Crimson Pheasant tail

[tomfly]

Hook: standard nymph hook I used (Mustad 3906B)
Thread: Black: 6/0
Under Body: Bright Red 10/0 thread
Over body: 3 Pheasant tail fibers. Sparely wrapped to allow under body to show
Thorax: Red dyed Peacock herl
Tail: 3 Biots from a Burnt Orange dyed Hungarian partridge primary wing feather
Hackle: Burnt Orange Dyed Hungarian partridge breast feather.

 

[FIN-ITE 34]

Looks like the fingers are working nicely.

 

[flyI4]

nice tie. These work great for fish feeding in the film that look like they are taking dries but are actually just below the surface.

 

[lightenup]

nice tie. These work great for fish feeding in the film that look like they are taking dries but are actually just below the surface.

I agree 100% for an emerging mayfly a soft hackle pheasant tail will work every time fished dry. It also works wet swung and dead drifted...great fly. Natural color in different sizes are a must for a spring fly box...hell summer and fall also...I've caught fish year round on the PH soft hackle......why crimson? does it represent a certain bug or something.....?

P.S. Is there wire wrapped around the pheasant on the body?

 

[tomfly]

No, I did not use any wire in the body. Just bright red thread and pheasant tail. I use red as a secondary color often. What I like about it is, red is one of a few colors that change the appearance of its hue. It is because the way the light refracts in water. Red can appear as red, amber and become darker the deeper the fly is in the column, If down deep enough red can appear to be black.

 

[lightenup]

No, I did not use any wire in the body. Just bright red thread and pheasant tail. I use red as a secondary color often. What I like about it is, red is one of a few colors that change the appearance of its hue. It is because the way the light refracts in water. Red can appear as red, amber and become darker the deeper the fly is in the column, If down deep enough red can appear to be black.

I ask, because in my limited experience the little teeth on trout seem to be made to cut through pheasant tail.......and that fly will catch a few and then become a hook....

When I want to use a soft hackle for a dry fly I use very fine wire on the body spun the opposite direction of the PT as a rib...eventually the trout break the wire, but before that happens all the pheasant fibers get broken and stick out from the wire........it will still catch fish until it becomes a hook, but it might last a little longer......

 

[tomfly]

I ask, because in my limited experience the little teeth on trout seem to be made to cut through pheasant tail.......and that fly will catch a few and then become a hook....

When I want to use a soft hackle for a dry fly I use very fine wire on the body spun the opposite direction of the PT as a rib...eventually the trout break the wire, but before that happens all the pheasant fibers get broken and stick out from the wire........it will still catch fish until it becomes a hook, but it might last a little longer......

I don't like to use wire unless I need to segment the body. What I do instead of using wire to extend the life of a fly. When I tie in the pheasant fibers. I will apply a sparse amount of clear nail polish to each fiber prior to wrapping. Just dab it on in a few spots. I found that it helps stick them to the under body. This helps keep the body some what intact when the fish chew on them.