Sawyer Nymphs

FRANK SAWYER’S COLLECTION

By Magnus Angus

Sawyer Nymphs Ltd was run by the Sawyer family so they were the only source of authentic Sawyer nymphs and they used to offer a set of Sawyer flies, tied to the original patterns, in a fly box finished with a portrait of Sawyer. The set seems to me to capture the nature of Sawyer’s thinking, i.e., just a few materials combined into dressings which represent natural insects by simplifying or reducing the representation to a few key features and an overall shape. Others have commented that the flies are all geared to fish where trout or grayling expect to find the types of prey these represent. So the lightly weighted Nymphs sink but the weighting is delicate. Cast into a modest current they move with the water rather than plummeting to the bottom. The dries have enough hackle to spread the tiny weight of the fly on the water surface. With a touch of floatant, these fish initially on the surface, and slightly deeper in the surface film as they become waterlogged. Price: £10 (For the boxed set of 12 flies: 2 each Sawyer Pheasant tails, Swedish, Grey Goose, Killer Bug, Bow Tie Buzzer and Chalk Stream dries.)
From: www.sawyernymphs.com

Too bad they are no longer available from Nick’s www.sawyernymphs.com and the site is down but meanwhile, you can visit these articles by Nick Sawyer

About Nick Sawyer

Nick Sawyer is the grandson of the late Frank Sawyer MBE, inventor of the Pheasant Tail Nymph and famous river keeper of the Hampshire Avon chalk stream. Nick runs a small hobby business (Sawyer Nymphs Ltd) dedicated to selling traditional nymphs and flies ties to the orignal patterns of Frank Sawyer. Sawyer Nymphs Ltd also sells limited edition fly fishing books and traditional fishery management products.

More from Nick Sawyer SearchRecent Articles By Nick Sawyer

Fly Fishing – Ten Essential Skills Every Fly Fisher Should Master

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 10, 2010

There are a huge number of skills that fly fishers can master over their lifetime, but only ten are really important: 1. Stealth. The main reason why people don’t catch fish is a lack of stealth.

Fly Fishing – Ten Essential Pieces of Equipment

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 10, 2010

Perhaps the most obvious pieces of equipment, the rod allows the fly or nymph to be delivered to the correct point in time and space and then allows the fish to be subdued quickly. I use a 8’6 split cane but then I am something of a traditionalist.

Fly Fishing – How to Tie the Pheasant Tail Nymph

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 7, 2010

The materials used are quite easy to obtain for most who are interested. To represent the several olive patterns, the nymphs can be constructed on hook sizes 10-20. The use of pheasant tail fibres for a body of nymphs or flies is not original.

Fly Fishing With Nymphs – An Introduction to the Sunken Nymph

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 7, 2010

The weighted or sunken nymph is one of the most deadly patterns if fished correctly. The Pheasant Tail Nymph is the classic example of a sunken nymph. This article gives a short introduction to the sunken nymph technique, sometimes called the Netheravon Style.

Fly Fishing – The Ten Deadliest Dry Flies

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 6, 2010

There are literally thousands of different dry fly patterns in the world. Some are well known, some are so obscure that only a handful of fly fishers have even heard of them. All have caught fish, but only a few have been universally successful.

Fly Fishing With a Buzzer Nymph

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 3, 2010

There are a great many representations of buzzer nymphs available on the market. Some of them are very good and no doubt most of them will have caught fish at some time. As far as I know, there is only one bow-tie buzzer and that is the pattern designed by Frank Sawyer.

Fly Fishing For Grayling

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 3, 2010

An Article on Fly Fishing for Grayling. Includes use of the Killer Bug tied with Chadwick’s 477 wool.

Fly Fishing – The Pheasant Tail Nymph

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 3, 2010

In my last article the Killer Bug was extolled as the answer to every fishermen’s dream during low fly days on the chalk stream. True weighted or ‘sunken’ nymph fishing, or ‘Netheravon Style’ nymph fishing as it is sometimes known, is a completely different technique to dry fly or Killer Bug fishing. Dry fly fishing exploits the water surface while Killer Bug fishing is designed for the bottom of the river.

Fly Fishing – Using the Sawyer Killer Bug

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 3, 2010

The Sawyer Killer bug is designed to represent the freshwater shrimp. It is a deadly and versatile pattern when fished correctly.

Improving Rivers For Fly Fishing

Recreation and Sports: Fishing • Published: May 3, 2010

Trout have been artificially stocked in chalk streams, or assisted in their reproduction, for many, many years. A desire for big ‘easy’ fish is one reason, but mainly it is the natural river’s inability to produce enough quality trout for the increasing number of anglers who fish the water. Other inabilities of the natural river have also been noted over the last decade or so.