Originally design by Blaede Russell, and tied by David Taylor here, The PAW (Pink And Wet) nymph is a simple beadhead fly built specifically to target Niger barbs. Blaede and David are fly fishing guides for African Waters at Gassa Camp on Cameroon’s Faro River. The Faro is a world-class wild fishery. It is known for its nighttime Nile perch fly fishing, but also its barb and tigerfish options.
The PAW, introduced by Blaede as a nymph for Niger barbs, is tied with a small pink tag tail, and a large copper tungsten beadhead, no smaller than 3mm. The large beadhead makes a big plop when cast. This entices the barbs to investigate the fly, while the pink tail acts as a hotspot. A generally buggy-looking nymph, the PAW has CDC hackle to improve the buggy look, and allow a slower sink rate, keeping the fly in the zone for longer. Although the PAW (and odd squirmy wormy) is used successfully for Niger barbs, it is equally useful for targeting similar insectivorous yellowfish species as well as trout.
In this step-by-step fly tying tutorial, David takes us through how to tie this nymph, and explains a bit about the Faro River fishery. Watch the full video below.
MATERIALS USED:
- Hook: Size #14 jig hook
- Weight: 3mm tungsten beadhead (copper)
- Tail: Pink UV dubbing
- Body: Hare’s fur dubbing
- Hackle: CDC brush
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BTOB RIPSTOP SNAPBACKR450,00 incl VAT -
CTHULHU RIPSTOP SNAPBACKR450,00 incl VAT
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THE RETRO TRUCKER – BLACKR400,00 incl VAT
Great video – enjoyed the scenes in Cameroon (a country I’ve only seen some rocks of, being a geologist). I really liked how David brought the fly together, with all the components ending up looking just like the entire thing was just kinda “born”. Too often my flies look like “bits & pieces” stuck to each other. This one just has that “together look”. Now I’ll have to tie this and test it in August on some Tugela yellows!