Skip Morris Nymphs


Anatomical BWO Anatomical BWO

Skip Morris Nymphs...



...deadly, convincing, and highly effective at fooling wary trout, here are Skip's most popular nymphs for rivers, streams, and lakes.














Skip's Flies Are Now Available On-Line from:



Feather-Craft Fly Fishing

and

The Fly Shop



Feather-Craft Fly Fishing and The Fly Shop's on-line stores now features Skip's flies. Feather-Craft and The Fly Shop are big, well-established, reputable mail-order houses.

They are ready to take orders, so we've added a link to this page (and to the individual fly descriptions themselves) so that you can go straight to their sites and order Skip Morris Nymphs directly.



Here's the direct link to the stores so you can buy Skip's flies:



BUY NOW: Get Skip Morris Flies from Feather-Craft...





BUY NOW: Get Skip Morris Flies from The Fly Shop

(look under Solitude Fly Company; fly names start with Skip)...





To find specific flies more easily at the Feather-Craft store, we've placed a link by each fly's description that will take you directly to that fly on Feather-Craft's site(see photos and descriptions of the flies below).





The following flies are Skip's original designs
and are tied commercially by Solitude Fly Company.



The sample flies in the photographs below were tied by Solitude.





Skip Morris Nymphs:

Mayfly Nymph Imitations


Anatomical Mayfly Nymphs

(aka: BH Anatomical Nymphs)

The debate over realistic fly designs versus rough, impressionistic ones continues decade after decade.

Suppose, though, you have a semi-realistic nymph design not rigid like so many such flies but instead with soft, lively legs and tails and gills. . .then you have the Anatomical Nymphs.



Anatomical BWO

Anatomical BWO Anatomical BWO

This fly imitates the nymphs of those ultra-important tiny mayflies (Baetis or Blue-Winged Olive) of spring, winter, and fall. A common mayfly on both coasts of North America and all those rivers in between.



Available in sizes: 22, 20, 18, 16

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...




Anatomical Callibaetis

Anatomical Callibaetis Anatomical Callibaetis

This fly imitates the nymph of the most widespread of all lake mayflies. Before and sometimes during the hatch (depending on the trout's mood), it can be just right.



Available in sizes: 16, 14

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...






Anatomical Green Drake

Anatomical Green Drake Anatomical Green Drake

This fly imitates the nymph of the big green drake mayfly of western rivers. It can be a wonderful hatch to fish, with big trout moving to the big insects, and just before the hatch and sometimes during it, this can be the fly to have.

Available in sizes: 10, 12

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...






Anatomical PMD

Anatomical PMD Anatomical PMD

This fly imitates the nymph of the pale morning dun mayfly, the staple of western mayflies of the regular season. A common insect found in rivers and streams.




Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...










Skip Nymphs


The Skip Nymph is among the first flies many beginning fly tiers tie, thanks to the popularity of Skip's longtime best-selling book Fly Tying made Clear and Simple— and it's proven itself over the past two decades as a rock-solid imitation of mayfly nymphs and small stonefly nymphs, and a fine all-around searching nymph. It's been featured in many books and magazine articles.

A dark bead blended into the thorax of the Ultimate Skip Nymph really pulls the fly down, and a touch of sparkle gets it noticed down there among the trout.



Skip Nymph, Ultimate, Standard

Ultimate Skip Nymph, Standard Ultimate Skip Nymph, Standard



Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14, 12

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...



Available in sizes: 16

BUY NOW from The Fly Shop...






Skip Nymph, Ultimate, Olive

Ultimate Skip Nymph, Olive Ultimate Skip Nymph, Olive



Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14, 12

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...













Skip Morris Nymphs:

Caddis Pupa


Brick Back October Caddis

(aka: BH October Caddis)

Brickback October Caddis Brickback October Caddis

The October caddis is the biggest caddis on western rivers, and appears in late September into early November when not much else is hatching to compete with it— this can be one critical caddis.

Skip's Brick Back October Caddis imitates the important pupa stage. Fished dead-drift below a strike indicator to imitate failed pupa or pupa drifting as they regain their motion after so long in a shell, or cast upstream to sink and then swung towards the bank like a swimming pupa, the Brick Back can move lots of trout on a good day, some big ones among them.

Available in sizes: 8, 6

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...



Available in sizes: 8

BUY NOW from The Fly Shop...





Boatman & Backswimmers


Morris Boatman

(aka: Morris Water Boatman)

Morris Boatman Morris Boatman

In spring and fall, water boatmen and backswimmers (which look and act and are the same as far as trout are concerned) fly out in swarms to nosedive into lakes and drive trout wild.

Have a few Morris Boatmen on hand so you can get in on the action when it comes.

Available in size: 14

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...







Dragonfly Nymph


Sparkle Furry Dragon

Sparkle Furry Dragon Sparkle Furry Dragon

Dragonfly nymphs are often the biggest insects in a trout lake and, unlike reclusive mayfly nymphs and chironomid larvae, are regularly out on their own hunting trips exposing themselves to trout.

So, since trout in lakes are used to watching for dragonfly nymphs, Skip trusts his Sparkle Furry Dragon to produce almost any time there's no other hatch going on to distract the trout. An excellent choice for fishing over shoals or just trolling.

Available in size: 6

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...







Skip Morris Nymphs:

Attractor Nymphs



The Dazzlers

There should always be attractor nymphs in every fly fisher's boxes—and the Dazzler is among the deadliest attractor nymphs around.

  • Shining ribs neatly segment a gleaming metallic body.

  • A thorax of soft fur blended with sparkling strands undulates with a river's currents.

  • A pale, supple hackle waves in the water.

  • An ultra-heavy tungsten bead draws the whole fly down to waiting trout and gleams to catch trout's attention.




The bottom line:


the Dazzler, in both its outlandish purple and
more natural brown versions,

simply attracts and catches trout.



Dazzlers were designed for trout creeks, streams, and rivers, but are
proving themselves on trout lakes too.



Dazzler, Tungsten, Hackled, Brown

Dazzler, Tungsten, Hackled, Brown Dazzler, Tungsten, Hackled, Brown




Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...









Dazzler, Tungsten, Hackled, Purple

Dazzler, Tungsten, Hackled, Purple Dazzler, Tungsten, Hackled, Purple






Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...













Gabriel's Trumpet, Gold

Gabriel's Trumpet, Gold Gabriel's Trumpet, Gold

Here's a very bright and fast-sinking attractor nymph that sometimes just cleans up on trout in rivers.

It can be a hot fly on trout lakes too, when nothing else seems to work. Some surprisingly finicky, difficult trout have taken the Trumpet.

Gold is the reliable standard.

Available in sizes: 16, 14, 12, 10

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...





Gabriel's Trumpet, Black

Gabriel's Trumpet, Black Gabriel's Trumpet, Black

Here's a very bright and fast-sinking attractor nymph that sometimes just cleans up on trout in rivers.

It can be a hot fly on trout lakes too, when nothing else seems to work. Some surprisingly finicky, difficult trout have taken the Trumpet.

The Gabriel's Trumpet, Black can be more than an attractor nymph, imitating dark mayfly and small stonefly nymphs.

Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14, 12

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...




Royal Flush

(aka: BH Royal Flush)


Royal Flush Royal Flush

An attractor based on the old and
beloved—and trusted— Royal Coachman dry fly.

Don't write off attractor flies; they can
far out-fish imitative flies sometimes.



Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14, 12

BUY NOW from Feather-Craft...









Click here to hear Skip's interviews on popular podcasts...


Click here to hear Carol's interview on photography
(How to Capture What You See) on AskAboutFlyFishing.com...


*Announcements*



Skip has an essay in Big Sky Journal's annual Fly Fishing issue, called "Montana Hoppers: the Princess and the Brute" released February 1, 2023. Skip rewrote it a bit; I painted and illustrated it here, on our website. Here's the link on our web page to check it out:


Click here to read Skip's essay Montana Hoppers: The Princess and the Brute...



Skip's latest books:

Top 12 Dry Flies for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them, is now available on Amazon as an ebook...check it out! Click on the links below to go to the information page on Top 12 Dry Flies (the link to Amazon is at the bottom of the page...)


Click here to get more information about

Top 12 Dry Flies for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them (the link to Amazon is at the bottom of the page)...

Top 12 Nymphs for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them, 2nd Edition, originally published as an e-book only, is now available on Amazon as a paperback...check it out! Click on the links below to go to the information page on Top 12 Nymphs (the link to Amazon is at the bottom of the page...)

Click here to get more information about

Top 12 Nymphs for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them (2nd Edition). . .



Click here to get more information about Skip's e-book,

500 Trout Streams...

Skip's latest paperback book:

Click here to get more information about Skip's latest book,

365 Tips for Trout, Bass, and Panfish...



Print Skip's chart for FREE:

Skip Morris's Trout-Fly Proportion Chart

Go to Skip Morris's Trout Fly Proportion Chart






Skip's Predator is available to buy...

Skip's ultra-popular Predator—a hit fly for bluegills and other panfishes and largemouth bass (also catches smallmouth bass and trout)—is being tied commercially by the Solitude Fly Company.

Skip Morris's Predator

The Predator


CLICK HERE to learn more about or to purchase the Predator...






Learn to Tie Skip's Predator

Do you want to tie the Predator?

Skip Morris's Predator

Tying the Predator

Skip shows you how to tie it on his YouTube Channel link, listed below:

CLICK HERE to see Skip's detailed video on how to tie the Predator...