The Pheasant Tail Nymph is a New Zealand pattern designed to suggest a small “Deleatidium vernal” Mayfly. Whilst that family doesn’t extend to Australia I suggest you still carry Pheasant Tail Nymphs or one or two of its variants in a couple of sizes because they are very buggy and particularly useful in faster water.
Materials
| Hook |
Thread |
Tail and body |
Ribbing and weight |
Thorax |
Wing casing |
Beard legs |
| 8 to 18 nymph (Tiemco 3761) |
Brown |
Pheasant tail fibres |
Copper wire |
Copper wire either exposed or covered with peacock herl or dubbing |
6 or so pheasant tail fibres |
Pheasant tails hackle tips |
Process
| A |
- Wind the thread in touching turns to the bend of the hook.
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- Tie in 3 to 5 long Pheasant tail fibres with the tips forming a tail no longer than the length of the hook shank. Resist the temptation to make the tail too bulky and only tie it in at the very rear of the hook shank.
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| B |
- Tie in a length of copper wire about 3/4 of the way up the hook shank.
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| C |
- As you wind the thread down the hook shank locking the wire on top of the hook shank lean the hackle butts back so there in line with the copper wire. Just two or three firm wraps of thread over the hackle and the wire where you tied the tail in will lock the hackle and the wire into place.
- Take the thread back two thirds up the hook shank.
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| D |
- Twist the hackle just two or three times round the wire to form a hackle and wire rope similar to a herl rope.
- Wind the hackle and herl rope forward 2/3 of the way along the shank of the hook and tie the hackle and wire rope off.
- Trim the remaining butt ends of the hackle but leave the copper wire.
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| E |
- Tie in 6 or so pheasant tail fibres, to be used as the wing casing, directly in front of the rope body.
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| F |
- Turn the hook over in the vice and tie in about 8 or 10 pheasant tail hackle tips in the form of a tail projecting in front of the hook.
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| G |
- Pick the copper wire up and build up a neat thorax of copper wire.
- Alternatively tie in a couple of strands of peacock herl in just forward of the body and form a herl rope with the wire and use the herl rope to build up a neat thorax.
- Worry off the excess wire.
- Stroke the tips of the church window fibres backward and downward to represent the legs of the nymph.
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| H |
- Pull the wing casing material over the top of the thorax and tie if off just behind the eye of the hook.
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| I |
- Trim the butt ends of the thorax material.
- Build up a neat head, whip finish and trim the thread.
- Apply a coat of head cement along the top of the fly and the thread head.
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January 27, 2011 | 
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