Psycho Prince – 12/18/2024

Psycho Prince 12/18/2024 Photo Album

Was it the name or appearance? If a prince nymph is an effective fly, why wouldn’t a psycho prince be an even more dynamic fish magnet? I decided to tie some and test the allure of this flashy subsurface fly.

Not Bad for an Early Attempt

I found a YouTube tying video and collected the requisite materials. Various body material combinations were suggested, but I settled on purple. Brown and white goose biot wings were carryovers from the prince nymph. I used copper wire for ribbing, as detailed in the fly recipe that I followed, and brown ice dubbing was used for the collar behind the bead. I deviated from the prescribed pattern in four ways. For the abdomen, I did not possess purple ice dub, so I substituted a fine purple synthetic material. The YouTube video utilized six strands of pheasant tail fibers for the covering over the abdomen. I felt that material was too fragile, so I replaced it with a strand of pearl flashabou over a strip of flashback black, and I coated this overlay with UV resin, before I completed the forward part of the fly. My third modification was the usage of white antron for the wing stub at the back of the thorax area. For a fourth modification I wrapped a strip of weighting material around the hook in the thorax area as a foundation.

Fly ComponentMaterial
HookTiemco 5262, 12 & 14
BeadGold sized to fit 12 & 14 hook
ThreadBlack 6/0
TailBrown goose biots split
RibFine copper wire
Abdomen overlayerPearl flashabou, Flashback black
AbdomenFine purple dubbing
Wing stubWhite antron
Rear collarFine purple dubbing
Side appendagesWhite Goose biot tips
Forward collarBrown ice dub

A Batch of Five

Since this fly is at an experimental stage with me, I only tied five prototypes. Three were size 12 and two were size 14. These flies went into my active fleece wallet immediately. I plan to tie one to my line instead of a prince nymph at my first opportunity.