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Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Tying Instructions
1. Attach a hook to the vise. I am using a size 16, TMC 3761 nymph hook. Wrap a small copper wire behind the eye of the hook crossing over the tag end to lock the wire to the shank.
2. Wrap the wire creating a thorax bulge just in front of the midpoint of the shank and a smooth abdomen to the bend of the hook. Frank Sawyer would trim off the tag end near the bend of the hook. I trimmed it near the thorax.
3. Clip about 4-6 fibers from a Pheasant Tail. Select a section in which the tips are light in color and the dark area is further down the fibers. Separate the fibers and even the tips.
4. Attach the fiber tips to the bend of the hook creating a tail that is about an eighth of an inch on a size 16 hook. Two tight wraps will hold the fibers in place.
5. Wrap the fibers around the wire creating a rope. The tail was uplifted in the photo due to the weight of the hackle pliers when taking this photo. The fibers will be back in their horizontal position once I start wrapping the fibers arouind the abdomen.
6. Wrap the fibers with the copper wire core evenly up the abdomen and over the thorax areas. Note how the color of the abdomen is light than the thorax. The darker thorax represents a maturing nymph. I do not have enough Pheasant Tail fibers to complete a wingcase, so I will secure the tag ends behind the eye and attach more fibers for a wingcase.
7. Select 4-5 more fibers and attach the fibers in front of the thorax with a couple of wire wraps.
8. Bring the wire to the rear of the thorax and secure the wingcase fibers with one wrap.
9. Bring the wire to the front of the thorax and secure the wingcase with one wrap. This provides an ample wingcase covering to top of the thorax. Frank Sawyer would often do this procedure a third time, finishing the fly behind the thorax with a whip finish of the wire. Trim off the tag ends of the fibers.
10. The rest of Frank’s family preferred to finish behind the eye of the hook and this is how I finished as well. Wrap a small head with the wire and secure with a couple of half hitches. You can also whip finish but that creates a larger head.
11. This is the finished fly pattern using the techniques of Frank Sawyer. Frank did not create leg appendages nor did he use any more materials than copper wire and Pheasant Tail fibers. However, these two materials create a depth and translucency to the pattern.
| Materials
to Order Material, click the link |
|
|---|---|
| Hook | TMC 3761 #14-20 |
| Thread | Small Copper Wire |
| Body | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Tail | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Wingcase | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Thorax | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
Frank Sawyer
The Pheasant Tail Nymph (PTN) is a design of Frank Sawyer, who was the River Keeper of the Avon River at Lake House in England starting in 1925. Then, three years later, Frank signed on with a club of British military officers known as the Services Dry Fly Association, a position he held until 1980.
The Avon River
The Avon was in terrible condition with mud and silt until Frank dredged the bottom in the 1950’s returning the river to it’s original chalk and gravel. The PTN was also designed in the 1950’s to imitate the baetis hatches now occurring on the Avon and he published the pattern within his book, Nymphs and the Trout, in 1958.
A design with just two materials
Frank was using an earlier pattern called the Pheasant Tail Red Spinner dry fly and noticed how the fish would take the pattern after it sunk. This gave him the inspiration to come up with something new. To keep the silhouette slender, Mr. Sawyer used only two materials: fine copper wire and 4 Pheasant Tail Fibers. The shape allowed the fly to quickly sink with the weight of the wire, the few fibers gave the appearance of legs and tails.
Frank liked to let the fly sink and lift his rod tip to “swim the pattern” to the surface. Terry Lawton had a very good article on tying the original Frank Sawyer PTN in Flyfishing & Tying Journal, Fall 2007. He pointed out that Frank finished his nymphs with a whip finish of the wire behind the thorax. This was confirmed by Frank’s daughter, Pat, although the rest of the family preferred to finish the nymph behind the eye.
Current Pheasant Tail Nymphs and Variations
Today, most Pheasant Tail Nymphs (PTN), in the Sierra, tend to be larger with somewhat more materials to imitate the Callibaetis, Blue-wing Olives, March Browns and other mayflies that frequent our streams. An actual video of Frank tying the pattern in the 1950’s is at the base of the page. Another great video is Hans Weilenmann showing how to tie the pattern in 2012.
Al Troth
Al Troth
Probably one of the most popular variations for the Sierra is the Peacock Thorax by Al Troth using peacock herl for the thorax. This pattern is also known within the United States as the Pheasant Tail Nymph (American version).
Theo Bakelaar
Theo introduced Gold Beads to this pattern in 1988. Not only did it cause the PTN to sink faster but it added an attractor element to the pattern and resembled a trapped air bubble. The additional weight just behind the eye gave the pattern jigging effect. This was always Theo’s first choice of pattern when fishing changing the size and colors of the Pheasant Tail to match the insects.
Andre Puyans
The Flashback Pheasant Tail is a variation by Andre Puyans with the addition of a flashabou strand over the top of the Peacock Thorax to simulate the sparkle caused by gases trapped under the skin of a mature nymph as it rises to the surface to transform into the winged dun. Andre Puyans also utilized the butt ends of the Pheasant Tail fibers to create small appendage-type legs.
Andre was also one of the first to incorporate a gold bead to the fly. Substituting brown thread and using a wire ribbing is also commonplace on most of the PTN’s purchased today. Adding a bead to the pattern compensates for the lack of copper wire within the thorax and allows the pattern to sink rapidly. Some tiers will extend the strand to the top of the abdomen as a crackleback. This pattern can be effective without a bead to present the nymph near the surface or with a bead to get further down into the water column.
Dean Endress
Dean Endress, of Fishermen’s Spot, came up with his Robo PT in the early 1990’s. He uses a Copper and Dark Green Lite Brite blend for the thorax with a flashback of flat Pearl Mylar or strands of Holo Silver Mylar over a Pheasant Tail Fiber underwing. He’s been substituting brown or black scudback for the underwing lately. Dean also uses UV Knot Sense to coat the mylar flashback. The fly is marketed by Solitude Fly Company and has been very popular within sierran streams.
Euro Nymph Variation
Another variation is the Hot Spot PTN which uses a bright colored dubbing such as an Orange/Pink SLF dubbing for the thorax. This “hot spot” has been effective on many of the Euro Nymph patterns and is also effective on standard nymphs such as the Pheasant Tail.
David Palmer
The Poodle Sniffer that was designed by David Palmer when he was the head guide at Big Horn Anglers around 2012. This pattern mimics the small Black Caddis that frequent Sierran streams during the summer months. The trigger on this fly is the chartreuse wire over a black dyed Pheasant Tail. It fulfills the criteria of most guide flies, easy to tie and they work. Another good pattern for the black caddis is the BH Poxyback PTN also using Black dyed Pheasant Tail. The bead helps get this fly deep within the water column.
Variations
Peacock Thorax
| Hook | TMC 3761 #14-20 |
| Thread | Uni-thread Camel 8/0 |
| Weight | 0.015 Leadfree Wire |
| Ribbing | Copper Wire |
| Body | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Thorax | Peacock Herl |
| Tail | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Wingcase | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Legs | Butt Ends of Pheasant Tail Fibers |
BH Pheasant Tail Nymph
| Hook | TMC 3761 #14-20 |
| Thread | Veevus Black 12/0 |
| Head | Copper Bead |
| Weight | 0.015 Leadfree Wire |
| Ribbing | Copper Wire |
| Body | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Thorax | Peacock Herl |
| Tail | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Wingcase | Pheasant Tail Fibers with Loon Clear Fly Finish, Thin |
| Legs | Butt Ends of Pheasant Tail Fibers |
Flashback PT Nymph
| Hook | TMC 3761 #14-20 |
| Thread | Veevus Brown 12/0 |
| Body | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Thorax | Peacock Herl |
| Ribbing | Copper Wire |
| Tail | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Wingcase | Pearlescent Flashabou |
| Legs | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
Robo PT Nymph
| Hook | TMC 3761 #14-20 |
| Thread | Veevus Black 12/0 |
| Head | Gold Bead |
| Weight | 0.015 Leadfree Wire |
| Ribbing | Small Copper or Gold Wire |
| Body | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Thorax | 50% STS Trilobal Dark Olive, 30% Bronze Peacock Lite Brite and 20% Copper Lite Brite Blend |
| Shellback | Narrow Flat Pearl Mylar |
| Tail | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Wingcase | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Over Wingcase | Wide Flat Pearl Mylar with Loon Clear Fly Finish, Thin |
Hot Spot PT Nymph
| Hook | TMC 3761 #14-18 |
| Thread | Veevus Black 8/0 |
| Head | Gold Bead |
| Ribbing | Small Copper or Gold Wire |
| Body | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Thorax | 50% Orange Ice Dub and 50% Pink Ice Dub |
| Tail | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Wingcase | Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Legs | Butt Ends of Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Collar | Veevus Fl. Orange 8/0 |
Poodle Sniffer
| Hook | TMC 2487 #16-18 |
| Thread | Uni-thread Black 8/0 |
| Body | Black Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Thorax | Peacock Herl |
| Tail | Black Pheasant Tail Fibers |
| Ribbing | Brassie Chartreuse Wire |