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Prince Nymph
Text and photos by Jim Schollmeyer

Peacock bodies flies have long been a favorite of fly tiers. The fly shown here is a good searching pattern. The Prince nymph works very well on rivers that have hatches of black caddis.

Materials List:

    Orginator: Doug Prince.

    Hook:   Nymph, 2X heavy, 2X - 3X long, sizes 6-14.

    Thread:   Black.

    Tail:   Brown goose biots.

    Body:   Peacock herl.

    Rib:   Fine gold tinsel.

    Wings:   White boose biots.

    Hackle:   Brown.

    Head:   Optional, brass bead (not shown).

Instructions - Prince Nymph:

    1. Mount a hook in the vise and form the weighted underbody. Use the split tail method...to mount the biots at the rear tie-in position. Mount the rib tinsel and trim the excess.

    2. Form the body by mounting 2-4 herls, a short distance back from their tips, at the tie-in position. Then trim the excess. Use a dubbing loop method to form a thread loop that is as long as the herl and thread together, draw them downward, and grip them with hackle pliers. Use the hackle pliers to gently spin the herls in a clockwise direction to form a fuzzy chenille next to the hook shank. Do not spin the herl too tight or you may break one or more of your strands. Wrap the herl forward 1-3 wraps; then twist the herl clockwise to form the fuzzy chenille again. Continue this short wrap-and-spin cycle until the body is wrapped. Secure the herls with 3 thread wraps and trim the excess.

    Prepare and mount a feather by its stem for the hackle. Grasp the tip of the feather with hackle pliers, and using close, tight wraps, take the desired number of turns forward. While maintaining tension on the hackle, take the bobbin the your left hand and secure the feather with 3 tight wraps. Trim the excess and bind down the tag ends.

    Counter-wrap the rib over the body. Prepare and mount the hackle, and take 2-3 wraps of hackle. Secure the hackle and trim the excess.

    3. Mount 2 biots on top of the hook shank as shown. Then trim the excess, tie off the thread, and finish the head.

    4. Finished fly. ~ Jim Schollmeyer

Credits: The Prince Nymph is just one of many instructive flies in Jim's book, Nymph Fly-Tying Techniques, published by Frank Amato Publications. The steps have been slighted edited for presentation here. This fly was requested by one of our readers who couldn't find it elsewhere.

For more great flies, check out: Beginning Fly Tying, Intermediate Fly Tying and Advanced Fly Tying.