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The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

Nymph

Slick Top Nymph

Insect Species Icon Quill Gordon, Blue Wing Olive, Hendrickson and 7 others
Difficulty Icon Medium - 5-7 Min
Water Category Icon Coldwater

Tying Video

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Tying Recipe
  • Hook: Jig nymph hook 1x wide size #16
  • Bead: Slotted tungsten 3mm gold
  • Thread: UTC 70 denier light olive
  • Tail: Hungarian partridge
  • Body: UTC ultra wire small purple and olive
  • Thorax: Ice dub olive
  • Legs: Hungarian partridge
  • Wing case: Thin skin mottled black covered in clear UV cure glue and black nail polish
  • Hook: Use any nymph hook here, this fly can be jigged or not.
  • Bead: Any tungsten bead will work, try to keep to classic colors like copper gold and silver. If the hook is jigged, slotted beads are necessary.
  • Thread: Any thin diameter thread will work. The thinner the better for this fly. Try not to go thicker than 8/0 or 70 denier.
  • Tail: Pheasant tail is always a great nymph tailing material. If you want the mottled look try wood duck flank feathers, or Coq-de-Leon.
  • Body: The double wire body makes for a neat looking and heavy bodied nymph. Midge tubing can be a great substitute, but it wont have the multi-colored effect.
  • Thorax: Feel free to use any dubbing that you like here.
  • Legs: Use the same material for the legs that you used for the tail.
  • Wing case: Thin skin is a requirement here, but the black nail polish can be left out.

This can be a quirky little pattern to play around with. The double wire body allows for plenty of color combinations for attractors, or for matching naturals in your area. For more of a buggy fly, try replacing the legs with a turn or two of a partridge feather for a nice soft hackle effect.

This is a unique little jig with the double wire body. This allows for a bit more of a quickly sinking fly by not only adding weight, but the slim body won’t produce much drag in the water. The wing case is also something unique about this fly that might allow it to get more attention with pressured trout. The nice thing with the jig hardware is that the hook point rides up away from the bottom of the river, allowing the angler to really survey the bottom of the river.

Fish this like any other mayfly nymph in your box. This is a great fly to really survey the bottom, as it sinks quickly and rides hook point up. This makes this a great fly for a point fly on a euro rig, or even as a dropper on a dry dropper rig. Try to get the best dead drift with this nymph for best results.

Blue Wing Olive

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Northwest
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: East
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Southeast
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Midwest
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24

Brown Drake

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Northwest
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: East
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Midwest
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14

Green Drake

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, Midwest
Green Drake
Sizes: #8 - #14
Region: East
Green Drake
Sizes: #8 - #14

Hendrickson

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East, Midwest
Hendrickson
Sizes: #10 - #16

Isonychia

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Southeast
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Midwest
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18

Light Cahill

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20
Region: Midwest
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20
Region: Northwest
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20

Mahogany Dun

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest
Mahogany Dun
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: East, Midwest
Mahogany Dun
Sizes: #14 - #20

March Brown

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, East
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Northwest
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Midwest
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14

PMD

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, East, Southeast, Midwest
PMD
Sizes: #14 - #20

Quill Gordon

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East, Southeast
Quill Gordon
Sizes: #12 - #16

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