Hare Nation Nymph 11/16/2015 Photo Album

Last winter I conceived a hybrid fly that I named the hare nation nymph. The name is a combination of hares ear nymph and salvation nymph, and my concept was to combine the features of two of my most productive flies. From the salvation nymph I borrowed the nymph back and flashabou strip along with the black peacock ice dub thorax and a coating of clear nail polish over the entire back of the fly to accentuate the flash and sparkle. From the hares ear nymph I utilized the buggy hares mask dubbing with plentiful guard hares for the abdomen and the pheasant wing feather fibers for legs. I produced thirteen of these new prototypes and used nearly all of them during the 2015 season.

Top View Shows Off the Flash

The fact that I consumed nearly all of my new flies indicates that it was a success. In addition to combining the salient traits of two productive flies, I also speculated that the hair nation fulfilled the role of a dressed up pheasant tail nymph, as it presented a similar color scheme. For some reason I historically tied my pheasant tail nymphs on size sixteen scud hooks with a bead, and this translates to a body length comparable to a size 18. I liked the idea of having some nymphs similar to pheasant tails that were a size larger for pale morning dun hatches.

A Batch of Hare Nation Nymphs and Key Ingredients

I did not pay close attention to the precise circumstances that favored the hare nation, but I recall using them early in the post-runoff time frame when pale morning duns are prevalent, and I am certain that they produced. Whether they outperformed a standard salvation nymph or not remains open to question. Perhaps in the coming year, I will alternate between the two flies during prime pale morning dun emergence periods and judge whether one is more effective than the other.

Zooming in on the Finished Flies

At any rate I experienced enough success with my new creation to convince me to tie twenty additions for my fly storage bins. In a worst case scenario I increased my salvation nymph supply by twenty, and that is not a bad circumstance. Stay tuned for updates on the evolution of the hare nation nymph.