Our very own Ben Baxter has built a killer stealthy super fast sinking pheasant tail variation that just plain catches fish!

“With this fly I was really looking to get a lot of weight paired with a little more of an aggressive profile (taper) to the fly. I went with a natural color approach initially and then added the colored resin. I also wanted to get some movement in the fly with the legs (or the beard) with the ostrich herl. I twist the herl and wire together before wrapping the legs, for added durability as well. I initially tied the fly on a standard nymph hook for a small, heavy dropper fly under a foam beetle or hopper pattern. After jig hooks started to become more popular, along with the Euro nymphing scene, I decided to put the pattern to a jig hook. I have used it under an indicator for nymphing deep runs. It can be used as a point fly in a larger size or a dropper fly in a smaller size on a standard Euro nymphing rig. I have used this fly in Colorado as well as surrounding states and found it to be very effective during baetis hatches. I have also used it during the winter in the smaller sizes and done quite well with it in that application”

 

• Ben Baxter