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Mercer’s Poxyback Nymph & Emerger
Poxyback Emerger PMD
Tying Instructions
1. Debarb the hook by pressing the barb within the vise. Attach the hook to the vise and lay a thread foundation from the midpoint of the shank to the bend of the hook where the thread bisects the barb location.
2. Tie in Olive Brown Z-lon for a shuck, the length is about the same as the shank length. Keep this shuck really thin, you do not need much material and the ends of the shuck should be irregular of various lengths.
3. Tie in a strand of Flat Pearlescent Mylar tinsel for the ribbing at midpoint of the shank and secure along the side of the shank with thread wraps to the base of the shuck. Return the thread back to the midpoint of the shank.
4. Select a narrow segment of Turkey tail that is about 4-5 fibers wide. This will be the back of the dubbed abdomen.
5. Attach a narrow segment of turkey tail to the top of the hook and secure with thread wraps to the base of the shuck. Apply the dubbing blend to the thread by twisting the material around the thread. Push the dubbing up the thread to the base of the hook shank and secure the fibers with one wrap. Once anchored, you can twist the dubbing into a tighter rope.
6. Dub an abdomen ending about midway on the hook shank. Secure with a couple of thread wraps.
7. Bring the turkey segment over the dubbed abdomen for a back and secure with 4-5 spiral wraps of the Mylar tinsel. Secure with thread wraps at the midway position. Trim off the tag end of the tinsel and turkey segment.
8. Select another segment of Turkey Tail that is about the same width as the hook gap.
9. Attach this section to the top of the hook shank behind the eye of the hook and secure with thread wraps to the end of the abdomen for a wingcase.
10. Attach some marabou fibers with a thread wrap around the marabou tips at the end of the abdomen.
11. Adjust the length of the tips so that they are about 1/2 the length of the abdomen by pulling on the base of the marabou. Then secure with a few tight thread wraps and trim off the base end of the marabou.
12. Dub a thorax in front of the gills that is twice the diameter of the abdomen. Leave at least one eye length of shank bare in front of the thorax. Separate the marabou tips with half of the material pushed to either side of the shank so that there is room to bring the turkey segment over the thorax.
13. Bring the Turkey segment wingcase over the thorax and secure behind the eye. Attach a small number of Z-lon fibers in front of the thorax for a wing. The length should be about the same as the shank length.
14. Attach a hackle just behind the eye by the butts.
15. Wrap the hackle 3 times and secure with thread wraps. Apply a couple of half hitches.
16. Trim off the tag end of the hackle and apply a drop of head cement to the the hitches behind the eye.
17. Apply a drop of UV Fly Finish Thick to the wingcase. Use a bodkin to spread the finish of the edges of the wingcase.
18. Use a UV Lamp to set the finish into a hard epoxy covering.
19. The finished Poxyback emerger, PMD
Poxyback Nymph PMD
Tying Instructions
1. Wrap lead weight around the shank about 5-6 times in the thorax region just behind the eye. Secure with thread wraps and wrap the thread back to just above the barb.
2. Select three Pheasant Tail fibers and even the tips. Separating the fibers and changing the order will help keep the fibers from interlocking.
3. Tie in the 3 Pheasant Tail Fiber tips for a tail, length about 1/2 shank. Splay the fibers with a wrap underneath the fibers.
4. Tie in a piece of Pearl Krystalflash ribbing at base of tail and a narrow segment of turkey tail that is about 4 fibers in width.
5. Apply the dubbing blend to the thread and lock in the first fibers of the dubbing to the hook shank with a tight wrap. This anchor placement will allow you to twist the dubbing tighter around the thread.
6. Dub a tapered abdomen up to the midpoint of the shank and secure with some thread wraps.
7. Bring the turkey segment over the abdomen for a shellback, securing with a couple of thread wraps.
8. Spiral wrap of the krsytalflash up to the thorax region and secure with a couple of tight thread wraps within the thorax region. Trim off the tag end of the shellback and the Krystalflash.
9. Attach a section of Dark Mottled Turkey tail that is about the width of the hook gape for a wingcase at the top of the hook shank behind the eye. Secure with thread wraps over the thorax region. Tie in some fibers of tan marabou to both sides of the hook shank at the base of the thorax and adjust the length of the fibers so that they do not exceed the length of the abdomen.
10. Secure with thread wraps.
11. Apply dubbing to the thread and dub a thorax that is twice the diameter of the abdomen.
12. Leave some space behind the eye.
13. Bring the Wingcase over the thorax and secure with 5-6 thread wraps.
14. Epoxy the wingcase with a drop of thick UV Fly Finish.
15. Harden the epoxy with a UV lamp. It only takes seconds.
16. Attach some fibers on each side of the thorax for legs. The legs should extend to about half the abdomen.
17. Trim off the tag ends of the leg fibers and secure with a few tight thread wraps.
18. Dub a small head and whip finish.
19. The finished Poxyback PMD Nymph.
| Materials
to Order Material, click the link |
|
|---|---|
| Hook | TMC 200R #16-18 |
| Thread | Uni Thread Rusty Brown 8/0 |
| Body | 33% Rust Antron Dubbing , 33% Ginger Antron Dubbing, and 33% Fl. Orange Antron Dubbing |
| Thorax | 33% Rust Antron Dubbing , 33% Ginger Antron Dubbing, and 33% Fl. Orange Antron Dubbing |
| Back Stripe | Thin Segment of Cinnamon Tip Turkey Tail |
| Shuck | Olive Brown Z-lon |
| Wingcase | Cinnamon Tip Turkey Tail with UV Fly Finish, Thick |
| Wing | Ginger Z-lon |
| Ribbing | Flat Pearlescent Mylar tinsel, narrow |
| Gills | Tan Marabou |
| Hackle | Golden Olive Hackle |
| Materials
to Order Material, click the link |
|
|---|---|
| Hook | TMC 200R #16-20 |
| Thread | Uni Thread Rusty Brown 8/0 |
| Weight | 0.015 Leadfree Wire |
| Body | 33% Rust Antron Dubbing , 33% Ginger Antron Dubbing, and 33% Fl. Orange Antron Dubbing |
| Thorax and Head | 33% Rust Antron Dubbing , 33% Ginger Antron Dubbing, and 33% Fl. Orange Antron Dubbing |
| Back Stripe | Thin Segment of Cinnamon Tip Turkey Tail |
| Tail | Three Ringneck Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Wingcase | Cinnamon Tip Turkey Tail with UV Fly Finish, Thick |
| Ribbing | Flat Pearlescent Mylar tinsel, narrow |
| Gills | Tan Marabou |
| Legs | Golden Brown Grouse Fibers |
Mike Mercer
Mercer’s Poxyback Nymph & Emerger
Mercer’s Poxyback Nymph & Emerger was developed by Mike Mercer of Redding, CA around 1989. Mike designed both a nymphal form and an emerger form for Pale Morning Dun, Blue Wing Olive, Callibaetis, and Green Drakes. Aspects that highlight his pattern are the use of materials to represent gills behind the thorax and the hard shiny epoxy covering of the wingcase.
UV Epoxy
The use of epoxy on the wingcase had been used by earlier tiers, such as Hal Janssen, but Mike utilized this material on a number of patterns and became known for it’s use. Epoxy had been a time consuming step that took time to mix, apply, and harden. Mike also had to use two Turkey segments for wingcases since the epoxy would seep into the thorax dubbing if only one segment was used. This all changed with the use of UV Fly Finish that hardened in seconds with the use of a UV light and requires no mixing. The material is quite viscous and only one segment of turkey is required for the wingcase.Today, the use of UV epoxy is quite common and is an important step to protect the weak fibers of the wingcase.
Marabou Gills
The gills are marabou tips that are placed on each side of the shank in front of the abdomen. The length of the gills is adjusted to not exceed the base of the shuck or tail. This works well with sizes 14-18. However, in sizes 20-22, one wrap of the marabou fibers around the shank will accomplish the same thing and is much easier.
Light/Dark segmentation
Mike believed that fish are attracted to light/dark contrasts and the darker wingcase with the lighter thorax provides that contrast. His patterns also use dark/light segmentation in the abdomen using pearl flashabou or pearl krystalflash ribbing with a stripe of Turkey tail that is about 3-4 fibers wide. All of his patterns have this stripe except the Callibaetis. The thorax and abdomen dubbing is a blend of colors. Try to include at least three Antron colors to come up with the proper hue. This spectrum will give the fly a mottled effect, more of the natural coloration. Mike formulated a dubbing blend that was sold within a dispenser but this dispenser is no longer distributed nationally. However, you might find it available through The Fly Shop. Spirit River formulated a number of blends that are very similar and are currently sold as Antron Dubbing.
Emergent vs Nymphal forms
The emergent forms generally show a darker wingcase, a trailing shuck, and an addition of a forward wing with hackle. The nymphal form will have a tail represented by 3 Pheasant Tail fiber tips or 3 Ostrich herls, legs represented by partridge or Grouse fibers, a small dubbed head and is usually weighted.
Variations
Poxyback Emerger Callibaetis
Poxyback Nymph Callibaetis
Poxyback Emerger Blue Wing Olive
Poxyback Nymph Blue Wing Olive
