Princess Nymph

As guides we are always looking for new flies that will fool fish. Especially the fish that have seen the same old flies over and over again. A few years ago fellow guide, Bryan Eldredge, introduced this fly to me called the Princess nymph. It’s a variation of the prince nymph but has proved to be very effective on waters all over the west. The first time Bryan gave me one to try I kind of laughed. I’m used to fishing a prince nymph in size 14-18. The one he handed to me was a size 12. He even uses bigger ones than that. It wasn’t long before I had a fish on the first few casts. I became a believer! The big fly is nice because it gets down fast with little split shot. We all know that getting the fly into the feeding zone is key to success. Apparently the fish don’t really care what size of fly you give them as long as you give them one. Make sure to stock a few in your boxes this year. Here’s a little something from the Bryan about this fly:   “I really tied this fly as a lark. I was thinking that given the success of the Prince Nymph, there really should be a female equivalent. (Maybe that’s what having three daughters does.) Anyway, I got to thinking what that might look like. I decided to go with stereotypes: pink, glitter and blonde hair. (I have since tied it on a curved hook, too, but it doesn’t seem to matter.) I showed it to Jeff Lindstrom who asked me to give him a couple. The next day he started texting me pictures from the river showing the Princess in fishes’ mouths. Since then we’ve used it all over and it has worked on everything from browns to steelhead. It seems most productive from about October through May, but that may be because we fish it less in the summer because we are matching hatches more then” Here’s the recipe and some tips. Hook: Standard heavy wire nymph hook. Sizes 16-10 Bead: florescent Pink like the Rivers Wild brand. Weight: 4-8 wraps of wire. Slide it up into the bead. Thread: UTC 70 florescent pink Tail: Dyed red goose biots, one on either side, curved outward. Ribbing: UTC Pink holographic tinsel Body: 4-8 peacock hurls dyed red Hackle: Ginger hen hackle Wings: UTC pink holographic tinsel trimmed ala The Fly Formerly Known as Prince Tips for making the fly more durable: 1. Use Wapsi Fly Z-Ment on the base before wrapping the peacock. 2. Twist the peacock hurls together counterclockwise before wrapping them on the hook. 3. Brush a little Fly Z-ment on the inside of the ribbing tinsel and wrap it backwards over the peacock. 4. Apply a layer of Bug Bond UV Cure Resin on the bead after the fly is done. This reduces chipping of the paint.]]>