Fly of the Month Bob Ireton brings together his experience in fly fishing, aquatic entomology, and knowledge of fly tying techniques and materials, to design and tie durable and effective flies.

   Volume 3,  Issue 12                                                                 December  2002

 PHEASANT TAIL NYMPH

Fly and Text by Bob Ireton
Photography by Bob Kimsey and Bob Ireton

The pheasant tail nymph was first designed by British river keeper Frank Sawyer, who twisted the wire and pheasant tail fibers around one another, and wrapped them forward together, forming the abdomen and thorax. This fly suggests many of the skinny mayfly nymphs that live in habitats from fast riffles to the slower pools of rocky streams, in clear, weedy spring creeks and tailwaters, and in ponds and lakes.

Tying a pheasant tail nymph seems straightforward enough. However, as I did research on this fly, I found many different variations of tying it. Some were simple and basic, and others were more involved. So I examined some of the specimens of mayfly nymphs in my collection, and saw that pheasant tail nymphs look most like a swimmer mayfly nymph, and similar to a crawler mayfly nymph. I also talked to my friend Dan, who lives in Eastern Tennessee and uses this pattern to fish the tailwaters there, for his thoughts about this pattern. I considered all this information, and came up with a pattern using what I felt was the best of these resources.

 This is one of the most important patterns for trout, and definitely one that should be in every fly box.

MATERIALS:

Hook –	Size 10-24   TMC 5262, Dai-Riki 730, Daiichi 1710, Orvis 1524, or Mustad 9671
Thread –	6/0 or 8/0 Rusty Brown
Tail –	Ringneck pheasant tail fiber tips
Weight –	Lead wire same diameter or smaller than hook shank
Rib –	Copper wire
Body –	Ringneck pheasant tail fibers
Wingcase –	Ringneck pheasant tail fibers
Thorax –	Bronze peacock herl
Legs –	Ringneck pheasant tail fiber tips

TYING STEPS

	CLICK ON PICTURES FOR LARGER VIEW
1 – Secure the hook properly in the vice, and pinch down barb, if desired. Tie in thread one hook eye space behind eye of hook, and lay on a thread base rearward, stopping at the hook barb. If you want to add weight, put several wraps of lead wire the same diameter as the hook shank, or smaller, in thorax area. Build a thread ramp on either side of the lead, and also wrap well over the lead itself. Tie a half hitch. Coat the weight with head cement.
2 – Cut a small bunch of fibers from a pheasant tail feather. Align the tips of the fibers, and lay on top of hook shank. Adjust so tail is the length of the hook shank, and tie in. Half hitch. Don’t wrap thread forward of this point, because you will be using the remainder of the fibers to form the abdomen. Now tie in a piece of copper wire for the ribbing.
3 – Bring thread forward, and stop 1/3  hook shank behind hook eye. Half hitch. Take the pheasant tail fibers that are tied in at the tail, and twist them slightly to form a rope. Palmer this forward, stopping at the thread, and tie off. Half hitch. Now wind the copper wire in the opposite direction as the fibers, forming the ribbing. Tie off, and half hitch. Trim butts of fibers and wire.
4 – Take about 6 pheasant tail fibers, and align the tips. Lay on top of hook shank, tips facing forward and extending forward past hook eye. Tie in so the length is about 1/2 hook shank length. These tips will become the legs. Tie down the butt section as you go rearward, stopping at the abdomen.  Trim the butts so they are even, and bend over the fibers to form a loop, and tie in securely. Half hitch. Now take a piece of peacock herl, and tie it in at the same location. Half hitch.
5 – Bring the thread forward to a space behind the hook eye. Palmer the peacock herl forward, forming the thorax. Secure with several wraps of thread, trim butt, and half hitch.
6 – Move the legs under the fly, and secure. Now bring the pheasant tail fiber loop forward over the thorax, and secure with several thread wraps, and a half hitch. Trim the butts, and form a head. Half hitch, and whip finish. Add some head cement.

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