Pheasant Tails

[Gandolf]

Hi BelAirSteve,

I use lead wire, lead free wire, and bead heads. The lead free wire is required for nymphs in Yellowstone, and probably other places as well. The vast majority of the places I fish, lead wire is legal.

That said, for small nymphs lead wire is tough. It is difficult to get much wire on small hooks without making the fly hard to tie, getting it to far back and interfering with the gape, and making the fly bulky. The small amount of lead wire on a small nymph does not affect the sink rate of the nymph greatly. Wrapping wire on a hook is also more time consuming than putting on a bead.

For those reasons, I have gone primairly to bead heads for nymphs, especially for smaller ones. The larger nymphs, #12 or #10 and larger are more of a question, and I go with either wire or beads. For really large nymphs, like big stones, etc., I go with wire virtually exclusively. With the big nymphs you can get enough wire on the hook to really sink it without interfering with the gape. It is also less obtrusive than is a bead.

To comment on one of your other questions: yes, the use of lead wire is very common.

Secondly, I tie most nymphs both ways. It is useful to have weighted nymphs for some fishing, and in other cases it is nice to have the same nymph unweighted.

Regards,

Gandolf

[BelAirSteve]

Thanks for all of the good information. Now a follow up after watching a couple more videos and did some more reading.

1. Do you wrap the copper wire in the opposite direction of the pheasant tail in the body? Do you think it matters?

2. What do you think of using peacock ice dub instead of herls for the thorax?

3. Do you tie the legs in separately, or do you use the same fibers from the wing case to make the legs?

[51BC]

Personally, I counter wrap the copper, I think it helps protect the feather fibers.
Ice dub may work fine , but I like the real thing with peacock. It's magical.
For legs, I use fibers from the wing case, or , occationally, skip them altogether.

[Normand]

Thanks for all of the good information. Now a follow up after watching a couple more videos and did some more reading.

1. Do you wrap the copper wire in the opposite direction of the pheasant tail in the body? Do you think it matters?

2. What do you think of using peacock ice dub instead of herls for the thorax?

3. Do you tie the legs in separately, or do you use the same fibers from the wing case to make the legs?

1. heres a 2 page discussion on ribbing

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/s...ad.php?t=31422

2. go for it. give it a try.

3. i use the tip ends of the wing case for the legs or i omit them entirely.

[dryfly2010]

When i tie pheasant tails, i twist the copper wire for the abdomen with the pheasant fibers. This adds strength when wrapping the pheasant, and ensures the fly wont get ripped up. Also, i have always used lead wire when i have it. putting 3-5 wraps (depending on the size of the hook) at the front of the fly where the thorax goes bulks up the thorax and adds plenty of weight. if thats not enough, i add a bead for the thorax instead of wrapping it with peacock.

just my 3 cents.

Jordan

[Gandolf]

Hi BelAirSteve,

The ice dub will be different from the peacock. Peacock hearl is kind of a metallic copper color in the water, it is no longer green. Like 51BC, I think peacock has super fish drawing properties.

I do not wrap the thorax of peacock hearl on the pheasant tail with wire at all, only the abdomen, which I do counter wrap. The pheasant tail fibers are fairly fragile and are easily cut by trout teeth. The counter wrapping of the wire minimizes the extent to which the fly comes apart. It won't last for ever, but will last longer if counter wrapped.

To strenghten the thorax, I twist the tying thread, kind of like a dubbing loop, with the needed strands of peacock, this will make the thorax last pretty well.

I have used the excess fibers from the wingcase for legs, have tied them in separately, and have tied them as soft hackles. When I tie in legs now, they are usually soft hackles. Interestingly enough, the original pattern did not have legs at all, because swimmer mayfly nymphs, which the pheasant tail represents, swim with their legs tucked tightly against the body.

Regards,

Gandolf

[bugman]

I buy a roll of thin solder & use that fer weighting flies when i need to... Easy to work with... It can also be flattened easily on the hook with a small pliers after its bound down with a little thread to give the fly a flat and more realistic profile...

[Shakeyfly]

There is a great video on Youtube of Davie McPhail tying a wonderful pheasant tail in HD. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORK-eDbWQbk