Sawyer Pheasant Tail Nymph
My good wife Mary recently gave me a first edition copy of Frank Sawyer’s Nymphs and the Trout. Sawyer’s pheasant tail nymph may be his biggest contribution to current fly- fishing. It is interesting how the tying of this nymph has evolved over the years (and perhaps over the pond). This photo and tying description is something close to the original.
Bill Lamberson
Fly and photograph and tying instructions:
Hans Weilenman
Hook: Tiemco 3761 or equivalent
Thread: Fine red copper wire (other colors can be used)
Tail, body and thorax: Red/brown fibers from cock pheasant center tail feather
(I will describe how I tie this nymph, explaining also where I deviate from Sawyer's method and why. The final result of either method is very close. Use whichever you prefer.)
1. Take a piece of copper wire, about 12 inches in length. Attach near the eye like you would do with thread. Build up a slight thorax covering one-third of the hook shank, then wrap the wire to the start of the bend.
2. Even the tips of four fibers of the tail feather, clip close to stem. At the back of the hook shank tie in the pheasant fibers near the tips, forming a short tail, with two or three turns of wire.
3. Keeping the wire tight, wrap the fiber butts toward the eye in a counter wrap, i.e. if you normally wrap materials over the shank and away from you (as most of us do) then you wrap the fibers over the shank towards you. Trap each successive turn with the tip of your left index finger to stop the fibers unwinding. Your final wrap should leave the butts sticking straight up, right behind the eye. Please note that the wire is not wound with the fibers, but left behind until step 4.
4. In open turns spiral the copper wire towards the eye. These turns will 'cross' the wrapped pheasant fibers, re-inforcing the body and preventing the whole nymph coming undone when chewed upon by the fish.
5. After you have tied down the butts behind the eye, fold them back and make few wraps of wire between the eye and the pheasant fibers. Next take the wire in one open turn over the shank to just behind the thorax. Fold the butts back over the thorax and tie down with one or two wraps of wire, followed by a three turn whip-finish (preferred) or a couple of half hitches. Clip butts, apply a very small amount of (thin) head cement and the P.T. nymph is complete.
Instead of the two step approach I described, Frank Sawyer would wrap the pheasant fibers around the wire to form a rope and wrap towards the eye. There he would separate the fibers and the wire, tie down the fibers, move the wire behind the thorax, lap fibers back, wire back to front, lap fibers towards eye again and tie off.