Tom Nakashima wrote:
At this year's Sportsman Show, I found Denny Rickard to be a very
fascinating person......

........... My next question is why don't you use beaded
nymphs? He held up one of the three beaded nymphs that I had in my cup and
asked where do you think this is going to go when in the water? I looked
puzzled, then he replied; "Right to the bottom!" It's not a natural
movement of any fly!"

This (how much, if any weight on the fly) is an interesting subject.
Too much weight on the fly does indeed create an unnatural drift.
But a small amount (like a small bead) doesn't (in my know-it-all
opinion)
necessarily do the same.

Any fly will have some amount of drag assocaited with it--because the
leader will
interact with the currents. The predominant effect (of the drag) is to
pull
the fly upward, toward the surface. So, from a theoretical, speculative
point of view, you could argue a small amount of weight, which
counteracts
the unnatural tendancy for the fly to rise upwards, results in a more
natural
drift.

But more reliable evidence can be found in the fishing.
Too much weight makes as clinker/sinker that doesn't work well. I feel
I
know that from fishing experience and not from theoretical explanation.
I also feel I know that small semi-lightweight beadheads work very
well.
And it's counter productive to argue with success.