Notes:The Walt's Worm is a pattern designed by Walt Young in 1984 as he fished Spring Creek in Central Pennsylvania. Walt has been an avid fly tier and fly fisherman since the age of 12 and designed this pattern as a way to get his nymph rig down to the bottom. His pattern was simply a 2x nymph hook with 10-12 wraps of lead wire and some Hare's ear dubbing to hide the wire. The body was cigar shaped but not tied to represent any particular insect or worm. Walt used this pattern as his lead nymph and noted that he was out-fishing his "best" nymph, 23 to 3, with this new pattern. Soon, other locals wanted to know what Walt was using and he indicated that the fly as a "water worm" which was a term for a cranefly larvae. Soon the pattern was known as "the water worm that Walt ties" which eventually became known as Walt's Worm. The original Walt's Worm was tied with Hare's Ear dubbing from Hareline. Later, Walt used the Hare's Ear Plus dubbing since it had Antron within the mix. Loren Williams and Pat Weiss adapted the pattern towards Euro Nymphing by adding a slotted bead and a "hot spot". The Sexy Walt's Worm is a variation by Loren Williams adding a small holographic ribbing.
Today, Walt's Worm looks quite different from the original. It is a staple in most Euro Nymphing fly boxes with both a Tungsten slot bead and leadfree wire wraps beneath the dubbing. Hare's Ear is still the desired dubbing but other dubbing mixes such a squirrel are used. Hot spots and tags are incorporated into the pattern for a wide range of attraction. The pattern is often a beginner's choice since it is easily tied and very effective on the stream. For a Euro rig set-up, the pattern is usually less than 0.3 grams and is often used as the lead fly. A large selection of mottled slotted tungsten beads have become available for the euro nymphing market. Dave McKenna created a variation of the Sexy Walt's Worm utilizing these mottled tungsten beads and incorporating a synthetic dubbed collar.
The Walt's Worm is a pattern designed by Walt Young in 1984 as he fished Spring Creek in Central Pennsylvania. Walt has been an avid fly tier and fly fisherman since the age of 12 and designed this pattern as a way to get his nymph rig down to the bottom. His pattern was simply a 2x nymph hook with 10-12 wraps of lead wire and some Hare's ear dubbing to hide the wire. The body was cigar shaped but not tied to represent any particular insect or worm. Walt used this pattern as his lead nymph and noted that he was out-fishing his "best" nymph, 23 to 3, with this new pattern. Soon, other locals wanted to know what Walt was using and he indicated that the fly as a "water worm" which was a term for a cranefly larvae. Soon the pattern was known as "the water worm that Walt ties" which eventually became known as Walt's Worm. The original Walt's Worm was tied with Hare's Ear dubbing from Hareline. Later, Walt used the Hare's Ear Plus dubbing since it had Antron within the mix. Loren Williams and Pat Weiss adapted the pattern towards Euro Nymphing by adding a slotted bead and a "hot spot". The Sexy Walt's Worm is a variation by Loren Williams adding a small holographic ribbing.
