Pheasant Tail Nymph Colors

[jsmith697]

I got pretty good at tying basic pheasant tail nymphs and one thing I began noticing is most of the insects I find under rocks look pretty similar to either the pheasant tail or the hare's ear nymph.

I found some black, light tan, dark tan, brown and natural pheasant tail colors online that I think would cover a good portion of the aquatic insect color spectrum. By applying these different colors along with varying hook sizes I think I could roughly mimic almost any aquatic bug I could run into.

Seeing that I can tie pheasant tail nymphs pretty well, would buying different color pheasant tail feathers and varying hook size be an effective way to broadly cover the majority of aquatic insects until I get advanced enough to start tying more specific looking things?

 

[Stevie-B]

I do well on spring creeks with a small (sz 18) olive PT. Use it as a dropper.

 

[pcray1231]

Yes, although don't get too carried away with imitating color. You could have a dark (brown) and light (tan-ish) variant if you want.

But in the end, if you want to vary the pattern to be more effective in specific situations, I think in terms of importance the variables are.

1. Size.

2. Weight (I break mine into 3 weights, ID'd by thread color. One is tied on a dry fly hook and is used for floating nymphs or higher in the water column. One is on a nymph hook and is the standard general use nymph. And one is with a wire underbody for deep dredging/anchor flies).

3. Color.

So, if you want to do, say, 4 different colors, in 3 different weights, in 6 different sizes, well, you're now talking 72 variants of the pheasant tail in your box. And if you want 4 or 5 of each of those variants..... See the problem?

So in order to cut down on variants, I generally approach it as hatch specific. For example.

The only size 12 bug I often try to imitate is a March Brown. They are lighter in color, they are clinger nymphs, bottom dwellers, and often found in heavy pocket water where you need to get down quick. Hence, I tie my size 12's a little lighter in color. I don't bother with the floating nymphs at all. I load up on the heavy nymphs and tie a few regular ones. Just 2 variants at size 12.

But at size 16, you got the sulphers. And floating nymphs are MOST important there, for me anyway. So I tie lots of floaters, in addition to a few "regular" nymphs for deeper water non-hatch situations. But not many, if any, heavy ones.

 

[jsmith697]

Interesting...thank you.

I started getting overwhelmed with the amount of different flies and different insect types. So, hopefully getting some reliable pheasant tails in different colors and sizes tied will help me get some footing.

Much appreciated.

 

[pcray1231]

Understand the desire to reduce the # of variants.

Like I said, if I had to choose between 2 color variants, or 2 weight variants, I'd choose to vary the weight in a heartbeat. It results in a very real difference in action and how I'm able to present it. And that certainly leads to catching more fish. On the other hand, whether a slight color variation leads to more fish could be debated endlessly. Getting color perfect certainly wouldn't hurt. But it adds yet another variant to your fly box and may not actually help, either.

It's just something to think about. We fishermen tend to focus on how much our imitations look like the real bug. IMO, we should focus less on that, and more on how much our imitations ACT like the real bug.

In dry flies, for example, many will argue that it doesn't really help you to be able to tell the difference between a sulpher and a light cahill. And they'll follow it up by saying that yellowish orange vs. yellow just doesn't make much difference to a trout. I agree on the color not mattering very much, but not that it makes identification a mute point. ID'ing a bug isn't to get an exact color match or to put the right number of tails on your fly. Rather, it's to help you decide whether to focus on riffles or pools. If nymphing, whether to dredge bottom or put it in the water column. During a hatch should you use floating nymphs/emergers or duns. Whether to stick around for an expected a spinner fall in the evening, or assume it won't happen. etc. It helps you make "fishing" decisions.

 

[ShearMadness]

I dont understand why to vary the weight. What situations call for a heavy/light nymph? Why couldn't i accomplish it with splitshot?

 

[afishinado]

jsmith697 wrote:
I got pretty good at tying basic pheasant tail nymphs and one thing I began noticing is most of the insects I find under rocks look pretty similar to either the pheasant tail or the hare's ear nymph.

I found some black, light tan, dark tan, brown and natural pheasant tail colors online that I think would cover a good portion of the aquatic insect color spectrum. By applying these different colors along with varying hook sizes I think I could roughly mimic almost any aquatic bug I could run into.

Seeing that I can tie pheasant tail nymphs pretty well, would buying different color pheasant tail feathers and varying hook size be an effective way to broadly cover the majority of aquatic insects until I get advanced enough to start tying more specific looking things?

^ You're on the right track to simplifying your nymph selections for mayflies. Different sizes as well as light and dark PTs and HEs will cover most of the mayfly nymphs and maybe even some caddis larva.

The same really for dries. Different sizes of light and dark dry flies will also cover most mayflies. If you choose a parachute tie it can also cover mayfly spinners as well as duns.

Add some sizes of downwing caddis patterns in dark and light colors and you have most any hatch covered including many stoneflies.

Throw in some terrestrials like beetles and ants and you are ready for most anything the stream has to throw at you.

If you spot something hatching on the water you can match it with a an upwing or downwing pattern close to the same size in a dark or light color. You will be miles ahead of most anglers with your fly selection.

 

[Cold]

I dont understand why to vary the weight. What situations call for a heavy/light nymph? Why couldn't i accomplish it with splitshot?

For the record, I hate nymphing, only do it when other methods aren't producing, and as such, don't have a nymph for all situations...but that being said the vast majority of my nymphs are tied with as much weight as I can possibly incorporate into them...heavy hooks, lead wire, tungsten beads...most in my box have all three.

Sure, I could use shot, but that adds another hinge (and by extension snag, break off, and tangle) point that also doesn't get me another hook in the water. I'd much rather run two heavy nymphs than a nymph and shot.

That being said, I understand the situations where a floating nymph might be an advantage, but in any situation where a floating nymph is working, I'm going to be very reluctant to get away from a dry, emerger, or soft hackle anyway, so I don't bother. Likewise, the "mid-weight" nymphs are great, but in a situation where they'd be working, I can almost as easily use my heavy nymphs under a float.

 

[pcray1231]

I dont understand why to vary the weight. What situations call for a heavy/light nymph?

Heavy nymphs are probably used most. For fishing/rolling bottom.

Medium nymphs - for doing the same in shallower and/or slower water, you get a more natural drift than a weighted one. Or suspending in the water column, often during hatches. If using a team of nymphs, often you have a medium and a heavy, which gives you two different actions, and one rolls bottom while the other rides just above it. Can play with which is the point and which is the dropper. I'd classify almost all store bought nymphs as "medium". Meaning no wire underbody. But on heavy gauge hooks.

Light nymphs - for fishing high in the water column, or even nearly floating just under the film. Tie with a dry fly hooks. Avoid any wire "decoration". Grease as necessary.

This is usually hatch situations. Some bugs, for instance, sulphers, the nymph swims to the surface and hangs out there for a long time before emergence. As a nymph. They are of the swimmer variety of nymph, and they look like schools of minnows congregating on the surface. As the moment approaches to hatch, their swimming efficiency goes to heck and they start doing kind of a side stroke just under the film for a while, like a sick dying little minnow. Eventually they stop with their back to the surface, the back splits open, and out pops a dun onto the surface leaving a shuck behind. It is very common that you see boils or porpoises, but the fish are keying in on those fidgeting nymphs near the surface rather than winged duns on the surface. Emergers or no-hackle dries like comparaduns will take fish in this situation so long as you get a good portion of the body under the film rather than on it. But floating nymphs work better, IMO, if you can keep them near the surface. I usually fish a dry dropper in these situations. High floatin dun with a light nymph trailed by a foot or so, greased tippet just ahead of the dropper. If fish start taking the dun, snip the dropper off.

Other bugs don't transform this way. Some may emerge from their nymphal shucks on the bottom and "fly" to the surface as duns (traditional wet flies are deadly in these situations). Some may crawl out of the water to hatch. And even ones that do go to the surface as nymphs, other species may be much quicker about the hatching part, making duns more important.

Why couldn't i accomplish it with splitshot?

You can, but not as well. The biggest issue most have with deep nymphing is strike detection. And getting better is all about line control. Keeping a tight line, and staying "in touch" with your nymph. Having a big old shot between your rod tip and nymph puts you in touch with your split shot, not your nymph, and many strikes go undetected this way. The more and bigger the shot you have, the worse this problem gets. Weighting the nymph can help you get away from the use of shot, or, at the very least, allow you to get away with smaller or fewer shot.

Also, IMO, shot tend to snag much easier than weighted nymphs. And shot also imparts more drag.

 

[jkilroy]

I would have a couple in golden pheasant and turkey tail feather also. I can't remember which one worked but one of them caught a few nice fish on big spring size 16, blk nic bead. Most of my sizes are 16-18. A few in 14, straight fibers no collar

 

[Sylvaneous]

In reality, real in the drift stream situations, it's hard to get much significant difference; only really with the most different pheasant tail colors, then basically lighter or darker. Tiny nuances, like olive dyed vs. natural, well, that's pretty hard to see. A Beatis is actually more this olive color with a paraleptophlebia (blue quill) more the copper color of natural tail. Only really in comparison can you easily see the difference. I had a ginger-dyed tail and it made a good sulfur nymph color, but it was much differently colored than other tails. Exact color matches help with fisherman's confidence, but I doubt it costs or gains any fish.

Syl

 

[Fly-Swatter]

An option I like for the lighter PT variant is using golden pheasant tails. They tend to be much lighter and mottled. That gives them a buggy appearance. I learned this on Loren Williams' website: http://loren.teamfreestone.com/tutorials/nymphs/lws-light-quill-sulphur

 

[SBecker]

Another option is just tying your pt's with thread bodies in different variations of colors and wire. I have yet to notice a difference in fish catching rates. Durability is greater and they sink like a rock. I really like to use black wire. Gives it that biot look.

 

[geebee]

yet another variation for very small sizes is to use no thread and just use wire and three strands of PT and some herl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=416Os9V84n8

for durability you can superglue the shank before you wrap the PT round it.

I think in small sizes, any buggy material will do - herl itself is very good when ribbed with wire or tinsel, like the famous Diawl Bach.

you might also wish to use two wraps of bright thread at the head or behind the bead in the style of a Frenchie.

you can tye em on jigs hooks or half the shank of an 20 if you want to go micro, the combinations are endless.

 

[JeffK]

An old guide to weight is that it should sink to the bottom in 3 seconds. Too heavy and a nymph will hang up on the bottom all the time; too light and it wouldn't get to the bottom.

You eventually get a feel for depth and speed of water and how heavy the nymph should be.

Few people actually look under rocks, but it is what we are supposed to do it. No need to get close and do an ID, but get a general impression of the size of the bugs and if they are light or dark. Then get a nymph in the same ballpark and you should be OK.

Fish get so keyed into sulphurs anywhere I fish that is the one hatch where I may do a species specific nymph. However, size 16 pheasant tails will generally do fine.

 

[IdratherbePhishing]

buy the yellow dyed pheasant tails. one my go tos