Since creating this web site I've received numerous questions regarding tying and fishing the RS2. Rim and I attempted to answer some of these questions below. Please note that this page is still under construction.1.0 Questions About Tying the RS2 and the Materials Used 1.1 How can I achieve greater separation between the tail fibetts? 1.2 What kind of feather should be used for the wing? 2.0 Questions About Fishing the RS2 2.1 How do you rig the RS2? 3.0 Questions About the Inventor of the RS2 or the History of the Fly 3.1 How did the RS2 get its name? ===================================================================== 1.0 Answers Regarding Tying the RS2 and the Materials Used 1.1 Creating greater tail fibett separation After you wrap underneath the two tails with just the thread, you'll need to pull on the thread on the far side of the hook toward the hook's eye. (You may also need to hold on to the tail fiber on your side of the hook so that you don't bend that tail toward the center.) This step has two effects: 1) the thread puts pressure at the anchor position on the fibetts and bends them outward and 2) keeps the butt portion of the two tails level. (While applying pressure to the tails in this operation, you can adjust the angle of separation between the two tails.) Immediately after the tails are properly adjusted as described above, take two wraps back toward the eye on top of the thread base you have already laid. This ensures that the tails are tightly secured in the proper position. 1.2 Type of feather to use for the wing For the wing, use a soft hackle neck from Hoffman with dun colored "web." Strip a few "webby" fibers off and tie them in as a bundle. (By "web," Rim refers to the down-like fibers closest to the skin of the fowl.) 2.0 Answers Regarding Fishing the RS2 2.1 Rigging the RS2 The description of the leader system we use: tie a 7.5 foot knotless tapered leader onto your fly line, add another foot of 6X tippet material, then tie on an upper fly of your choice, tie 12-14 inches of 7X tippet directly on the bend of the hook of the upper fly, and then tie on your RS2 onto the other end of your 7X tippet. By having two flies rigged this way, you won't tangle up easily--and it works very well. (We use a size 14 or 16 fly made of pheasant tail, copper ribbing, and bead head formed of copper wire for the upper fly. Rim named this fly The Hooker.) The length of your leader will vary on the river you fish. We use lead putty about a foot above the upper fly to sink the rig. The amount of lead required varies based on the water flow, how deep you want to sink the fly, etc. The RS2 works great at any level in the river. I fished during a hatch on my local river. There was a lot of surface action, so I kept removing lead from my line (it's very easy to adjust the amount of lead on the line using lead putty) until I started getting hits. Later in the day I fished a very deep pool, so I added lead and continued catching fish. 3.0 Answers Regarding the Inventor of the RS2 and the History of the Fly 3.1 How the RS2 got its name In order to describe how the RS2 got its name, I should first tell you what led to its invention. When Rim Chung took up fly fishing thirty years ago, he, much like many of us, was bewildered by the choice of flies in fly shops and mail order catalogs. He noticed that there were too many flies with different names that closely resembled each other. Soon Rim began to experiment with his own fly designs. He named his first successful fly Rim's Semblance, followed shortly thereafter by Rim's Semblance #2. He deliberately picked the word "Semblance" to indicate that this fly was not the imitation of any particular insect, which would have limited its function. Instead, the RS2 suggested a variety of insects. The RS2 proved to be an eclectic fly that has replaced all other flies (dries, emergers, nymphs, etc.) in Rim's fly box. The RS2 comes in many sizes and colors, but the shape remains unchanged as is the name.
© Copyright 1998. Rim Chung and Ferenc Horvath.