lesson3

Lesson 3

PHEASANT TAIL

Hook: Tiemco TMC 5262 size 10-22

Thread: Black 6/o or 8/o

Tail: Ringneck pheasant tail fibers

Rib: Fine copper or gold wire

Body: Same as tail

Wingcase: Same as tail

Thorax: Peacock herls

OPTIONS This fly can be tied with a bead head. The legs can be omitted and often are. Dubbing or pheasant tail fibers can be used for the thorax.
GOALS 1. Learn to make wingcases and legs.
2. Learn techniques for working with fragile material.

      The Pheasant Tail Nymph marks a slight departure from the first flies you’ve learned. The Pheasant Tail is, without doubt, the best may fly nymph imitation ever designed. It works effectively in the moving water of streams and the still water of lakes.
      The version you are learning was originated by Montana fly tier and fishing guide, Al Troth. It is one of the five most popular trout flies used.
      Different types of may flies appear all year long, and the nymph stage is the easiest one for trout to find consistently. May flies are versatile as they can live in fast, turbulent water, or in slow or still water environments. By shuffling the gravel on a stream or lake, and looking on stream bed rocks, you’ll find the nymphs and it’s a simple matter of matching the fly size to get a convincing match.
       This fly continues to stress the importance of proportioning. You’ll use delicate materials now, instead of dubbing fur, and you’ll add a wing case over the thorax area. The Pheasant Tail is a slender, supple shaped fly, as opposed to the fatter forms of the fur dubbed flies. Keep the fly thin and sparse to imitate the real bugs. Smaller stone flies are well represented by PT nymphs, too.
        It’s a good idea to carry a good size assortment of Pheasant Tail Nymphs. The same nymph fishing techniques previously used for the Caddis Larva and Red Fox Squirrel Nymph work very well. May flies also inhabit slower stream areas and the quiet placid waters are a good place to work this fly. Tie lots of these flies. They are indispensable and mandatory when trout feed on may flies. Don’t leave home without them!

	1. Debarb the hook. Build a thread base. Measure 3 tail fibers 1/2 the length of the shank. Using the pinch method, tie in the tail, wrapping forward. Tie in the rib and wrap back to the point above the barb. Cut off any loose ends.
	2. Tie in 4-6 pheasant tail fibers by the tips, wrapping forward to a point just past the ‡ way mark. Trim any loose ends.
	3. Gently twist and wrap the pheasant tail fibers forward to the thread and tie off and trim. Now wrap the rib in the opposite direction from the pheasant tail; this will reinforce the fragile fibers. Tie off and trim.
	4. Tie in, by the butt, 6 more pheasant tail fibers, wrapping forward. Tie in 2 to 4 peacock herls, wrapping back and then forward to a point 1 eye diameter from the eye of the hook. Cut and trim any loose ends.
	5. Wrap the peacock herl forward, tie off, and trim. Pull the pheasant tail fibers over the top of the herl and secure with 3 wraps of thread. Do not trim.
	6. Divide the ends 3 per side. Pull back along the sides and secure with thread. Form a small head and whip finish. Trim the legs just short of the hook point.

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