Skip Morris Nymphs
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...
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
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
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
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
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
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
Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14, 12
Available in sizes: 16
Skip Nymph, Ultimate, Olive
Ultimate Skip Nymph, Olive
Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14, 12
Skip Morris Nymphs:
Caddis Pupa
Brick Back October Caddis
(aka: BH 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
Available in sizes: 8
Boatman & Backswimmers
Morris Boatman
(aka: Morris Water 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
Dragonfly Nymph
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
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
Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14
Dazzler, Tungsten, Hackled, Purple
Dazzler, Tungsten, Hackled, Purple
Available in sizes: 18, 16, 14
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
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
Royal Flush
(aka: BH 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
Click here to hear Skip's interviews on popular podcasts...
*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:
©Carol Ann Morris
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...)
Top 12 Dry Flies for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them
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 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...)
Top 12 Nymphs for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them (2nd Edition)
Click here to get more information about
Top 12 Nymphs for Trout Streams: How, When, and Where to Fish Them (2nd Edition). . .
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...
500 Trout Streams...
Skip's latest paperback book:
365 Fly Fishing Tips for Trout, Bass, and Panfish
Click here to get more information about Skip's latest book,
365 Tips for Trout, Bass, and Panfish...
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.
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?
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...