Starting to fill my tailwater boxes and wanted a change of pace from Pheasant Tails (already have a bunch of them); my version of Hogan Brown’s has worked well and is about as simple and easy to tie as they come.
hook - Tiemco 3769 #18
thread - Gudebrod 10/0 brown
Tail - Pheasant tail fibers
body - tying thread
rib - UTC wire small red
thorax - peacock
legs - Krystal Flash red
flashback - Mylar tinsel medium opal
head - glass bead red
Mash down barb and slide bead on shank
tie in thread, wrap to point above barb
tie in pheasant tail fibers (shank length)
tie in wire rib and wrap back to the head, trying to create a smooth body
spiral wire rib forward, tie off and helicopter wire to break
tie in tinsel flashback at the 60% mark
tie in peacock and create thorax
add Krystal Flash legs, near
and far
pull mylar tinsel over peacock, tie off, brush Sally, trim KF legs (pull them back and trim at spot where tail starts) and you’re done.
Good thing they’re quick ties; tend to lose a bunch of little flies to trout and whities when fishing tailwaters.
Good SBS, good tie. If you haven’t already, try his “S&M Nymph” in brown and olive. Also quite effective in tailwaters, although Hogan sure has some silly names for his patterns.
Thanks for posting the recipe. A friend of mine brought a buddy to fish the Roaring Fork with me last year. He did very well with the Red Headed Stepchild. I better tye some up.
Dig some up, the olive S&M is a great producer. Characteristic of nearly all of Hogan’s nymphs it seems is he leaves a “tag” of material from the wing case hanging over the bead (even if using flash, as in the Stepchild). Haven’t gotten around to asking him why he does it, but his patterns do perform well. I tend to build up the thorax a bit more on mine, so the tag is parallel with the body, but those will definitely fish. I also like using a 1XS hook for all thread bodied mayflies, so I can get as much gape as I can.
Don’t tie them in purple with a blue rib or wine with a black rib for fall in Yellowstone, at all.
Or olive with a black rib or rusty brown with a copper-brown rib for the Missouri, for that matter. And don’t ever tie the former with a firebead for use in April or May.
