Pheasant Tail Chironomid

The accessory components of this fly allow for a lot of possibilities in substituting materials. Most trout probably haven’t seen this fly, so when you make your substitutions, you may want to think more about the floatability of the fly rather than differentiating your fly from the ones other anglers use.

• Tail and Gills: White CDC, white calf hair, white floss and even white hair off of your dog can be spectacular substitutions here that give the fly different buoyancy properties in the water column.
• Body and Case: Goose biots wrapped around the shank can be an effective way to add segmentation to this fly without adding in a rib. Thin skin and turkey biots can make great shells over the wingcase to help differentiate your fly from all the others anglers use.
• Thorax: Using dyed peacock herl is a great way to vary this fly. Consider using a yellow or lighter dyed color of thorax in stillwaters when fishing during ice-off.