The Best Nymph on the River

I will be the first to acknowledge that going into your local fly shop can be intimidating. The beaded shop rats inevitably talk us into some new fangled fly pattern, and our fly boxes become more convoluted and confused with each new pattern we add to our fly boxes. Sometimes it pays to simplify, to go back to the basics, and give our loyalty to the fly patterns that have stood by us and produced fish trip after trip to the river. Of all the tried and true fly patterns, none is more faithful to the fly fisher and productive as the Pheasant Tail Nymph.

The cornerstone to matching the hatch is getting close in size, color, and profile to the insect we are trying to match and no nymph pattern does this better than the pheasant tail. The pheasant tail nymph is like the Baskin-Robbins of nymph patterns: 31 flavors of fly patterns ready to match more hatches than almost any other pattern in your box! Available in a natural brown, black, or olive and varying in sizes from a size 10 to size 22 hook, the pheasant tail can be used to match almost every mayfly species in North America!

When imitating mayfly or early life cycle stonefly nymphs, it pays to add a little bit of weight to your fly pattern. This is where the beadhead or "BH" patterns like the BH Flashback Pheasant Tail comes into play. Are the fish shy and hesitant to bite? Add a flashback and mercury head or the seductive movement of a soft hackle, and hold on tight because the bite is about to turn on!

While there are no guaranteed fly patterns, the closest thing we can give you is the pheasant tail nymph. Tried and true, this pattern will produce fish day after day and year after year!