The Most Versatile Fly 08Dec17

The Pheasant Tail is the most versatile mayfly nymph ever IMO. It's an all-natural so isn't the sturdiest around but it is ever so useful and buggy. I tie PTs in many different forms, my seven primary ones are shown here (R to L).

• The One... a soft hackle flymph tied a bit large with a rusty antron tail ~ serious action in the water
• BHFBPT... a beadhead flashback pheasant tail ~ sinks great
• Magnymphico... a single hidden bead (covered using peacock ice dub instead of peacock) variant of the 2 Bit Hooker ~ sinks well and stays thin
• FBPT... a flashback pheasant tail ~ classic, subtile & deadly
• Merc FBPT... a FBPT with mercury glass bead mimicking emergence gas ~ great during hatch
• PMD FBPT... a pale morning dun variant with red glass bead (check their eyes) and cream ostrich mixed in thorax (they are lighter colored) ~ PMD time
• RQ FBPT... a red quill variant (here with merc bead) with darker/reddish body pheasant and often a red wire ~ Red Quill time

Something was really funky with the way the PMDFBPT above rendered so I'm reprising just it below. I think this is a DRC exclusive actually as I've not seen it or even close to my recipe anywhere else, and its a slayer in summer PMD hatches on multiple CO rivers. It's a bit hard to make out even here but I do flashback the ostrich thorax - kindof wings and gas flash. I only carry #18s but they can be larger in real life. For comparison I've included an image of the adult and a cartoon of emergence - my fly mimics this emergence subsurface from the nymph - a perfect time to taste PMDs I guess.