Vladi's Woven Polish Nymphs
By Jay Buchner
After moving to Jackson, Wyoming, in the late 60's, Jay turned his love of fishing into a career, guiding anglers in the Jackson Hole area for nearly 20 years as well as owning and operating both a retail mail order fly fishing catalog and a fly fishing shop in Jackson. Jay has authored articles and provided instruction on various aspects of the sport. He joined Fly Fishing Team USA as the coordinator for the World Fly Fishing Championships held in Jackson Hole Wyoming. Since that time he has represented America as a Team USA competitor in Poland, Australia, England, Slovakia and Sweden.

Vladi is a Polish fishermen who has helped the US Team become proficient in Polish Nymphing (where the Czech nymph fishing technique originated)
Hook: Tiemco 2457 - # 6 - #14 , or 2499 SP-BL or other caddis pupa hook

Weight: Lead wire in a diameter that won't make the finished fly too bulky
( .020 wire for #10 pupa - larger wire for bigger sizes A bead head can also be added and used with or without the lead wire)

Underbody: A floss underbody is used to make a smooth even base over the weight, tapered at both ends.

Ribbing: Fine wire, gold, silver, or copper for the desired color effect. Tying thread or monofilament could also be used for other effects.

Woven Body: Select two colors of floss, embroidery yarn , or other satisfactory material for weaving, one light and one dark.

At this point of the tying, Vladi takes the hook out of the vise and turns it upside down. He attaches the weaving material with the light color on the far side and the dark color on the near side of the hook. (whip finish the thread and cut it off so it's out of the way for the weaving) He then turns the vise so it is towards him.

Now comes the hard part. With the hook upside down in the vise and pointing toward you ( if you can adjust the angle of the vise so that it is lower than normal), you will hold the light floss in your right hand and the dark floss in your left hand (don't let go of either until the fly is finished). The first move is to bring the light floss across the belly of the fly (to the left), your right hand should be in front of your left hand, both on the left side of the fly. Bring the dark floss forward, over the light floss and bring it under the hook to the right side of the fly. Now bring the light floss back across the belly (to the right) - your right hand should be in front of the left hand, both on the right side of the fly. Bring the dark floss forward and then under the hook.. You've completed two weaves, one on the left and one on the right. This same sequence continues until you reach the eye of the hook. Hold both strands of floss in one hand and re-attach the tying thread. Tie off the two stands of floss and trim off excess, then rib the fly with the ribbing material between the weave pattern on the belly of the fly. Trim excess ribbing material

Beard: A small clump of fur or marabou tied as a beard to give the impression of legs on the finished nymph.

To do the fly well, it takes a bit of practice to keep the correct tension on the floss so the weave comes out correctly. It seems that when learning this weave the weave comes out more on the sides of the fly than under the belly, and you end up with more of a wide stonefly type nymph than the caddis it's supposed to be. This is a matter of tension control during the weaving.