Over on avidmax.com, they just recently posted the following article about the RS3 fly, which is a supposed adaption to create a bulkier nymph than the RS2 fly which was devised by my very good friend, Rim Chung, some 30 years ago. Not sure why you would want “a bulkier nymph” but perhaps he’s on to something, I don’t know.

To me, it looks more like the emerging Alien out of the movie by that title than an improvised RS2 to me, but everyone is entitled to their own tyings and who knows what works until you experiement with it, which Rim would approve of doing as many experiments as possible on the stream to find what works best for you and the trout in your area.

There have been many commercial attempts to duplicate and/or improve the RS2 since Rim invented it, as he has never sold it commercially or attempted to keep the pattern to himself in anyway, including Rim’s own Avatar fly. So as Rim always says, imitation is best form of flattery.

Here’s the article by Max Pavel on his RS3:

How to tie the RS3

Max writes:

The RS2 is a classic pattern that was created by Rim Chung. RS stands for “Rim’s Semblance”. The fly pattern was designed to imitate an emerging mayfly. If you have fished in Colorado the chances are you have heard about the RS2. The RS3 is a spin on Rims pattern that I developed because I wanted something that was tied on a heavy wire hook with a slim profile to be fished on bigger CO rivers where the average mayfly is a bit bigger then on the tailwaters.

This fly has been very successful for my clients and I. Black, olive and grey are my favorites and I will tie this all the way down to a 22 though, my go to size is a 16 or an 18. Tie it with different colors of Krystal flash on the tail or with a tungsten bead or no bead. Its a win for me and it will be a win for you.