NymphbeginnerRocky Mountain West
Pheasant Tail Nymph
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Regional source directory
Taos Fly Shop
Matched on Rocky Mountain West, nymph flies, trout. New Mexico/Southwest trout shop lead for Rio Grande, San Juan, Pecos, and high desert water.
Rocky Mountain Fly Design
Matched on Rocky Mountain West, nymph flies, trout. Colorado tier and shop lead for Rocky Mountain trout, bass, and predator patterns.
Stillwater Fly Fishing Store
Matched on Rocky Mountain West, nymph flies, trout. Specialist stillwater source for balanced leeches, chironomids, and lake-trout logic.
Fly Fish Food
Matched on nymph flies, trout, mayfly. Strong technical tying and trout catalog coverage, especially nymphs, dries, and stillwater flies.
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Frank Sawyer, an English riverkeeper, tied the original on the River Avon using nothing but pheasant tail fibers and copper wire -- no thread, no vise, just a man and his obsession. American tiers added a bead head and a flashback, because of course they did. The result is a nymph that imitates virtually every mayfly larva in existence and catches trout on six continents. If fly patterns had a Hall of Fame, the Pheasant Tail would be the inaugural inductee.
Quick Facts
Where to Fish It
Madison River
MT · Freestone River
South Platte River
CO · Tailwater
Green River
UT · Tailwater
San Juan River
NM · Tailwater
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Related Reading
region guide
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The Rocky Mountain West holds the finest trout rivers in North America. From the gin-clear tailwaters of Colorado to the sweeping freestone rivers of Montana, these waters offer everything from technical dry fly fishing to aggressive streamer hunting. This is your river-by-river guide to all of it.
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The Spring Playbook: First Hatches to Full Send
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How Trout See Your Fly: The Science of Color and Light
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Emerger Patterns: Fishing the In-Between
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technique
Water Temperature: The Master Variable
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technique
Reading Water: Finding Fish by Reading Structure
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