Hi Hazmat,

I played with variations on the Pheasant tailed nymph, setting up a series that were the "life cycle of the pheasant tail".

It starts with the PTN, tied as follows:
tail: 3 pheasant tail fibres (choose ones long enough to wrap the abdomen, and be the wing case)
body: the ends of the tail fibres wrapped up the shank; do not trim yet, but have points sticking up to form wing case)
rib: fine copper wire (wrapped opposite direction to abdomen)
Thorax: pheasant tail fibres wrapped in a ball (covering lead or copper wraps if weighted; alternative is peacock hurl)
Wingcase: pull the remaining fibres that formed the abdomen down over the thorax, and you can pull them underneath to form leggs as well.
Head: black tying thread.

(the above, tied on a small grub hook of size 16, or 18, makes a really nice midge pattern as well)

For the whole "series", you tie the tail, abdomen, and rib the same way every time.

For the "emerger" stage, do not add weight, tie on curved lightwire hook and leave out the leggs. Add a brown partridge feather as a soft hackle in front of the thorax.

For the "adult on the surface", omit the thorax, wingcase, and leggs, and tie in up-wings using slips from turkey tail feathers and a dry fly collar hackle of furnace.

For the "winged wet version", slope the turkey wings back, and put a false hackle (throat or beard) of brown hen fibres.

Anyway, I've caught fish on all of these patterns at one time or another. The winged wet version has been the "fly of the day" on occasion as well.

- Jeff