Pheasant Tail Nymph

The Sawyer Pheasant Tail is a fly I use an awful lot, particularly in sizes 16 and 18. This season it has been my 'go to' fly and it rarely fails to produce some sort of interest.

I like to tie the flies in the traditional manner, however I do have a problem obtaining tail feathers with fibres of the right length, however I have developed a two part method of tying the fly to make use of the smaller feathers.

I have often wondered if Frank Sawyer would have used the same materials if he had designed the fly today, with the vast amount that are available. Pictured are two variations, the first using a small bead for the thorax and the second creating a body from EP-Trigger Point International Fibres (colour-March Brown).