Reading Lawton's book on nymphs and he mentions that Sawyer used red copper wire, no silk, to tie the P.T. He says Sawyer's commercial version had the
PT doubled back over and wired down at the thorax with the wire advanced back up to the eye to finish. The PT was also spiralled around the wire before being
wrapped onto the hook, if I am reading Lawton correctly. Anyone have a source for the wire and tying instructions for Sawyer's commercial version? Don
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Tying Sawyer's P.T.?
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 Zenkoanhead |
Tying Sawyer's P.T.? |
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Posts: 1387 10/27/2008 11:24 |
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mvbrooks |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 1710 10/27/2008 11:33 |
The wire is, I think, Phosphor-Bronze, at least that is what I use. It's a 26 guage electrical wire, very thin and strong, and is a red color.
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joaniebo |
#2 | |||
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Posts: 1645 10/27/2008 13:33 |
Don
Try this link to see the great man tying the PT nymph (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=416Os9V84n8 ). Regarding the wire, I use some very thin red copper wire that a friend gave me from a small motor or ballast. Alternately, I use some other copper wires. The name of the substitute wire is "Jim Shearer's Midge Wire" in .0035" and .0045" thicknesses. Best Bob |
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maruoff |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 864 10/27/2008 13:57 |
have a look for charlies flybox. he is one of the very best flytiers out there. I have never seen more perfect flies than his and he has great instructions on
his website.
also you could check for davie mcphail on youtube. he is a scotsman and very well known for his salmon flies et al. he has a tying instruction there too I believe. |
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Robin Rhyne |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 14 10/27/2008 20:03 |
Well the historical value alone is fantastic! Seeing Frank Sawyer tie, wow!
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rollcast |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 736 10/28/2008 20:43 |
He only had pheasant skin and copper wire because there was a war on. All the silk was being used for parachuts. Pheasants were still being raised for officers
to shoot, and wire was readily available from old lamps.
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Zenkoanhead |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 1389 10/29/2008 10:32 |
Roll. Do you have good sources on Sawyer using wire because of a silk thread shortage in GB during WWII? A little before my time, although I had heard about
the parachute business. I assumed Sawyer used only wire because he was a minimalist. Don
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joaniebo |
#7 | |||
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Posts: 1648 10/29/2008 11:33 |
Don
I believe that you may be correct, in that Oliver Kite (a neighbor and friend of Frank Sawyer) came up with several dry fly patterns, including "Kite's Imperial", that used silk threads in OK's dressings. In Frank Sawyer's book "Nymphs and the Trout" FS talks about "Association" members Brig. General Carey and Colonel G. E. Sharp and their methods, etc. on tying and fishing nymphs. On page 16 in the book, Frank Sawyer states: "For awhile I perservered as he did, with silks, tinsels, furs and feathers, but to make them sink as I wanted meant anointing them with glycerine or with spit or mud. Gen. Carey had draped some lead around one or two of his patterns but this, though it had the desired effect in making the artificial sink, destroyed what artistry he had accomplished in his tying. It was then that I started to use very fine copper wire as a ballast and to build up a base; finally I dispensed entirely with silks, and used the wire to tie in and finish off the dressing. I found that in this way I could dress nymphs which not only had the desired weight to make them sink easily, but which in general shape and colouration conformed very closely to the trout's view of a natural insect." Don - have fun tying with wire and feathers only. I've tied quite a few PT and Grey Goose nymphs with just wire and feathers but still can't get what I would consider to be a decent looking nymph that would be anything near the pics (and samples) that I've seen of Frank Sawyer's tyings. Of his nymph patterns, the only one that I feel I get "close" to the appearance of his dressings is with the Killer Bug. Best Bob |
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HansWeilenmann |
#8 | |||
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Posts: 3 10/30/2008 03:53 |
Here is a sample PT tied by Mrs. Frank Sawyer
 Cheers, Hans W
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Zenkoanhead |
#9 | |||
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Posts: 1391 10/30/2008 13:25 |
Thanks all. It is pretty clear that Mrs. Sawyer's fly has the PT folded back and tied off at the rear of the the thorax. The wire has not been advanced
back up to the eye. A similar pix appears on the cover of Lawton's book but it was pretty small. It also appears that the PT was wrapped around the wire as
opposed to a simple ribbing. I think I can tie a decent wire and PT nymph with the clarifications. Don
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ThirdMeadow |
#10 | |||
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Posts: 375 10/30/2008 22:40 |
I keep a couple of sizes of copper wire in bobbins for sculpting underbodies of nymphs, ribbing nymphs and soft hackles, etc. I buy it from Ebay seller
"sousamartins", who sells 1000 ft. ends of bulk spools by "AWG wire gauge" sizes. Here is a table of AWG wire gauges and diameters:
www.tfcbooks.com/referenc/wiresize.htm
I use AWG41 quite a lot, because it is thinner than the smallest Wapsi Ultrawire and allows finely sculped underbodies. (Wapsi Ultrawire "Brassie" is AWG32, "Small" is AWG34, and "Extra Small" is AWG38.) I've tried AWG45, but it is really too thin and breaks easily. Here is a Sawyer PT tied with only wire and pheasant tail. The tying is slightly different from Sawyer's original, because I try to conceal the wire. The end result works quite well. Sawyer's PT is definitely one of the all time great fly patterns. --Phil 
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wsbailey |
Sawyer PT by Oliver Edwards | #11 | ||
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Posts: 19 11/06/2008 20:51 |
Here is Oliver Edwards' version on youtube. Bill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFYlIwDuPiE |
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flyfshn76 |
#12 | |||
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Posts: 9 11/06/2008 23:30 |
I love tying those, sinks like a rock and catches fish like crazy. The sawyer pt is actually 1 of the dropper patterns that I use. I love to fish a soft hackle
off the back. good stuff
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Flyman615 |
Pheasant Tail nymphs forever! | #13 | ||
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Posts: 2949 11/09/2008 16:11 |
Thanks for the thread, guys--no pun intended!
I've tied and fished pheasant tail nymphs for 35 years, both Sawyer's original pattern and several derivatives. I can safely say I have caught more trout on PT's under all water conditions than with all other patterns I've used combined. Thanks again, Mr. Sawyer! Best regards, Scott 
Last Edited By: Flyman615 11/10/2008 19:52.
Edited 1 time.
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