Lightning Bug nymphs

[troutbert]

Has anyone had good luck with Lightning Bug nymphs in PA?

If so, what colors have worked best for you? (Colors of bead, body etc.?)

The color combinations people tie these in seem endless. Blue, fuschia, silver...

Is there any rhyme or reason to color choice when using colors that are totally non-imitative?

 

[SBecker]

Uh are you talking about like a Rainbow Warrior?

 

[hammertime]

troutbert wrote:


Is there any rhyme or reason to color choice when using colors that are totally non-imitative?

Nope. Purple works really well.

 

[tctrout]

Here's a video I posted of these nymphs; they are fun to tie and work best for me in a two-fly setup. I suggest using them as the point fly, and either having a dropper higher or tying a smaller nymph off of the bend of the Lightning Bug.

Colors vary, but if you want to get attention, go fluorescent in Ultra Wire and dubbing; otherwise stick with copper-colored ribbing and peacock dubbing.

Good luck,

TC

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpJuMx8OwaU[/youtube]

 

[redietz]

I seldom fish nymphs of any sort, but I've caught trout on a lightning bug almost everywhere I've fished it, including PA. I've done really well with it on several occasions at Big Spring.

I've never felt the need to tie it in any color scheme except what I believe to be the original: silver tinsel, bead and rib; peacock herl thorax.

 

[sandfly]

I've never felt the need to tie it in any color scheme except what I believe to be the original: silver tinsel, bead and rib; peacock herl thorax.

DITTO !

 

[gfen]

So, then...

Is this lure considered a "junk fly" or not by the cognoscenti of PAflyfish?

 

[SBecker]

Obviously not...ribbing and dubbing or crap...attractor nymph.

 

[salmonoid]

OIC, I thought these were especially formulated to catch Lightnin' Trout? Instead of matching the hatch, it's matching the catch (of the fish to the name of the nymph)..

In all seriousness, has anyone attempted to match an actual lightning bug larvae ? I've seen the larvae streamside, glowing at night pre-season and also in the fall.

SBecker wrote:
Obviously not...ribbing and dubbing or crap...attractor nymph.

 

[SBecker]

Lightning trout only eat powerbait.

 

[troutbert]

gfen wrote:

So, then...

Is this lure considered a "junk fly" or not by the cognoscenti of PAflyfish?

Using attractor flies is sacrilege. You get struck by lightning. Hence the name Lightning Bug.

 

[afishinado]

This fly is the precursor / great grandaddy of the fly (if you will). One which all other junk flies that came after can owe their existence. Same body as the L-bug with a few more adornments tied in.

 

[SBecker]

Moar = Bedder?

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Oooooooooo that fly looks like Christmas.

 

[sandfly]

great wet fly that one is..

 

[redietz]

I tend to think of the lightning bug as being just BH pheasant tail with tinsel wrapped over the body. I fish it in the same circumstances as a PT, and don't necessarily view it as a junk fly. (Emerging nymphs can be quite shiny, especially if they have air clinging to them. It's a very popular fly out west.

That Alexandra was banned on many waters in England in the 19th and early 20th centuries as being so effective that it was unsporting. It was believe to imitate trout fry, and so was more of streamer than nymph.

It still works.

 

[FrequentTyer]

The comparison to the Alexandria is an interesting one. You can't ignore however the difference in how these flies are fished. The Alexandria is basically a still water streamer,and is therefore required to share some semblance with the trout's prey in order to evoke a strike. The beadhead tight line thingies and assorted chenille worms bounce down stream into the mouth of a curious fish. Both methods require skill on the part of the angler, but they take advantage of different behavioral patterns in the fish. No one fishes "junk" flies. But we do have preferences for how we like to fool the fish.
Mike.

 

[boss_steb]

I agree with the tyer who said BH PT with silver tinsel instead of PT. I do add the PT legs and have great days fishing it for Steel. I look at it as the nymph counterpart to the Patriot!

Probably just started problems there didn't I.

Boss

 

[YoughnessMonster]

Lightning bugs work good out here in MT. Red bead, red pheasant tail fiber, red ultrawire, and small tinsel body.

 

[tctrout]

For some reason, when I was in Montana, red seemed to work well for a lot of patterns. I remember a bead head red serendipity catching a lot of fish, especially. Unsure why, but definitely not surprised with this pattern, either.

TC