The Pat’s Nymph is one of those flies that Smoky Mountain fly fishing guides just love. It has a buggy look that fish can’t resist and it’s relatively quick and easy to tie. While the Pat’s Nymph is good year round, it’s particularly good in the spring since it’s a good representation of several aquatic insects.

Hook: #12-14 Standard Nymph Hook

Underbody: .010 – .015 Lead Free Wire

Thread: 6/0 Black

Tail: Brown Hackle Fibers

Body: Any shaggy gray dubbing material like squirrel or muskrat. I particularly like Wapsi Sow-Scud dubbing

Collar: Brown Hackle

Step 1. Starting at the rear of the hook wrap the lead free wire forward, then wrap back over the first layer of wire about 50% of the way back. This makes the fly heavy enough to sink in turbulent water and also adds shape to the body.

Step 2. Wrap the thread on just in front of the wire underbody, then wrap over the wire toward the rear of the hook. Be sure the wire is locked into place by the thread. Strip a few brown hackle fibers from a feather and tie them in just in front of the bend. Clip the butts. A variety of hackles will work for this since dry fly quality feathers are not required.

Step 3. Twist dubbing fibers onto the thread. Dubbing wax may help, but this is not something we use. Be sure the body of the fly has a shaggy appearance. Taper the body. Leave about one and a half hook eye’s length between the dubbing and the eye of the hook.

Step 4. Tie in the hackle. Use either inferior dry fly hackle or hen hackle. Make one or two wrap depending on the density of the hackle fibers on the feather, then tie it off and clip the excess.

Step 5. Pull the hackle fibers back with the thumb and forefinger, then wrap the thread back over it and make a head. Tie it off with a series of half hitches or a whip finish and take it fishing.

The Pat’s Nymph is excellent in a number of situations when nymphs are required. It’s a heavy fly and sinks well. This is important in cold water or turbulent water. It also makes for one half of an excellent dropper rig along with another nymph. It can weigh down other nymphs like a #16 Beadhead Pheasant Tail or add even more weight to a big stonefly pattern like a #8 Tellico Nymph.

Some anglers are turned off by the scraggly appearance of this somewhat ordinary looking fly, but it should not be ignored. Its drab color scheme imitates a variety of aquatic insects and its weight gets it down where the fish are. We’ve even noticed that fish seem to like it more as it gets chewed up. One of our fishing buddies used to grind the fly under his boot heel before tying it on and claimed that made it more enticing to fish!

Many fly fishers and fly tyers are turned off by small flies, but there is no reason to be intimidated. Yes the flies are small, but the strike indicator is just as big as it is for a #14 nymph. Furthermore, small flies are generally less complicated to tie than larger ones.

Skull & Bones

The Skull & Bones is our “go to” midge pattern. We’ve used it extensively on tailwaters in the Southeast, but we’ve also used it with success on Montana’s Madison River and we’ll occasionally trail one under a dry fly in the Smokies. This fly works great on its own, fished in tandem with a second nymph, or under a dry fly.

Hook: #18 – #20 Scud hook

Bead: 5/64″ or 2 mm black bead

Thread: Black 8/0

Body: Black Ultrawire, Small or X-Small

Wing: Zelon, Midge Grey

Collar: 1 or 2 strands of peacock herl

Step 1. After threading the bead onto the hook, wrap your thread onto the hook behind the bead. You can wrap all the way to the bend of the hook and back up but we generally avoid doing this to prevent too much build up on the hook and keep the body slim and slender.

Step 2. Tie the wire onto the hook behind the bead. Hold the wire tight at an upward angle as you wrap thread over it. This will keep the wire on the top of the hook. Wrap all the way to the bend of the hook.

Step 3. Wrap the thread to the head of the fly. Tightly wrap the wire forward. Stop about 1 bead’s distance back from the bead. Tie it off with the thread and clip any excess.

Step 4. Tie in a small strand of Z-lon fibers. You may have to divide a strand of fibers in half. The wing should be clearly visible when the fly is complete, but it shouldn’t be too bulky either. Wait to clip the excess until the rest of the fly is complete.

Step 5. Tie in one or two strands of peacock herl. A #18 generally requires two strands, but this is sometimes too bulky for a #20. Wrap the herl around the thread about 5 or 6 times, then wrap around the hook about 3 times. Wrapping the peacock around the thread will reinforce it and make it less likely to break when you’re fishing it. The bulkiness of your peacock will dictate how many wraps it takes to create the collar. You want enough to fill in the gap nicely without creating unnecessary bulk.

Step 6. Tie off with a couple of half hitches or a whip finish. Clip the wing so it is short and stumpy. It shouldn’t be very long.

Take it fishing!

This fly fishes very well on its own in rivers with robust midge populations like the Clinch River here in East Tennessee. If only a few midges are hatching we’ll fish it in tandem with a sow bug pattern or another nymph like a #16 Beadhead Pheasant Tail. We usually fish the Skull & Bones as the top fly.

It’s not unusual for us to fish it under a dry fly. We’ll fish it under Sulphur patterns when the hatch is sporadic. It is heavy enough to sink well, but not heavy enough to sink a #16 Sulphur Comparadun dry fly.While it’s not our top producer in the Smokies, we’ll occasionally use it as a dropper when rising trout seem to ignore everything else. It’s hooked enough tough fish on Little River that we keep a few in our vest. Be sure to use 6X tippet with this small fly.

The Prince Nymph has been one of our favorite flies for a long time. We’ve caught lots of big trout with it not only in the Smokies but in Western rivers as well. We fish it frequently from the first cold snaps of fall through the winter and spring. We’ll continue to fish it in the summer if water levels are a little high. The Prince is one of those flies that always seems to catch fish when we fish it in swift water. We like to fish it on the heavy side so it gets down deep quickly. The instructions shown here show our favorite variation with red hackle and red thread, but you can use the standard brown hackle with black thread and it will still work great. Our suggestions for fishing the Prince Nymph are at the end of the tying instructions.

Hook: #8 – #12 Extra Long Shank Nymph or Standard Streamer Hook

Underbody: .010 – .015 Round Lead Free Wire

Thread: 6/0 Fire Orange, Red, or Black

Tail: Ginger Goose Biots

Rib: Copper Wire

Body: Peacock Herl

Hackle: Red or Brown Chinese Hackle or other soft hackle for wet flies and nymphs

Wings: White Goose Biots

Step 1.

Starting near the rear of the hook shank wrap lead free wire forward to about one and a half hook eye lengths behind the eye of the hook. Wrap 1/2 to 2/3 of the way back over the first layer of wire. This makes the fly heavy so it sinks quickly and also helps to give the body a natural looking taper.

Step 2.

Start to wrap thread just behind the eye of the hook and continue over the wire underbody. Wrap to the bend of the hook. Tie in two ginger goose biots so the natural bend of the feather points outward and away from each other.

Step 3.

Tie the copper wire just ahead of the goose biots, then tie in about 5 or 6 strands of peacock herl. Be sure the strands of herl are close to even along the tips, then clip about 1/2″ from the tips since they are weak and often break. Tie the peacock in at the tips then wrap the thread over the wire underbody up to the bare hook near the head.

Step 4.

Wrap the strands of peacock herl  forward over the wire under body. Tie off with the thread and clip off any excess. Be sure to leave some space. Don’t crowd the eye of the hook.

Step 5.

Wrap the copper wire forward using a reverse wrap. That is wrap the wire forward in the opposite direction that you wound the peacock herl. This keeps the wire from becoming buried in the herl. More importantly it allows the wire to wrap over the top of the fragile peacock and adds durability to the fly.

Step 6.

Prepare a piece of hackle by clipping the base away and stripping some hackle fibers from the stem so it will tie in cleanly. Tie the feather in so the shiny side is forward and the natural bend of the feather is toward the rear of the fly.

Step 7.

Wrap the feather around the hook 2 or 3 times and tie it off. Clip the tip of the feather off. Now using the thumb and forefinger of your free hand pull the hackle fibers back. Wrap thread over the base of the hackle fibers so they lay back.

Step 8.

Tie in two white goose biots so the natural curve of the feather is downward. Tie each one in at a slight angle off to each side and try to make them symmetrical. Clip the base of each biot after it is tied in.

Step 9.

Wrap thread over what remains of where you clipped the white biots. Wrap to the eye of the hook and finish the fly with a few half hitches or a whip finish.

Fishing Suggestions

The Prince Nymph is an excellent choice for cold water conditions in the fall, winter, or spring. Its contrasting colors allow fish to see it in swift flows and its weight gets it in the strike zone quickly.  Don’t be afraid to add a split shot or two if you don’ t think it’s reaching bottom. Fish it no less than 24″ under a strike indicator, but don’t be afraid to put it 36″ or 48″ deep

The Prince is a superb fly to use with another nymph. There are many times in the spring when smaller mayflies are moving about to hatch. We’ll fish a #12-16 Beadhead Pheasant Tail Nymph about 18″ – 24″ up from the Prince. This allows us to fish two entirely different flies in two different locations. The Prince should be ticking bottom and the smaller Pheasant Tail is higher in the water column like a hatching or drifting mayfly nymph.

Don’t try to fish this large Prince Nymph with fine tippet like 6X. This fly is intended for hard work and will hopefully hook nice trout from pockets in swift water. We usually use 3X or 4X when fishing it. That also goes for when we use a smaller nymph in tandem. Swift, turbulent water conditions preclude any need for a fine tippet plus you’ll be grateful that you have it when you hook a strong fish in a rocky run of fast water.

Low water conditions in the fall give trout plenty of time to inspect a fly in the slow flow.

While fish rise regularly in the autumn, the insects they are eating are much smaller and the water conditions are almost always lower. This gives the fish more time to inspect your offering in low, clear water. The swift, choppy flows of spring are more forgiving and trout will occasionally slash at a variety of fly patterns before they can make an informed decision.

Size and color of the fly are the two most important factors to fool a trout. Unfortunately the most prolific hatches found in the Smokies October through November are small and dark. These can be exceptionally difficult to see on the water.

Here’s a fly that we use for ourselves and tie on for our guide customers. It’s extremely effective at fooling trout and most anglers can see it quite clearly. This makes it easier to get a good drift and you’re far less likely to miss a strike when you see the fly instead of straining to see a fly that is actually five feet left of where you’re looking.

I like to use turkey flats for the parachute post for several reasons. First of all there is no need to stack turkey flats like you do with calf hair. Turkey flats also tie in much flatter than calf hair. This is important when you’re tying a small fly and trying to keep the body from getting too fat. Last, turkey flats retain very little water when you fish the fly. This is a great material that allows a tyer to work faster, make a better fly, and allows the fly to float better.

Hi-Vis Parachute Blue Wing Olive
Hook: Standard Dry Fly #18 – #20

Thread: 8/0 Olive

Wing: Day Glow Orange Turkey Flat

Tailing: Dark or Medium Dun Hackle Fibers

Body: Blue Wing Olive Superfine Dubbing

Hackle: Dark or Medium Dun Dry Fly Hackle

Step 1: Tie the thread onto the hook at about one hook eye length behind the eye. Clip about 1/3 of the even portion of the turkey flat and tie onto the hook. The wing should be as long as the length of the hook.

Step 2: Pull the wing back and wrap thread up against it to get it to stand up. Wrap the thread around the base of the wing. This will keep the fibers neat and tight and give a firm base to wrap hackle later.

Step 3: Tie in a clump of hackle fibers at the back of the level portion of the hook.

Step 4: Dub a spare amount of dubbing on the thread. Only a small amount is required and no wax should be needed. Wrap it on the hook to create a tapered body. Wrap in front of the wing and finsh dubbing just behind the wing. About 3-4 wraps of dubbing should remain.

Step 5: Strip the hackle fibers from the base of the spine of the hackle. Tie it in on the directly against the front base of the wing. The remainder of dubbing should be used entirely.

Step 6: Wrap the hackle 3-5 times around the base of the wing depending on how heavy you like your flies hackled. Start wrapping near the top of the thread wraps and make each successive turn below the previous one. Tie the hackle off and clip it clean. Make a few more thread wraps over that then tie off with a series of half hitches or whip finish.

The Elkmont Ant not only fooled the largest trout at Blackberry, but it did an impressive job on the wild fish in the Smokies. It’s incredibly effective in low water conditions and tempts everything from smaller brookies to larger brown trout. In fact, I caught 2 brown trout around 18″ around Elkmont on Little River the first season I fished it.

Terrestrials are always important in the summer. They are relatively abundant and any beetle, cricket, yellow jacket, or ant that falls into the water is unlikely to get out. In fact, it’s a certainty that they will be eaten by a fish. The only question is when.

The Elkmont Ant has a foam body so it floats great. The soft legs vibrate to give the illusion of life and a poly-yarn wing makes it visible to the angler. It even lands with a soft plop that will often lure hungry fish out of hiding.

Tying the Elkmont Ant isn’t hard. Here’s the pattern:

Hook: #14 Dry Fly

Thread: 6/0 Black

Body: Black Foam cut to about 1/8″

Legs: Black Span Flex

Wing: White Poly-Yarn; Neon orange or chartreuse may be substituted for even better visibility

Step 1:  Cover the hook shank with black thread. This will make the hook blend with the foam and provide better traction for the foam to stay in place. Cut a strip of foam to about 1/8″ wide. The foam should not be any thicker than that, but may be a bit thinner. Tie the foam in just above the bend of the hook.

Step 2: Tie in a piece of Span Flex on each side of the foam. You’ll want the pieces to be long initially, then clipped to size. Tie the Span Flex in so it is secured along the side of the fly in the crevice in the foam. The legs should have a “V”.

Step 3: Wrap the thread up the hood and secure the foam about one and a half hook eye lengths back from the eye of the hook.

Step 4: Tie in the Span-Flex for the legs on the front. At this point I usually clip the corners from the foam at the head and rear of the fly to give it a more rounded appearance.

Step 5: Tie in a piece of poly-yarn. I prefer white, but you may see the fly better if you use neon orange or chartreuse. Tie off with a half hitch or whip finish and go fishing!

Fishing the Elkmont Ant

You’ll want to use a slightly different method to fish the Elkmont Ant and other terrestrials than you would a Royal Wulff, Parachute Adams, or other standard dry fly. Most standard dries imitate aquatic insects like mayflies, caddis, and stoneflies. These insects live in riffle habitat and are most often eaten by trout while ther are drifting in current.

Many terrestrials, particularly those found along the forested streams of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, will fall from trees or streamside brush. You should cast these flies into quieter waters that you might be tempted to pass up. In fact, it’s not uncommon for brown trout to sit in “frog water”, avoiding riffle water in the summer.

You’ll do well fishing well defined feeding lanes as well. Rainbows will remain in current through the summer. Brook trout are often found in slower currents as well as eddies.

Don’t be afraid of letting the fly hit the water with a SPLAT! Insects falling from trees will make a plop and fish accustomed to eating them will be attracted by the noise. Of course, only the fly should do that, not your entire leader and fly line.

Terrestrial patterns like the Elkmont Ant will be most successful during the day while the sun is on the water. I’m not sure why, but terrestrials lose much of their effectiveness in the evening, probably because those insects are most active during the heat of the day.

Tied as shown the Haystack is a superb imitation of the Quill Gordon. Change the size of the hook and the color of the dubbing and you can easily have a fly to imitate Hendricksons, March Browns, and Light Cahills.

The Haystack is really an old time fly, but it has spawned some incredibly effective fly patterns that are well known almost anywhere there are selective trout. The Comparadun and Sparkle Dun are both sparsely dressed, more popular derivatives of the Haystack. Another variation on this fly is the Usual, which is quite similar but uses hair from the foot of a snowshoe hare instead of elk or deer hair.

Materials

• Hook: Standard Dry Fly Hook #12-16
• Thread: 6/0 Thread to match color of body
• Wing: Fine Elk Hair or Deer Body Hair; Look for hair labeled as Comparadun Hair
• Tail: Same hair as the wing
• Body: Superfine or other dry fly dubbing

1. Position the thread about 1 1/2 hook eye lengths back from the eye of the hook.

2. Stack a clump of elk hair. Tie it in so the wing will be as tall as the hook is long. After tying in the hair securely clip the butts closely.

3. Wrap the thread to the rear of the hook and stack another clump of elk hair for the tail. This clump of hair should be about 1/4 – 1/2 the bulk of the clump used for the wing. Tie in the tail so it is about 1/2 the length of the shank of the hook.

Make the first few wraps loose, then tighten the wraps while wrapping forward to where the hair from the wing was clipped, then clip the butts of hair left from the tail. This step provides a smooth underbody to avoid a lumpy appearance when dubbing. The underbody of elk or deer hair also provides extra buoyancy.

Wrap the thread back to the rear of the hook where the tail was tied in.

4. Dub the body so it has a growing taper as you move toward the wing.

5. Pull the wing back and dub directly against the hair so the wing will stand up straight. Wrap back behind the wing with a few turns of dubbing then go in front of the wing and dub the head. Tightly wound dubbing should make the wing stand straight up.

6. Tie off the head with a series of half hitches or a whip finish.

7. You will have to shape the wing slightly by spreading the hair with your fingers. Give the wing a semi-circular appearance.