Materials List:
Hook: Size 10 to 14 Standard Dry Fly
Lead wire 0.025
Thread: Black 6/0
Ribbing: Copper wire, 3 inches of 10 grain
Tail, Wing Case and Legs: 6 to 8 Pheasant Tail Feather fibres (Olive)
Dubbing: Spectra Blend, Brown/Olive
Instructions:
(Note that the usual tips of the Pheasant tails have a rusty tan color).
Mash down the barb of the hook and place in your vise.
Add 5 turns of lead wire as the base of the nymphal thorax.
Tie in the copper wire
Take the pheasant tail fibres and align the tips. Tie these in just before the bend of the hook.
They should be about 1/2 the body length.
Dub on the body, creating a nice taper towards the lead windings
Lift up the pheasant tail fibres, vertically, and continue to wind on the dubbing towards the hook eye.
Wind the ribbing forward catching the pheasant fibres on top of the hook shank
Bend the pheasant tail fibres backward and dub over them
Run the thread to the front and tie down the pheasant tails to form a wing case.
Take the remaining tips of the feather and divide them in two and bend them downwards and backward to form wings on each side.
Tie down these tips, and add a touch of dubbing before whip finishing.
Trim the legs to the length of the thorax.
(For a more aesthetic appearance, you may substitute with an amber dyed mallard flank feather for the legs).
Apply head cement to finish the fly
When fishing the nymph be aware that the natural nymph swims vigorously in slow moving water, with a jerky bending motion between the abdomen and thorax; however in faster streams, the nymph adopts a straight float downstream. In placid water use frequent twitches of the rod tip and line, but in fast water use a gentle lift and drop maneuver.
Just before emergence, the nymph will make several rapid ascents from the river bottom up to the surface as it attempts to break through the meniscus. So, try to imitate this by subtle elevation and relaxation of your rod tip as your fly moves in the current.
You can also use this fly underneath an indicator.
Tippet should be 5x or lighter, even down to 7x if you can minimize your reel’s drag.
Good Luck
david williams