Jim Sens joins us in the store to bind a twist on an outright classic. The pheasant tail nymph has actually been through the wringer and back with all of its variations and while we do not mind fishing them with tungsten, that quantity of weight beats the entire function of why this fly was created.
In 1958 English River Keeper Frank Sawyer put the pheasant tail together after carefully observing what mayfly nymphs were performing in the water column. He initially connected it unweighted where it rode in the leading couple of inches of the stream with the hackle legs extended. After even closer observation, he saw that mayfly nymphs drifted in the stream with their legs held near their body, so he included wire and pheasant tail fibers as much shorter legs– this got it much deeper and reproduced the natural look of normal mayfly nymph suspended in the circulation.
Now, Jim Sens goes into the discussion. He’s included UV hot orange ice dub because, well, orange hotspots appear to work well here on the McKenzie.
Product List:
Hook: TMC100B, Size 10
Thread: Danville 70D, burnt orange
Lead: .015 lead wire
Tail: Pheasant tail, natural
Rib: Copper wire, brassi or small
Body: Pheasant tail, natural
Legs: Pheasant tail, natural
Wing: Pheasant tail, natural
Thorax:Ice Dub, UV hot orange
