Tying the Skinny Nelson

Tying the Skinny Nelson

The Skinny Nelson is a Baetis nymph pattern developed for the Bighorn River in Montana by Tracy Peterson. It is a simple but deadly fly. It works great in any stream or river with small mayfly nymphs. It can be tied with or without a tungsten bead. Typically it is tied in sizes 18-20, but tying them in slightly larger or smaller sizes works too.

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Tying the Ray Charles Sowbug Pattern

Tying the Ray Charles Sowbug

The Ray Charles pattern is a Bighorn River staple. It catches fish everyday of the year on the Bighorn. It works on many other tailwaters. It works to imitate small scuds as well as sowbugs.

Tie this in tan, pink, gray, or white.

Tying the Prince Nymph

Tying the Prince Nymph

Does anybody go fly fishing without a few prince nymphs in their box? I hope not. This is a fantastic nymph pattern that fools trout all over the world. The pattern is credited to Doug Prince.

This pattern can be tied with or without a bead. It can also be weighted with lead wire.

Tying the Mercury Midge, aka Glass Bead Midge, aka Cream Midge

This is one of the best flies to begin a tying career. These flies are simple to tie. Tying a glass bead midge teaches how to wrap thread and how to rib a body. Probably the best reason for tying this pattern is, that despite being so simple to tie, it catches loads of fish. For the waters I regularly fish, it makes more sense to tie a few dozen of these rather than tying a box full of wooly buggers.

Vary the thread colors to include black, olive, and red bodies. The availability of wire and thread colors makes for endless color combinations.

Tying the Hare's Ear Nymph

Tying the Hare's Ear Nymph

Another classic nymph. The Hare's Ear Nymph can be found in fly boxes around the globe. The version tied here is the now standard version found in most fly shops. It can be tied with lead wire for weight, or with a bead head for flash and weight. Tie in sizes 10-20.

Tying the Soft Hackled Pheasant Tail

This is a soft hackled "hot spot" version of the Pheasant Tail Nymph. The addition of the soft hackle adds movement to the fly and allow it to be fished on the swing as well as dead drifted. The hot spot is optional but it definitely adds a trigger to the fly. Great in sizes 12-20.

Tying the Elk Hair Caddis

Al Troth's Elk Hair Caddis is a classic. This pattern is a stand-by that should be in every fly-fisher's box. The basic pattern shown in this video features a tan color scheme. The Elk Hair Caddis can be tied in several colors to match the caddis hatching, but the tan is a good all around fly.

Tie in sizes 12-20. Tie with tan, black, or olive bodies. Experiment with Ice dubbing for the body to add flash to the fly.