Heritage Flies - Part 5 The White Death and the TVN Nymph.

Peter Brigg

The White Death -1981

The White Death is a good example of an observant, thinking angler applying practical experience to creating a fly that will successfully fool fish when they were keyed onto a specific insect to the exclusion of almost all else. Robin Fick the creator of the White Death is just such an angler and accomplished fly tyer. The importance of observation while on the water, taking notice of the feeding behaviour of the fish and the life-cycle stages of the insects being imitated, cannot be over emphasised in applying what one has learnt to tying relevant patterns.

For further reading it is suggest that you have a look at Robin’s full and interesting story of how the White Death came about in Chapter 9 of South African Fishing Flies. An anthology of milestone patterns, (Struik Lifestyle 2017).

Robin added this anecdote about the White Death’s beginnings - “This fly will be the death of all trout in this dam,” said Jan de Jager his fishing companion and so the name was created for this all-white fly, the ‘White Death’. It became a standard for fishing the evening rise in Natal and as local anglers moved to other centres, so they spread the word. I left Natal in 1985, lived in Cape Town until 1990 and then moved to the Garden Route and only then did I see the White Death in Dean Riphagen’s Book, The

South African Fly Fishing Handbook (New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd 1998) and subsequent magazine articles, and realised that the fly had become so popular. I also discovered much later that this fly had caught trout all over South Africa and Europe.

John Beams with Mark McKereth is from Tom Sutcliffe's photo archive.

Dressing Hook - Tiemco 2302 in sizes 8 to 18. Thread - 6/0 White. Body - White chenille. Underwing (optional) - Pearlescent Krystal Flash. Overwing - White marabou.

TVN Nymph later version

www.saflyfishingmag.co.za Return to contents TVN Nymph – 1985

If the Walker’s Killer is South Africa’s most iconic fly then Theo van Niekerk’s TVN Nymph, which was tied to imitate a fresh water mussel, Corbicula fluminalis, found in the Vaal River, was the fly of the century. It was to have a profound impact throughout the country and its influence endures to this day – not because of its intrinsic qualities as a fly or because it possessed any specific powers of attraction, but because it changed a mindset.

For sound reason the February 1985 issue of T ight Lines/Stywe Lyne magazine described Van Niekerk’s pioneering experiments as the most important discovery of the previous half century. However, the point must be made that as early as the mid-1800s it was recorded that yellowish were being caught on a fly known as the Kom Gou, thought to be the oldest locally tied fly, circa 1855, creator unknown. A traditional British styled wet fly that Bertie Benion recorded was used for Yellowfish well before the 1920s until it became a popular trout fly after their introduction in the late 1800s. However, the TVN Nymph was certainly a standout, milestone pattern during the pioneering days and has been recognised as such.

By the time Van Niekerk died on 6 November 2003, fly fishing for Yellowfish was practised throughout the country and anglers sought to catch all six species found in South Africa on fly. The many effective patterns for Yellowfish have expanded exponentially with the rapidly developing interest of flyfishers in targeting the various species.

In the 1980s there were not the range of materials that we have today and in many instances fly tyers made do with everyday items for their creations. Theo van Niekerk’s first TVN Nymphs were no exception, heavily weighted, body of embroidery thread, head of clipped deer hair and with the ribbing and tail of gold paper cut to shape it is said, from the wrapping of a Crunchie chocolate bar. Unable to find a perfect original, the flies in the picture were tied by Theo, but clearly have been used and eaten by a few Yellowfish. Subsequently, changes were made incorporating orange embroidery thread tail and tinsel ribbing. It was also scaled down in style to represent a typical nymph pattern to imitate mayfly nymphs and even caddis. A more detailed account of the TVN Nymph by Ed Herbst can be found at http:// www.tomsutcliffe.co.za/rss-feed/item/164- tying-the-tvn-nymph.html 17