One Sunday during the cold month of January, 1998 I walked into a fly shop in Castle Rock, Colorado called the Plum Creek Anglers. I asked the gentleman at the counter whether the shop offered any fly tying classes. I'd been fly fishing for years but never tied my own flies. I was always at the mercy of some merchant being honest with me regarding the choice of flies. He signed me up for a class which was offered by the owner of the store. Our conversation soon shifted to fishing. His knowledge of the topic was obvious. The more I listened the more I learned about fishing techniques--more specifically nymphing techniques. He was quite willing to divulge information that other anglers would have kept to themselves, including the locations of his favorite fishing spots. Despite his great knowledge he wasn't boastful; rather, he was reserved... almost shy. Later I found out that he invented the RS2 nymph. His name was Rim Chung. It turned out that he was well known to many avid fisherman in the area. His name appeared in fly fishing books and he'd been featured in regional newspapers many times. Most recently there was a full page article on him in the April 12, 1998 issue of the Rocky Mountain News. Imitations of his invention, the RS2 nymph, are used around the country and possibly around the world. You can buy RS2 imitations from major vendors, such as Orvis, LL Bean, Dan Baily's, etc.
Certainly, the RS2 is the best fly I've ever used. Once I learned to fish this fly, I started to catch fish on a regular basis on the South Platte River known for its selective trout. I had the privilege to fish with Rim, who gave me lots of pointers on nymphing. I noticed during these trips that Rim always caught more fish than anyone else on the river. During the Memorial Day weekend we fished the Bighorn River in Montana. We caught so many fish that even some of the professional guides noticed it. One came up to Rim and asked him what he was using. The RS2 worked great on the Bighorn and as far as I know it works great on any trout stream. Since I started using Rim Chung's fly I never had to use another.
You may wonder what the motivation is for creating this web page. Let me quickly state that it's not commercial. As generous as Rim had been with me, he wanted to share his knowledge with others. Mainly he wanted to show anyone who was interested how to tie his fly properly. He and I spent many hours photographing the process of tying the RS2. Hopefully the pictures and the instructions will provide adequate information to any fly tier to tie his or her own RS2.
There are two separate web pages available containing tying instructions. The text between these pages is identical, but the pictures are different. The original tying page loads faster than the new tying page. The latter, however, has better quality pictures. The photos in the new tying page are clickable to get a close-up view of the fly in each stage of its dressing. As always, your comments are welcome.
Here are some pointers from Rim that may help you fish the RS2.
The RS2 is an emerger, but it shouldn't be treated as a traditional emerger. It shouldn't be limited to near-surface fishing or shouldn't only be fished in the classical ascending manner. This fly should be fished as a nymph. Fish the RS2 as if you were feeding the fish. In other words, find out what depth and channel the fish are feeding and present your fly there. Rim had the following metaphor to explain this method: Imagine you are sitting in your living room in a comfortable chair watching TV. Your wife brings a tray of your favorite food and asks you "Where would you like to eat your meal, here or at the kitchen table?" Most people would pick the place that'd require the least effort to get to. To summarize, by presenting the fly at an inappropriate depth and channel you're saying to the fish "Come and get it!" By contrast, presenting the fly at the correct depth and correct channel you make the choice of taking the fly easier for the fish.
In nymph fishing light tackle has a distinct advantage. The nymph rod should not be any heavier than three weight. (The SAGE 389LL rod is a good choice.) The rod should be equipped with a lighter line than normally called for. (As an example, Rim uses .027" Cortland 444SL running line.) The tapered leader system should be formulated to complement the rod and the fly line. Under Rim's tutelage a number of his friends and acquaintances switched to light tackle. We never had a reason to switch back.
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Rim Chung took up fly fishing 30 years ago. Shortly thereafter he
designed a fly which later evolved into the RS2 (Rim's Semblance #2). His motive was
to come up with a simplified nymph that resembled an emerging mayfly. The success of
the first version of his fly encouraged further improvements until the RS2 evolved. Since designing the RS2, Rim has never used another fly. He successfully fished his fly all over the US, Canada, and even in Korea. The RS2 has gained wide acceptance among fly fisherman. Rim is frequently asked to give presentations by fly fishing clubs around Colorado. |
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions regarding this web page or the information presented herein you can send me e-mail. Depending on the mail volume, I may or may not be able to respond.
© Copyright 1998. Ferenc Horvath.