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 2,  Issue 11                                                                   October  2001

 PRINCE NYMPH

By Bob Ireton

Photography by Bob Kimsey and Bob Ireton

The Prince Nymph is my very favorite all-purpose  nymph imitation. I probably  have caught  more trout on this pattern than all the other patterns I have  tried. I also have  caught  most of my largest trout on this pattern. 

Nymphs weren’t commonplace in the fly boxes of trout fishermen until the 1940’s and 1950’s. Prior to then, a variety  of wet flies was used to imitate  the  immature  aquatic food forms. Now we know  that nymphs compose approximately  90% of a trout’s diet. With this in mind, more anglers are stocking their fly boxes with a good supply of nymphs. 

This fly works best when fished right above the bottom in riffles, fast runs, and pocket water. It can be fished dead drift, down and across, but I prefer to fish it straight up, or up and across, under a strike indicator. I find size 14-18 is the best overall  size. It’s hard to beat a Prince Nymph!

MATERIALS

 Hook      TMC 5263, Daiichi 1720, Orvis 1526, Mustad 9672   size 6-18

Thread   Black  6/0 for size 12 and larger   8/0 for size 14 and smaller

Weight   Lead wire, approximately same diameter as hook shank

Tail        Brown goose or turkey biots

Rib         Gold tinsel, or copper wire, to match the size hook you use

Body       Peacock herl

Legs        Brown or furnace hen hackle, size to match the fly

Wing      White goose or turkey biots 

TYING  STEPS

1 – Secure hook properly in 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 a point above barb.  Build a small ball of thread or dubbing at this location. This will cause the biots used for the tail to flare out. If you are tying a weighted nymph, add the lead wire now. Build a thread ramp on each side of the lead wraps. Half-hitch. Coat lead wire and thread with head cement.
2 – Tie in the two biots for the tail, so one is on each side of shank, with the tips extending past the tie-in point the length of the hook gap. Tie the biots so that they will flare outward from the thread ball. Trim excess butts. Half-hitch.
3 – Tie in a piece of gold tinsel at the biot tie-in location, with the loose ends extending rearward. Half-hitch. Prepare and tie in several strands of peacock herl.
4 – Next palmer the strands of herl forward one strand at a time, and tie off, leaving enough space for the hackle and wings. Repeat this step with the remaining strands of herl. Trim off butts, and half-hitch
5 – Palmer gold tinsel forward, giving body  a segmented look. Tie off, and trim excess tinsel. Half-hitch. Prepare proper size hackle, and tie in with shiny side facing forward. Wrap hackle one or two complete turns, and tie off. Trim excess hackle. Half-hitch.
6 – Lay a pair of biots on top of hook in a ‘V’ configuration, with points facing rearward, so length of wings are the same length as the hook shank. Tie in, and trim off butts. Form a head, half-hitch, whip finish, and add head cement.

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