I recently reread Tom Nixon's Fly Tying and Fly Fishing for Bass and Panfish. I remember taking this book out from the library when I was a boy in the 1970s. I was just getting interested in fly tying, and this was one of the first books I attempted to read on the subject. I say "attempted" because, like most fly tying books of that era, they contained vague instructions and horrible line drawings that were supposed to clarify the techniques described. I returned the book with a sense of being more confused than ever. Fast forward to the present day with forty years of fly tying looking at me in the rearview mirror; I breezed through the book in a couple of evenings. What mystified the ten-year-old boy made perfect sense to me now.
Fly tying books have come a long way! The “tying sequence” illustration for the .56%er from Tom Nixon’s Fly Fishing and Fly Tying for Bass and Panfish.
Over the years, I have become very familiar with many of the patterns that Tom describes in this classic book. One of my favorites is a streamer/wet fly called the 56%er. The tying sequence for the fly was one of the patterns that were "illustrated" (I use that term loosely) in the book. So it was naturally one of the flies that caught the attention of the younger version of me. What also drew me to the pattern was its unique name. Here is how Tom came up with this unusual name. I'll quote the author.
"The .56%er, pronounced "Point fifty-six percent" was originated for a very special purpose. After years of observing and seriously studying dry fly trout fisherman, two seemingly insignificant traits sooner or later always show up: first no dry fly purist is absolutely Simon pure, and second they always arrive at their favorite pool long before there is any indication of the evening hatch. A thorough analysis shows 99.44% to be the maximum degree of purity attainable, but they are 100% fisherman. To pass the time between arrival and any possible chance of raising a trout this scrawny misfit of a fly was offered and accepted because no one could possibly blame a guy for trying one out in the upstream riffle. It would be obvious to any passerby that the angler was just filling out his remaining .56% of his total fishing capacity and could not seriously be accused of fishing. And by that the number the fly became known."
When I read that passage for the first time, it left me wondering what the hell the author was talking about! It made little sense to a ten-year-old, just starting to explore the world of fly fishing. In the decades that passed, I have met many fly fishers like to the ones described in that passage, some of which I call even friends. The meaning behind the name is now clear!
The .56%er is easy to tie and uses easy to source materials. I have seen a few online sources indicate that the pattern was originally designed to imitate a crayfish. However, I saw no reference to that in the book, but it does an excellent job imitating a wide variety of aquatic life that find their way into a bluegill's diet. It is a buggy looking fly, especially if you take the extra step of hitting the yarn body with a dubbing brush to tease out some of the fibers. I also like (and so do the fish) the two-toned effect the yellow underbody provides. I have seen a lot of versions of this pattern over the years, and most are tied far more robustly than the creator of the fly had in mind. The fly was tied sparse and trim. At one time, I had an original .56%er that was supposedly tied by Tom in my collection, but I was unable to find it for this article. From what I remember, the hackle was very sparse, perhaps one side was stripped off, or it was a poor quality feather, most were in those days compared to what is available today. The feather also appeared to have been clipped close to the body, with a slight taper.
This fly has had a spot in my warm water boxes for years, but I have not tied or fished one in a few years. After rereading the book, I was anxious to tie up a few fresh specimens and get them wet.
Streamers are always a good choice for big panfish. You should reserve a spot for the .56%er in your panfish streamer box!
Just like it did in years past, the fly did not disappoint! Fished with a slow, steady hand-twist retrieve around likely panfish cover the fly produced fish after fish. I love coming up with new patterns to catch panfish, but there is something special about tying on one of the classics and learning that they still work as well today as they did back then!
A .56%er tied by yours truly. The originator of the pattern sometimes clipped the hackle close to the body, I tend to keep it long.
Pattern Recipe:
Hook: #8-16 4x long streamer hook
Weight: Lead wire sized to hook (optional)
Tail: Lemon Wood Duck flank feather fibers
Body: Oxford gray yarn with a yellow yarn belly stripe
Hackle: Grizzly, sparse (stripped bare on one side) clipping is optional