Essential Nymphsby Devin Olsen

FrenchyCourtesy of Lance Egan

Hook: dai riki 135 sizes 16-14, for a smaller size use daiichi 1510 size 16 which is a short shank around a normal size 18.

Bead: gold tungsten 2.3 mm for #16; 2.8mm for #14; 2.0mm for 18

Weight: lead wire; .010” for #18; .015 for #16; .020 for #14

Thread: camel 8/0 uni

Tail: coq de leon or any stiff chicken hackle

Abdomen: natural pheasant tail. 3-6 fibers depending upon hook size and length of fibers.

Rib: brassie size copper wire

Collar: UV pink Ice Dub. Other colors are great as well.

Slide on bead. Wrap 3-4 turns of lead wire and break off by hand to save scissors.

Slide lead into the bead cavity. Build a thread base behind the lead wire and make several turns of thread through the lead wire to anchor it.

Advance thread to the rear of the hook. If using a dai riki 135, leave some space at the rear of the shank since it is a longer hook than other scud hooks.

Use a pinch wrap to anchor 6-8 fibers of tailing material and smoothly advance the thread to the front and clip the hackle excess.

Tie in copper wire on the far side of the hook and wrap back to the base of the tail. Leave the thread at the rear.

Tie in the pheasant tail fibers and make 5-6 wraps toward the front to tie it down without building a thick underbody.

Wrap the pheasant tail toward the front to form an even naturally tapered body. It should be counter wrapped in the opposite direction that you turn your thread.

Wrap the wire in the normal direction. Space it evenly with about 4 wraps. If your wire is secured with 6-7 thread wraps, you can wind it around a few times to break it off and save your scissors.

This is the collar dubbing

Dub a collar. Be careful to leave room for the collar and not make it too thick and gaudy.

Make a wrap or two of thread through the dubbing to prevent fish from shredding and removing it later. The dubbing will surround the thread after use and become nearly invisible.

Whip finish and cement. I normally do at least 2 whip finishes on my nymphs and follow them with loctite control gel super glue. If you do this the fly will last through dozens of fish until you dull the hook beyond sharpening or until you lose it.

SurveyorCourtesy of Lance Egan

Hook: same as frenchy except I’ll also do this up to a size 10 on a dai riki 135

Bead: Silver tungsten. Same sizing as frenchy for smaller hooks. 3.2mm for size 12-10

Weight: same as frenchy. If more than the bead is desired on a size 12-10, make it .025” lead wire.

Thread: 8/0 red

Tail: Same as frenchy

Rib: Same as frenchy

Abdomen and thorax: rainbow sow scud dub

Flashback: large pearl tinsel

Afix the bead. Wrap 3-4 wire wraps and slide them into the bead cavity. Build a thread base behind the wire and wrap through the wire to secure it.

Tie in tail and advance the thread back to the front.

Tie in the rib on the far side of the hook and wrap back to the base of the tail.

Thinly dub around 2” of thread for a size 16.

Dub the abdomen and wrap the rib through it for 3-4 turns. Break off the rib. Leave a thorax width around half the abdomen width.

Tie in the flashback

Dub a shorter section of thread a little more loosely so that legs can be formed from it later

Dub the thorax. It should be somewhat thicker than the abdomen while still allowing some room to tie off the flashback and whip finish.

Fold the flashback over and tie off

Fold the flashback rearward and anchor it down with a few more wraps. This adds some durability and cleans up the fly after it is clipped.

Whip finish but don’t clip the thread or glue yet.

Brush the thorax to make it spiky. If you already clipped the thread the brush can undo your whip finishes.

Clip and glue

Finished Surveyor.

Rainbow WarriorCourtesy of Lance Egan

Hook: Same as frenchy

Bead: Silver tungsten. Same sizing as frenchy

Thread: red 8/0

Weight: lead wire same sizing as frenchy

Tail: same as frenchy

Abdomen and wing case: medium width pearl tinsel

Thorax: rainbow sow scud dubbing

Wrap 3-4 wraps of lead wire and slide them into the cavity of the bead.

Build a thread base behind and anchor the wire.

Tie in the tail as in previous flies

Tie in the tinsel on the far side of the hook. Wrap back to the base of the tail. Build a smooth but slim underbody of thread.

Apply a thin line of superglue to the top of the hook to prevent the tinsel from sliding.

Wrap tinsel toward the front. Each wrap should slightly overlap the previous one. Tie the tinsel off on top of the hook.

Fold the tinsel rearward and anchor with a few wraps of thread. Dub a short section of thread fairly tightly.

Dub the thorax. Fold the flashback over and tie it down.

Fold the flashback rearward and tie down.

Clip the thread and flashback.

Whip finish and glue.

Finished Rainbow Warrior

krystal butt baetis

Hook: Same as frenchy

Bead: Black nickel tungsten. Same sizing as frenchy.

Weight: Same as frenchy.

Thread: Iron gray 8/0; Dun olive for some species.

Tail: Two strands krystal flash overlayed by coq de leon.

Rib: Brassie sized gold wire.

Wingcase: Black wide tinsel; holographic black, pearl, or gray scud back can be substituted.

Thorax: Bronze peacock Jan Siman dubbing; peacock herl is a good substitute

Wrap and anchor the lead wire as in previous flies.

Tie in 2 strands krystal flash (or one looped strand) behind the lead wire and use sparsely spaced turns to tie it down toward the rear of the shank.

Clip the tail short and leave the thread in position.

Pinch wrap the tail and tie down the tail with widely spaced wraps toward the front.

Tie in the gold wire and wrap it toward the rear. Build a smooth slightly tapered underbody of thread. Make it as thin as possible while still covering the wire and other materials.

Wrap the wire forward and tie off while leaving space for the thorax. Break off the wire.

Tie in the flashback.

The dubbing for the thorax. It is fairly expensive and isn’t widely available. You can find it online in a few places though.

Otherwise, peacock herl works as a substitute. Just remember to wrap the herl around the thread to make it into a rope and improve it’s durability.

Dub the thorax

Pull over the wingcase and tie it down. Then fold it rearward and tie it down again.

Whip finish and trim off the flashback but don’t trim the thread yet.

Brush the thorax to form legs.

Clip the thread and glue.

Finished krystal butt baetis

krystal back midge

Hook: Daiichi 1510 size 16 or 18 which correspond to size 18 or 20 normal shank hooks.

Bead: Black nickel 2.0 mm tungsten.

Weight: .010” lead wire

Thread: Iron gray 8/0

Rib: 4x tippet. Clear tippet preferred.

Back strip: 4 strands peacock krystal flash or holographic black flashabou

Wrap lead wire and anchor as in previous flies.

Tie in 4x tippet and wrap to the back.

Advance the thread widely to the front.

Tie in the 4 strands of krystal flash. Move the thread to the back while tying down the krystal flash.

Build a tapered body of thread. (not shown here)

This is the awkward step.

Fold the krystal flash forward and use the tippet to tie the krystal flash down in spaced wraps. You may have to recenter the krystal flash after each wrap to make sure it tracks the spine.

I have the tippet on a bobbin (wrapped on an empty thread spool) which allows it to hang in between wraps while keeping the flash in place.

Tie off the tippet and flash simultaneously

Fold the flash rearward and tie down with a couple of wraps.

Whip finish. Clip the krystal flash leaving a short clump of tags to act as a wingbud. Glue and your done.