Prince Nymph 12/17/2024 Photo Album

For a brief rundown on the prince nymph and a link to prior year posts, please click on 11/19/2022. The prince nymph is always among the top five nymphs cited as necessary flies to maintain in one’s fly box, and I agree with that assessment.

Small Version

I always carry an adequate quantity of sizes 12 and 14 in my fleece wallet. I also weight these flies with non-toxic wire, and I tie with a bead. This fly sinks, and I frequently deploy it as the top subsurface fly in a dry/dropper arrangement, thus, assuring deep drifts. Quite often the fish demonstrate a preference for the weighted nymph over the smaller end fly.

Size 12

My count suggested that I needed four prince nymphs of each size, so I applied my talents to the vise and produced that quantity. Three of the smaller nymphs were derived from old prince nymphs that outlived their usefulness.

A Batch of Eight Awaiting Storage

20 Incher 12/13/2024 Photo Album

I have little new information to offer on the classic 20 incher. Check out this link to last year’s post for more insight.

Classic 20 Incher

The 20 incher continues to be a stalwart offering among my collection of nymphs. The stonefly imitation represents a large fly on a heavy wire with added weight. When I sense that my flies are not getting deep enough in a dry/dropper configuration, the 20 incher is often the answer. It is a fine fish attractor in addition to providing ballast for deeper drifts.

I cycled through several materials for the wing case, but I settled on turkey quill segments for the time being. They are more fragile than Tyvek, but when topped with UV resin, I like the natural look.

Additions to Inventory and Materials Required

I counted my stock and determined that I needed five additional to bring my total to a nice round number going into 2025. I produced five size 12’s, and I am ready for some early season stonefly nymph action.

Ultra Zug Bug 12/10/2024 Photo Album

This simple yet effective fly was designed by Scott Sanchez. I found it in one of his fly tying books, and it has proven fairly effective in the subsequent years. To learn more about this fly click on this link to last year’s post, and that in turn provides a link to earlier posts.

One More Ultra Zug Bug

This fly offers several advantages. First, it is very simple and can be tied quickly. Aside from the bead and hook, it only utilizes three materials; fibers from the body feather of a game bird for the tail, synthetic peacock dubbing (I use Ligas), and a strand of crystal flash for the ribbing. Of course you can substitute different dubbings, should you wish to vary the color of the fly.

One Bug Plus Materials

My supply was barely depleted, when I counted my UZB’s, so I tied one additional fly to increase my inventory to my target level. I found one in my damaged fly container that was unraveling, so I salvaged it for my one add on.

Hares Ear Nymph 11/27/2024 Photo Album

The beadhead hares ear nymph has perhaps accounted for more fish than any other fly in my arsenal. I deployed it often during 2024, and I was not disappointed. Here is a link to my post regarding this workhorse fly in 2023. I have very little new information to offer other than a salute to its continued productivity.

Scraggly the Way I Like Them

As mentioned in last year’s post, I adopted the practice of applying UV resin to the wing case and the top of the thread wraps. I feel that this step adds a bit of weight, provides added strength, and I love the appearance.

Necessary Materials and Completed Batch

During my September trip to the Flattops I scavenged some grouse body feathers, and I used these to fashion the tails and legs of my newly tied hares ear nymphs. I had seven damaged versions in my canister, so I refurbished them first, and then I tied an additional ten to bring my fly boxes back to my targeted level of one hundred. I am certain that the beadhead hares ear nymph will once again be a top producer among my stock of flies.

Zoomed on the Completed Clump

Sunk Ant 01/02/2024 Photo Album

You are able to read the story of my burgeoning romance with the sunk ant in my post of 12/21/2020. It contains a materials table and a mention of my favored fly tying video. An informative update is available on my 01/03/2023 post.

Sunk ants have earned a more prominent place in my fleece wallet after experiencing solid results on high country streams. I tried them a few times on the large down valley rivers, but I was not able to replicate similar results, although admittedly the amount of time on the line in these situations was not comparable. It does stand to reason, however, that small high mountain creeks are closer to bushes and trees bearing ants on both banks of the stream. I am a huge fan of sunk ants, and I only question why it took so long to become a proponent.

I made four size 14 sunk ants and two size 16’s, and I gave one of each size to my friend, Nate. My supplies of these flies should be adequate for 2024. Bring on the army of ants.

Pat’s Rubber Legs 12/29/2023 Photo Album

If you are thinking about fishing Pat’s rubber legs during the upcoming season, but you are not convinced of its effectiveness, check out this post from 06/27/2022. Effective would be an understatement. This day on the Arkansas River convinced me to never overlook my stocks of Pat’s rubber legs. Additional useful information is available from my post of 12/22/2022.

I used my better judgement to count my rubber legs, and I concluded that I maintained an adequate supply, but I tied up two additional weighted nymphs in coffee/black and two in the olive/black color. One of each color was donated to my exercise specialist friend.

Scuds 12/27/2023 Photo Album

Solid background information on scuds and descriptions of some modifications that I added are contained in my post of 12/20/2019. My post of 12/18/2020 adds additional guidance on scud usage. Since I fished more lakes in 2023, I plan to do the same in the coming year, and scuds are a main stillwater food source.

With this intention in mind, I counted my scud inventory, and I determined that I needed to tie seven additions. Actually my supplies were relatively adequate, but I was looking for an excuse to refresh my memory on tying steps; and in addition, I produced three for my friend, Nate. I maintain three colors; orange, medium olive and gray. I used olive ice dub for the olive versions, and I must say, they look very attractive, although I am not a fish.

Zebra Midge 12/20/2023 Photo Album

If you are new to fly tying, and you desire a confidence boost, tie some zebra midges. These flies require only four materials, and that includes the hook and thread. You will also fancy yourself a production tier, as you churn out these simple flies in a matter of a few minutes.

Simplicity may be one favorable characteristic, but they also happen to be effective fish catchers. I do not often resort to a midge fly, but when I do, a zebra midge is often an early choice. These tiny gems are present in trout streams throughout all seasons, and trout rely on them for calories during the winter.

If you would like to learn more about the zebra midge click on this post from 01/24/2014. I counted my supply of black and olive zebra midges, and determined that I had adequate quantities in my various fly storage containers. Nevertheless, I approached my vise and produced eight new ones in order to remain in practice. I made two blacks with a copper rib, two blacks with a red rib, and four olive with a silver rib. Bring on the midge sippers in2024.

Salad Spinner 12/19/2023 Photo Album

The salad spinner is a midge pupa fly, and it has an interesting history. I recommend reviewing my posts of 12/17/2019 and 12/12/2015. The 2019 post contains a materials table, and the 2015 post provides the tying steps. I have experienced reasonable success with this unconventional fly, and it is often my first choice when I see a plentiful amount of midge adults buzzing about near the stream. I am not a trout, but I love the fine red wire rib and the emerging antron wing.

My shrinkage of this fly was not very significant, so I tied four additions, and I gave a couple to my fly fishing friend. Midge season lasts all year, so I could knot one of these on my line in the not too distant future.

Sparkle Wing RS2 12/13/2023 Photo Album

Once again I made a modification to the sparkle wing RS2 pattern. I replaced the antron wing with fluoro fiber, and this resulted in a narrower wing than that which resulted from using antron. I’m not sure if the narrower profile will be more to the liking of wild trout, but I plan to find out in the upcoming season.

On previous posts on the sparkle wing, I noted that my reliance on this synthetic version of the classic RS2 was increasing with each season. During 2023 I felt that the trend leveled off, and I caught just as many fish on the classic RS2 as the sparkle wing version. Nevertheless, I settled down at my vise and churned out four new sparkle wings with two going to my friend Nate.

For excellent background information and a materials table click on this link to my 1/21/2011 post.