Egan’s Rainbow Warrior

Rainbow Warrior Pearl

Show

Tying Instructions

1. Slide the hook point through the small hole of the bead, the slot on the other side will allow the hook to move past the hook bend. At the eye of the hook, orient the bead so that the slot lines up with the hook eye.

2. Attach the thread behind the bead.

3. Wrap the thread to the bend of the hook creating a smooth body with no exposed hook shank. Keep the thread flat by counter-spinning the bobbin.

4. Clip off about a dozen Pheasant Tail fibers for the tail. To keep the tips even, extend the fibers at a 90 degree angle to the pheasant guill. Notice that the tips are now even, just clip and hold the tips securely. Place the fibers on the top of the hook shank and secure with two wraps at the bend of the hook.

5. Next, adjust the tail length be pulling the fibers through the two thread wraps until the length of the tail is about one half the hook shank length. Note how fine these fibers are, that is why you need about a dozen.

6. Secure the tag end of the tailing fibers to the top of the hook shank to about an eye width behind the bead. Wrap with smooth thread wraps covering all of the fibers. End the thread just in front of the point of the hook.

7. Attach the Pearl Mylar tinsel and secure the tag end near the base of the tail.

8. Wrap the tinsel forward with wraps that overlap about half of the tinsel width until you reach about one eye width behind the bead. Secure with a couple of thread wraps with the tag end of the tinsel hanging down from the shank toward the hook point. Do not trim off this tag end as yet, it will be our wingcase.

9. Wrap the tinsel tag back about two eye widths behind the eye. This area is where we will wrap a dubbed thorax.

10. Twist a small amount of Rainbow Scud dubbing to the thread.

11. Wrap the dubbing forming a small thorax and secure with some thread wraps behind the bead.

12. Next, invert the hook and pull the tinsel over the thorax to create a wingcase. Secure the tinsel with a couple of thread wraps behind the bead. Remember that this type of jig hook will orient itself with the hook up over the bead when fishing. The wingcase will appear in it’s natural position when tied on the bottom of the hook shank.

13. Trim off the tag end of the tinsel and apply some thread wraps behind the bead to create a “Hot Spot”. This is a trigger mechanism that many guides use on their fly patterns with red thread.

14. Apply a whip finish.

15. The finished Rainbow Warrior, Pearl.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	Firehole 516 size 14-16 or TMC403BLJ size 14-16
Thread	Uni-Thread Red 8/0
Head	7/64 Silver slotted tungsten
Thorax	Light Rainbow Scud Dub
Body	Large Flat Pearl Mylar Tinsel
Tail	CDL tailing fibers Dark Pardo
Collar	Uni-Thread Red 8/0
Wingcase	Large Flat Pearl Mylar Tinsel

Lance Egan

Egan’s Rainbow Warrior

Egan’s Rainbow Warrior is a nymph attractor pattern designed by Lance Egan of Salt Lake City, Utah. Lance is a member of the National Fly Fishing Team USA and has developed a number of fly patterns to keep a competitive edge. His patterns tend to be suggestive with trigger mechanisms yet simple with a minimal amount of material.

Adapted to a Jig Hook

Lance originally tied the Egan’s Rainbow Warrior on a TMC 2457 nymph/emerger hook sizes 12-22 but over the last few years a jig hook, such as the Daiichi 4640 or Firehole 516, has become very popular using it as the “point fly” in a European style nymphing rig, ie Czech Nymphing. The advantage is that the fly rides point up so that there is less snagging the bottom. The tailing material on many of the warriors has gone from Pheasant Tail fibers to CDL Tailing fibers since they are thinner and stronger.

This chart will assist you in selecting the proper bead.

Bead Size Chart

Rainbow Warrior Black

Hook	Firehole 516 size 14-16
Thread	Uni-Thread Red 8/0
Head	7/64 Silver slotted tungsten
Thorax	Light Rainbow Scud Dub
Body	Black Holographic Tinsel
Tail	CDL tailing fibers Dark Pardo
Collar	Uni-Thread Red 8/0
Wingcase	Large Flat Pearl Mylar Tinsel

Rainbow Warrior Copper

Hook	Firehole 516 size 14-16
Thread	Uni-Thread Red 8/0
Head	7/64 Copper slotted tungsten
Thorax	Light Rainbow Scud Dub
Body	Brown Holographic Tinsel
Tail	CDL tailing fibers Dark Pardo
Collar	Uni-Thread Red 8/0
Wingcase	Large Flat Pearl Mylar Tinsel

Rainbow Warrior Red

Hook	Firehole 516 size 14-16
Thread	Uni-Thread Red 8/0
Head	7/64 Copper slotted tungsten
Thorax	Light Rainbow Scud Dub
Body	Red Holographic Tinsel
Tail	CDL tailing fibers Dark Pardo
Collar	Uni-Thread Red 8/0
Wingcase	Large Flat Pearl Mylar Tinsel