Subscribe
Subscribe To The Magazine
Advertisem*nt
Advertisem*nt
Get The Magazine
Subscribe & Save.
Digital Now Included!
Subscribe Now
This mayfly attractor nymph is a guide fly for the ages.
August 21, 2013 By Charlie Craven
Pheasant Tail Nymph Recipe
- Hook: TMC 100SP-Bl #14-20
- Thread: 8/0 Rusty Brown
- Rib: Fine Copper Wire
- Tail, abdomen, wingcase, legs: Natural Pheasant Tail Fibers
- Thorax: Peaco*ck Herl
Tying The Pheasant Tail
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 1 of 12
Start the thread at the 70 % point and tie in a piece of fine copper wire. Wrap back over the wire to the bend of the hook.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 2 of 12
Even the tips of four pheasant tail fibers and tie them in with one wrap of thread at the bend of the hook. The tails should be about 2/3rds of a shank length long.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 3 of 12
Lift the butt ends of the pheasant tail fibers up and out of the way while you wrap the thread forward to the 70% point, forming a tapered underbody.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 4 of 12
Wrap the pheasant tail fibers forward to the starting point and tie them off on the top of the hook.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 5 of 12
Spiral wrap the wire forward over the abdomen to the starting point, Tie off and clip the wire.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 6 of 12
Fold the butt ends of the pheasant tail fibers back over the front of the abdomen and tie them down so they overlap back to the sixty percent point.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 7 of 12
Tie in a small bunch of peaco*ck herl behind the eye and wrap back over it to the base of the wingcase.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 8 of 12
Wrap the peaco*ck forward to just behind the eye. Tie off and trim the herl.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 9 of 12
Fold the pheasant tail fibers forward over the peaco*ck thorax and tie them down behind the eye.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 10 of 12
Pull one strand of pheasant tail back on the each side of the hook and bind them in place with two turns of thread.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 11 of 12
Break off the remaining two strands of pheasant tail, build a smooth head over the butt end and whip finish the thread.
Tying The Pheasant Tail Step 12 of 12
Clip the legs so they are just a touch longer than the wingcase.
Finished Pheasant Tail
GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.
Sign Me Up
Advertisem*nt
Recommended Articles
Temps for Trout: How to Catch Fish that Behave Hot n Cold
Temps for Trout: How to Catch Fish that Behave Hot n Cold
Hilary Hutcheson
Managing Menhaden: The Most Important Fish in the Sea
Managing Menhaden: The Most Important Fish in the Sea
Hilary Hutcheson
How to Get Close to Trout
How to Get Close to Trout
Tom Rosenbauer
Tying the Strong Arm Merkin
Tying the Strong Arm Merkin
David W. Skok
Fly Tying the Perdigon Nymph
Fly Tying the Perdigon Nymph
Charlie Craven
George Daniels Hauling Tuck Cast
George Daniels Hauling Tuck Cast
Fly-Fisherman Staff
Mending the Line Skyrockets to Number 1 on Netflix; Cracks Top 10 Globally
Mending the Line Skyrockets to Number 1 on Netflix; Cracks Top 10 Globally
Josh Bergan with contributions from Ross Purnell
Try Fly Fishing for Alternative Species
Try Fly Fishing for Alternative Species
Ross Purnell
Tying the Kamikaze Sculpin
Tying the Kamikaze Sculpin
Charlie Craven
Craven's Juju Emerger
Craven's Juju Emerger
Charlie Craven
Newman's Micro Matcher Fly Tying Video
Newman's Micro Matcher Fly Tying Video
Charlie Craven
Recent Videos
How-To/Techniques
Small Stream Hopper Fishing
Play
How-To/Techniques
Small Stream Hopper Fishing
Aside from some of the big stonefly hatches, hopper season is often the most anticipated time on the Rocky Mountain angler's calendar. And while the big rivers offer some fantastic opportunities, fishing smaller streams and tributaries often provides faster fishing–sometimes with some surprisingly large trout. Check out our tantalizing tutorial on some of the most exciting fishing of the year.
How-To/Techniques
Fly Tier's Bench: How to Tie Egan's Poacher
Play
How-To/Techniques
Fly Tier's Bench: How to Tie Egan's Poacher
Fly-fishing competition guys like Lance Egan and George Daniel figured out that you didn't always need to strip a streamer to draw a trout's attention. Sometimes a very slow, swinging and even hopping motion down deep was just what the fish were after. Egan has debuted his latest jig-hook streamer offering, and dubbed it the Poacher. It is not only a compelling fly to tie and fish, but the logic and thought process behind it are interesting as well.
Destinations/Species
The Tightest Line
Play
Destinations/Species
The Tightest Line
A look back at Pandion Creative's film The Tightest Line that profiles several guides across the globe, after 10 years. Huge dry-fly browns, fly-eating sharks, Pacific Northwest steelhead, and a charming collective of thoughts and personalities on fly fishing.
How-To/Techniques
How to Tie Craven's Mr. Jones Dry Fly
Play
How-To/Techniques
How to Tie Craven's Mr. Jones Dry Fly
The Mr. Jones, an adult cranefly pattern that skips, skates, and hops, has proved effective all summer long, especially during the hot afternoons and early mornings when these bugs are most active. I find myself often tying it on when things are slow just because it's so fun to fish, and more often than not, I end up smiling and laughing at the antics of aggressive fish making fools of themselves.
How-To/Techniques
How to Tie Craven's Mr. Jones Dry Fly
Play
How-To/Techniques
How to Tie Craven's Mr. Jones Dry Fly
The Mr. Jones, an adult cranefly pattern that skips, skates, and hops, has proved effective all summer long, especially during the hot afternoons and early mornings when these bugs are most active. I find myself often tying it on when things are slow just because it's so fun to fish, and more often than not, I end up smiling and laughing at the antics of aggressive fish making fools of themselves.
How-To/Techniques
How to Fight Trout Effectively and Get them in the Net Quickly
Play
How-To/Techniques
How to Fight Trout Effectively and Get them in the Net Quickly
The battle between angler and trout is one of the most exciting and nerve-rattling experiences in fly fishing. In that intense moment it feels like time is standing still. The following tips will help calm your nerves, and allow you a chance to gain control. Whether you're fishing drys, nymphs, or streamers, battling a resident river trout or a lake monster, these techniques will tire the fish quickly, and successfully allow the trout a safe release to fight another day.
News
Patagonia Advocates for Dam Removal
Play
News
Patagonia Advocates for Dam Removal
From Patagonia: “Each time we remove a dam, life comes rushing back in. For years, we've known that dams are lethal. Now we know they're methane factories. Today, the facts are impossible to ignore. Removing dams repairs our climate, restores lost landscapes, and unites communities. We now have a chance to return life to our rivers.”
Destinations/Species
Science in the Thorofare
Play
Destinations/Species
Science in the Thorofare
Yellowstone National Park employees and Ph.D. students horse pack into the most remote location in the Lower 48 to research spawning-size Yellowstone cutthroats from Yellowstone Lake. The upper upper Yellowstone River drainage, also known as the Thorofare, has long been considered one of the world's greatest fly-fishing destinations.
How-To/Techniques
How to Tie the Picky Eater Perdigon
Play
How-To/Techniques
How to Tie the Picky Eater Perdigon
Like it or not, competition angling is driving many of the advancements in our sport. And while I generally find Perdigons and their cousins to be pretty boring flies, Zach VanDeHey, a 39-year-old Oregonian, and his approach to his Picky Eater Perdigon gives me hope for the future.VanDeHey hatched the idea for his Picky Eater while feeling was that his conventional Perdigons were sinking too fast. Though the entire premise behind slender-bodied nymphs with big tungsten beads is to plummet through the water column to the bottom, these fish were feeding in the middle of the water column. VanDeHey got to work on the vise to design a fly that would sink more slowly and spawned the brilliant idea of not only downsizing the bead, but also adding a dubbing-loop CDC collar to function as a parachute and reduce the rate of descent. This flowing CDC collar adds tons of fluid motion to the fly, and creates enough drag and lift to keep the fly drifting mid-column.Follow along as I twist up this super-fishy fly.
Fly Fishing the Plunge Pools of Yosemite Falls
Ross Purnell and a crew of climber-anglers make a once-in-a-lifetime trip to “middle Earth” to fish for an isolated population of native rainbow trout. The Middle Cascades of Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park is a next-to-impossible section of water to access that few have ever even seen, much less fished. It requires a dangerous climb, followed by rappelling into a gorge, then swimming to the fish. It would require careful planning, even more careful navigation, and a little luck. Follow along on this adventure of all adventures to see what they find, and how they deal with the numerous challenges, both foreseen and unforeseen, in Descent.
Gear
Scientific Anglers Launches Reimagined Tropical Saltwater Fly Lines
Play
Gear
Scientific Anglers Launches Reimagined Tropical Saltwater Fly Lines
The Magnitude series is a completely new creation in the same way that the first breathable waders and the first graphite rods were fundamentally different from their predecessors. These are the first lines from Scientific Anglers that are not polyvinyl chloride. Magnitude lines are made from new, naturally buoyant polymers. That's one reason why they are clear or available with clear tips—because these new polymers don't require an infusion of tiny glass spheres or bubbles for buoyancy.
Gear
Check Out Grundens' New Vector Wader!
Play
Gear
Check Out Grundens' New Vector Wader!
Director of Product Curtis Graves walks us through Grundens' new Vector Wader. It features four-layer laminated puncture-resistant microfiber face fabric and is designed with Grundens' traditional high-mobility structure. It has two large front pockets, is convertible to waist-high, and has a new “warming” neoprene in the stocking feet. Available now.
See All Videos
GET THE MAGAZINE Subscribe & Save
Digital Now Included!
SUBSCRIBE NOW
Give a Gift | Subscriber Services
PREVIEW THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Buy Digital Single Issues
Don't miss an issue.
Buy single digital issue for your phone or tablet.
on the Fly Fisherman App
Other Magazines
Game & Fish
Subscribe
In-Fisherman
Subscribe
Florida Sportsman
Subscribe
Fly Fisherman
Subscribe
See All Other Magazines
Special Interest Magazines
2023 Fly Fisherman Destinations
Buy A Copy
2023 Fly Fishing Made Easy
Buy A Copy
2023 Catfish In-Sider Guide
Buy A Copy
2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide
Buy A Copy
2023 Kayak Fishing Fun
Buy A Copy
2023 In-Fisherman Bass Guide Gear Box
Buy A Copy
Advertisem*nt
GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing.
Get the top Fly Fisherman stories delivered right to your inbox.
Sign Me Up