want to fish shallow, I will begin to strip the line right when it hits the water. If I want to fish deeper, I allow the line to sink to the desired depth. My leader is a 3X to 5X, 7 1/2-foot tapered monofilament or fluorocarbon (your choice) leader; I use lighter 5X leaders for smaller fish and heavier, stronger 3X leaders for larger fish. I have fished this fly on Lake Almanor and many still waters around the west. It catches fish everywhere.
For trolling, I usually fish the Swimming AP Nymph behind another fly. I fish with two flies while trolling, especially on Lake Almanor. I like to troll the same intermediate line I use for the casting and stripping method. I troll 45 feet of fly line from my pontoon boat at approximately ¾ to ½ mph in 25 feet of water.
Not being a mathematical wizard and without going to a chart, I can tell you you will catch fish using this equation. Your flies will be right on the bottom. Not touching the bottom, but right there. If you kick too fast , you will not catch fish; if you go too slow, you will snag the bottom.
My leader for this method is fluorocarbon tippet only. A problem: If you attach the fluorocarbon directly to your fly line, the fluorocarbon will cut your fly line like wire going through cheese. So, using this rig, which is all fluorocarbon tippet material, you must use a “cheater.” A cheater is a 10- to 12-inch piece of heavy .024 or 40-pound monofilament placed between your fly line and tippet material. On one side of the cheater, I tie a perfection loop. Then, using the loop-to-loop method, I attach the cheater to my fly line. I then tie in another loop at the terminal end of the cheater. I tie a loop into the 48-inch piece of my fluorocarbon tippet material and again attach the tippet material leader to the cheater using the loop-to-loop method. Once I have everything attached loop-to-loop, I tie on the first fly, which is usually a hexagenia nymph. Tying from the bend of the hexagenia nymph, I tie on an 18-inch piece of 3X fluorocarbon tippet material, then tie on the Swimming AP.
SIMMONS’S STEELHEAD AP NYMPH
The late Dave Simmons, a guide and fly tyer in Northern California for decades, tied a fly that he called his Steelhead AP Nymph. It was and still is a fly I carry in my drift boat for the valley rivers. He tied it to imitate a clump of roe or a group of single eggs. Its natural moose body hair acted like the eyes of the eggs once fertilized.
This fly is tied in the traditional method of the original AP Nymph on a TMC 3761 size 10 hook. It has 15 wraps of .015 lead-free wire. The tail, wingcase, and legs are natural moose body hair. The abdomen and thorax are a combination of orange and red Hareline Rabbit dubbing mixed with chopped-up Pearl Krystal Flash. Today, I use Mike Mercer’s Buggy Nymph in dark rusty brown, mixed with Ice Dub UV Hot Orange and UV Shrimp. The ribbing is red BR wire, and Dave placed a small ball of dubbing for the head as Andy did. You can also place a bead on the fly. I like using a red tungsten bead ⅛ inch in diameter.
Dave fished this fly on a high stick rig, and so do I. A standard high stick or Euro leader is best suited for wading fly fishers. They can get the flies, including the AP Nymph, down into the water column and then swing it across from deep to shallow water like the real caddis pupa emergers or a mayfly nymph being swept into the current.
MATERIAL LIST
You can tie this fly in a wide variety of colors. I have tied and fished red, pink, or a mixture of all three. The original color, orange/red, is the best.
- Hook – TMC 3761 Size 10
- Lead Wire – 15 wraps of .015 Lead-Free wire.
- Thread – Danville Flymaster 6/0 Fluorescent Orange #504
- Tail – Natural Moose Body Hair
- Rib – Red BR Wire
- Abdomen – 50% Hareline Dubbin Rust Orange and 50% Ice Dub UV Hot Orange
- Wingcase – Natural Moose Body Hair
- Thorax – 50% Hareline Dubbin Rust Orange and 50% Ice Dub UV Hot Orange
- Legs – Natural Moose Body Hair
- Head – 50% Hareline Dubbin Rust Orange and 50% Ice Dub UV Hot Orange
- Cement – Sally Hansen’s Clear Fingernail Polish
- Bead Optional – Tungsten 1/8” Red
TYING INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the hook in the vise.
- Place fifteen wraps of lead-free wire onto the hook shank. Push the lead wire so it is about ⅛ inch from the eye of the hook.
- Start the thread behind the lead-free wire, making a small dam of thread. Criss-cross the lead-free wire and make a small dam of thread in front of it. Wrap your thread back so it rests right behind your lead-free wire.
- At the end of the lead-free wire, tie in your clump of natural moose body hair. Wrap the thread back over the natural moose body hair until the thread is at the bend of the hook. The length of the natural moose body hair extending from the hook bend should be 1/2 of the hook shank. Wrap your thread back so it rests behind the lead-free wire.
- Tie in the red BR wire and wrap the thread back over the wire until you reach the bend of the hook. Let your thread rest there.
- Place dubbing onto your thread. The abdomen should have a slight taper from skinny at the bend of the hook, rising slowly in thickness to the middle of the lead-free wire. Dub the body with 50% Hareline Dubbin Rust Orange and 50% Ice Dub UV Hot Orange. Then, rib the body with red BR wire until the middle of the lead-free wire is reached. Tie off the rib and cut the wire.
- Tie in a clump of natural moose body hair. The length of the hair should extend back until the end of the natural moose body hair is the same length as the tail.
- Dub the thorax so that the thorax is one thickness more than the abdomen at the widest point. Your thread should be approximately 1/8 of an inch away from the eye of the hook.
- Pull the natural moose body hair over the thorax, forming the wingcase. Secure the natural moose body hair at that point with a couple of extra thread wraps. Split the natural moose body hair evenly and, using your thread, tie the tips of the natural moose body hair back, forming the legs.
- Form the dubbing head using the 50% Hareline Dubbin Rust Orange and 50% Ice Dub UV Hot Orange, thread head, whip finish, cut the thread, and head cement with Salley Hansen’s clear fingernail polish.
RIGGING THE SIMMONS STEELHEAD AP NYMPH
A basic high stick or Euro leader is straightforward to construct. My homemade Euro leader is very simple. I first take a monofilament 7.5 foot 2X tapered leader and loop it directly to my floating fly line. I then add an orange or red bobber stopper to the leader. This will act as an additional sighter. I then tie on 24 inches of RIO Sighter Material using a marriage knot (blood knot), after which I tie on a size 12 black barrel swivel to the terminal end of the sighter material. From the barrel swivel, I tie in 24 inches of 5X fluorocarbon tippet material followed by another piece of 5x fluorocarbon with a marriage knot to create a tag to attach the first fly, Dave’s Steelhead AP, to the leader. I then attach the second fly (usually my Lance’s Fireworm in natural or red in size 12) to the terminal end of that same tippet piece. Finally, I place a split shot above the barrel swivel to give me weight. If you like, you can place a split shot above the first fly. This will provide you with extra weight to get down.
PUYAN’S AP NYMPH PALE MORNING DUN
Years ago, when I was learning to tie commercially, I started tying AP Nymphs. You have to realize I was tying commercially when I wasn’t even a teenager. I liked tying the AP Nymph because I could make money tying them. They were very reasonable when it came to the cost of materials. A dozen flies sold anywhere from $3 to $5. But 100 Mustad hooks were only $3.
I tied the AP Nymphs in black, brown, olive, and tan. I then found the Pale Morning Dun in Kaufmann’s Streamborn mail-order catalog. I started tying it. The materials have changed over the years with the evolution of synthetic fly-tying materials. Today, I use dubbing that, but I still tie it with the natural wood duck flank fibers. The issue with the natural wood duck flank feathers is finding them. Luckily, I have many hunting buddies who like to trade flies for feathers. Mallard flank-dyed wood duck also works just fine.
I still tie this pattern and carry it in my fly boxes. It plain works on the Lower Sacramento, Feather, and Yuba Rivers. I also fish this fly on Fall River and Putah Creek. I tie it to Andy’s specification minus the original dubbing, which was a dyed muskrat and rabbit dubbing blend.
MATERIAL LIST
You can tie this fly in a wide variety of sizes and colors, with or without a bead, to match other insects. I have tied and fished black for the trico and olive for the beatis. You can also substitute mallard flank-dyed wood duck for the natural wood duck.
- Hook – TMC 3769 Size 14 – 18
- Thread – Danville Flymaster 6/0 Fluorescent Orange #504
- Tail – Natural Wood duck flank fibers
- Rib – Gold Wire size to match the Hook
- Abdomen – Mercer’s Buggy Nymph Dubbing Light Cahill
- Wingcase – Natural Wood duck flank
- Thorax – Mercer’s Buggy Nymph Dubbing Light Cahill
- Legs – Natural Wood duck flank
- Head – Mercer’s Buggy Nymph Dubbing Light Cahill
- Cement – Sally Hansen’s Clear Fingernail Polish
- Bead Optional – Gold, sized to match hook
TYING INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the hook in the vise.
- Start the thread behind the hook’s eye and wind it back to the halfway point on the hook shank.
- Tie in seven to nine wood duck fibers. The fibers should extend from the hook, bending 1/2 of the hook shank. Wrap your thread back to the eye of the hook.
- Tie in the gold wire and wrap the thread back over the wire until you reach the bend of the hook. Let your thread rest there.
- Place dubbing onto your thread. The abdomen should have a slight taper from skinny at the bend of the hook, rising slowly in thickness to the middle of the lead-free wire. Dubbing the abdomen with Mercer’s Buggy Nymph Dubbing Light Cahill, the abdomen should cover 2/3 of the hook shank. Then, rib the body with the gold wire until the body ends. Tie off the rib and cut the wire.
- Tie in a clump of wood duck butts first, approximately twelve fibers. The wood duck should be right on top of the hook shank.
- Dub the thorax so that the thorax is one thickness more than the abdomen at the widest point. Your thread should be approximately 1/8 of an inch away from the eye of the hook.
- Pull the natural wood duck fibers over the thorax, forming the wingcase. Secure the wood duck at that point with some extra thread wraps. Split the natural wood duck fibers evenly and, using your thread, tie the tips of the natural wood duck fibers back along the sides of the fly, forming the legs. Cut the butts of the natural wood duck fibers so they are just as long as the thorax.
- Form the dubbing head using Mercer’s Buggy Nymph Dubbing Light Cahill thread head, whip finish, cut the thread, and head cement with Salley Hansen’s clear fingernail polish.
I also like fishing this fly on a high stick rig, as with the Simmons Steelhead. I like the grabs I get when the fly swings across the water column. The fish pick this fly up quickly.
Puyan’s AP Nymph will live on for many more decades. It simply works. For most of us lucky enough to know Andy, fishing his fly is like fishing with him. His legacy and folklore will live on in each nymph.
I, like Lance, carry a bit of Andre’ with me when I fish. I imagine he’s up there smiling as I eschew the small hungry ones to focus on the selective sipper.
Alan Christian