Prince Nymph 11/19/2022 Photo Album

The prince nymph is a proven classic, so I have little to add to what has been chronicled among fly fishing literature. Visit my 1/15/2022 post for my observations on the effectiveness of the prince nymph and the situations that invite me to knot a prince nymph to my line.

Size 14

I use the prince nymph as a weighted attractor, as a green drake nymph imitation, stonefly nymph and caddis egg-laying adult. The pattern remains the same in all situations, but I vary the size. I counted my supply of size 12 and size 14 prince nymphs and determined that I needed to tie six of each. Upon completion of this tying project my fleece wallet is adequately stocked for the 2023 season.

Size 14’s Completed

20 Incher 11/15/2022 Photo Album

I continued to cycle through my workhorse nymphs, as I replaced lost flies and advanced my inventory to target levels. Next on my agenda was the classic 20 Incher. The 20 incher was created in Colorado, and I have developed a strong relationship with this large stonefly imitation. I find myself defaulting to it more frequently, especially when I desire a deeper drift on my dry/dropper presentations. I tie the 20 incher on a size 12 2X long heavy hook, and then I add ten wraps of .02 non-lead weighting wire. This construction allows the 20 incher to sink rapidly without the aid of split shot. Quite often I fish through a series of attractive deep runs and pockets with no success, when I am certain trout are present. In these instances I conclude that my flies are not getting deep enough, and a frequent response is to combine the 20 incher with a smaller nymph. The 20 incher is more than just a heavy fly to sink my rig, as it also attracts its fair share of hungry fish.

Nice One

For a nice recap of the 20 incher stonefly nymph check out my post of 01/13/2022. I counted my supply and determined that I needed to add only three to elevate my total to my desired level. I manned my tying bench and cranked these out recently. Two of them were refurbished from damaged flies, and this saved some tying steps as well as a hook, bead and wire wrap. I vacillated between using a turkey tail section or Tyvek for the wing case, but I settled on the natural look of the turkey. Coating the wing case with a layer of thin UV resin has also become a standard step in my 20 incher fly tying process.

Peacock, Turkey and Goose Biots

Ultra Zug Bug 11/14/2022 Photo Album

Consistent with prior years, I used the ultra zug bug on numerous occasions with decent success during 2022, and this resulted in nine flies being lost or damaged. If you would like to learn more about my experience with this easy to tie, yet effective, fly, check out my post of 12/15/2021. This post provides a link to earlier posts with a materials table and a description of how I became a fan of the ultra zug bug.

Very Close

I replaced the nine flies that unraveled or disappeared with nine new versions, and I am ready for the 2023 season.

9 UZBs and Materials

Salvation Nymph 11/11/2022 Photo Album

I have very little to add pertaining to the salvation nymph that is not available in my many annual posts. I suggest that you click on this link to last year’s post, and that provides key links to tying instructions as well as other useful information regarding when it is effective.

Angled Top View

This fly remains a mainstay in my fleece wallet, and when I counted my remaining supply after the 2022 season, I realized that 69 remained in my inventory. I start every season with 100, so I lost 31 to fish, rocks, branches and damage. This shrinkage in inventory is indicative of the effectiveness of the salvation nymph, and consequently it spends a significant amount of time on my line. I visited my vise and produced 31 to augment my supply back to my target level of 100.

20 with Materials

I sorted through my plastic canister of damaged and unraveling flies and discovered eleven, and these were repaired and were a portion of my 31 additional flies. In most cases I was able to recover the nymphs with the addition of a few legs on the front half of the fly, and this saved time and materials. I adopted the practice of applying UV resin to the wing case, and all 31 flies received this treatment. The layer of epoxy really enhances the flash of the flashabou strand and flashback black wing case.

Soft Egg Fly 11/14/2022 Photo Album

After a trip to the North Platte River below Grey Reef in March of 2013, I recognized the effectiveness of egg flies on that river in central Wyoming. That experience motivated me to tie some egg flies in preparation for our traditional March trip the following spring. I needed materials and guidance on tying a never before attempted pattern, so I journeyed to Charlie’s Fly Box in Old Arvada, and Dave, the salesperson behind the counter, pointed me in the right direction. I purchased soft otter eggs in apricot and translucent pink/red along with a white veil material and returned to my flying desk to make my first attempts at tying an egg fly.

Love the Veil on This One

Chartreuse Egg

I researched patterns on the internet and tied ten models for the upcoming return trip to the North Platte in March of 2014. These flies satisfied my needs for the next seven years, until I made a rare trip to the South Platte River below Deckers on 11/01/2022. During this venture I fished for a couple hours with minimal success, and I decided to experiment with fly changes. Early November was within the time frame of brown trout spawning season, and this surely suggested that loose brown trout eggs were a ready source of protein for rainbow trout and even adult brown trout. I was not having success with my salvation nymph and RS2, so why not field test an egg fly? I dug one of the apricot eggs that I tied seven years prior from my fleece wallet, and I knotted it to my line in a dry/dropper configuration below a pool toy hopper, and then I added the RS2 below the egg. I made a cast and concentrated on following the drift, and I concluded that the soft egg did not possess enough weight to allow it to bounce along the bottom. A tumbling fly along the bottom was the presentation that I was seeking, and I solved this concern by crimping a small split shot to my line just above the eye of the egg fly.

Apricot Egg

For the rest of the afternoon I drifted the egg and RS2 through deep troughs and moderate riffles on the South Platte River. The experiment paid off handsomely, as I landed two hook-jawed brown trout that grabbed the apricot sphere in a narrow band of slower moving water next to a deep run. The egg fly was a solid success, and I vowed to tie more to support my newfound reliance on egg flies for fall and spring fishing.

A More Distant Angle

I retrieved my egg tying materials from my storage cabinet, and I learned that I had two remaining apricot soft eggs, and fifteen translucent red/pink versions. An abundant clump of the white veil material satisfied my immediate needs. It was Saturday, so I decided to make a quick trip to Charlie’s Fly Box to augment my egg supply. Unfortunately the shop was out of apricot, so I bought some chartreuse eggs and returned home by way of the nearby Bass Pro Shop, but Bass Pro had no soft eggs whatsoever to offer this prospective customer. When I returned home, I fired up the computer and placed an order for apricot eggs from the source in Grand Junction, CO.

Since I planned to make a return visit to the South Platte River on Tuesday, November 8, I approached the tying bench and cranked out fifteen new eggs. The first two were apricot, and then I made four chartreuse and nine red/pink. I found a nice soft egg tying video and followed it to construct my egg flies. Tying the soft egg fly is a very simple process, and I tied fifteen eggs in slightly more than an hour. When I was done, I applied UV resin to the head of each fly, and this really added a nice touch to the red thread head. I am fairly certain that egg flies will be a significant new weapon in my fly fishing arsenal.

Hares Ear Nymph 11/04/2022 Photo Album

I began my off season fly tying effort with the venerable hares ear nymph. Historically the beadhead hares ear nymph has been my most productive fly, although, when I counted my inventory in preparation for tying, I learned that I had 91 and only nine additional flies were needed to reach my target of 100. Generally shrinkage or loss of flies is an indicator of usage, so I can only assume that I deployed the hares ear nymph less frequently during 2022 than during previous seasons. I really have no explanation for this circumstance.

UV Resin on the Wing Case

If you visit my post of 10/25/2020, you can access links to a materials table and some tips related to my slight variations to the standard pattern. For the nine that I created this year I applied a UV resin coating to the wing case, and I love the shine that this created. This step may become a standard addition to my hares ear nymph production.

I Tied Nine

At any rate, I decided to make nine to return my supply to 100 just in case my usage bounces back in the upcoming year. I seem to enjoy greater success with the hares ear nymph during the early season prior to run off, but it is also effective later in the season. Bring on 2023.