Timbit Nymph Pattern & Tying Instructions

I call this fly the Timbit Nymph. It’s the epitome of a guide fly - easy and quick to tie, yet incredibly versatile and effective. Recently, I’ve become very fond of drop beads and have even become accustomed to their somewhat funky look.

The fly starts by matching a Czech Nymph hook with a slightly oversized bead. Here, a Fulling Mill 5065 in size 14 with a metallic pink 9/64” tungsten drop bead. With the bead countersunk-side up, near the edge of my vise base, I’ll get hold of the hook and secure it with plunger-style hackle pliers. This makes it easy to insert the point of the hook into the hole on the countersunk-side of the bead. I’ll then remove the hook from the pliers and get the assembly firmly secured in the jaws of my tying vise.

For this particular Timbit, I’ve loaded a bobbin with a spool of UTC 70 Denier in fluorescent pink. Get the thread started on the hook shank behind the bead, and take wraps right at the back edge of the bead until it begins to stabilize in an upright position on the shank. Take a few more wraps rearward then snip off the excess tag. What you’re trying to do here is pin the bead against the back edge of the hook eye with a dam of thread wraps. End with your tying thread hanging at about the hook point.

I’ve tried a bunch of materials for the tail of the fly and have found that Coq de Leon fibers look and work the best. These are a medium Pardo. Pull down a dozen or so fibers perpendicular to the stem (please excuse the orange on the thumb, buffalo wings for lunch). Squeeze the tips of the fibers together. Then, pull the stem away from the fibers. This should keep the tips well-aligned. Measure to form a short tail about a hook gap in length, and trim the butt ends of the fibers off even with the back edge of the bead. Secure the fibers to the top of the hook shank, all the way up to the bead, then take rearward wraps until your thread is directly above the hook point. This will be the base of the tail. Take a few more wraps up the shank in preparation for dubbing.

Pink UV Ice Dub is used for the entire body of the fly. Pluck just a small amount free from the packet. Pull up on the dubbing to align the fibers roughly parallel to your tying thread. This will allow you to create an inch-and-a-half long, very slender noodle on your thread. Take wraps with the noodle so the dubbing begins right at the base of the tail, then take touching to overlapping wraps forward to build up a short, lightly tapered body on the fly. Continue taking wraps of bare tying thread at the back edge of the bead to build up a narrow hot spot collar.

Reach for your whip finish tool and use it to do a 5 or 6 turn, back to front whip finish then seat the knot well and snip or cut your tying thread free. A drop of head cement applied to the exposed thread wraps will ensure they don’t come unraveled, even with some wear and tear.

In the end, the fly should be rather small and quite streamlined with a large portion of the bead’s mass located above and in front of the hook eye. This will help the fly to ride in a nearly horizontal orientation and travel bead-first downstream, as well as help it to sink like a stone. Additionally, it gives the fly a somewhat slight but enticing jiggy motion.

I kind of view this more like a style of fly rather than an individual pattern – because by changing the colors of tying thread, the color of the dubbing used as well as the bead color, it’s possible to make Timbits in a wide range of color combinations. Bead and hook sizes can also be changed to suit conditions.

As for the name, I don’t know, it’s just sort of popped into my head.