Tails on Stillwater Nymphs

If I understand correctly both diawl backs and crunchers are used to represent sub surface buzzer pupae. Why then are they tied with hackle fibre tails? What do the tails represent and what, if anything, do they add to the dressings effectiveness?

[Chris Reeves]

I tie loads of these things for myself and use them all over the country. I never really considered what the tails represent but, thinking about it, most of my crunchers have a pale head hackle such as silver badger or golden badger and tails of the same light shade. Given that I use the light hackle as a sort of semi emerged wing then the tails possibly are representing a shuck.
Certianly once a few fish have chewed the fly the tails often disappear and the fly continues to work but then some days that happens with any fly.
If I'm using a big cruncher on the top dropper (size 12 ) then the tail does help hold it in the film when dibbling but usually thats not the tactic with crunchers, most often they are taken when fished on a floater or midge tip and twiddled very slowly.
Just for interest my most effective crunchers are:-

Dark green Pheasant tail, silver rib, Furnace hen hackle and tail, peacock herl thorax, red thread head,

Brown PT, Silver rib, Golden Badger hen hackle and tail, UV lite brite thorax

Brown PT, Silver rib, Golden Badger hen hackle and tail, Red Holographic thorax

Brown PT, Silver rib, Silver Badger hen hackle and tail, Pearly thorax

Hope this helps

Cheers

[Scratch]

Originally Posted by fossil-fish

If I understand correctly both diawl backs and crunchers are used to represent sub surface buzzer pupae...

Not necessarily so Michael. The Cruncher and Diawl Bach are both non-specific, general suggestive patterns. That's why they work so well from day one until closing day. They cover alot of bases, from pin-fry to buzzers, and various species of upwinged flies.
The tail, as Chris says can be seen as a shuck (Buzzers) or tails of upwinged nymphs.