PHEASANT TAIL NYMPH FLIES
The Pheasant Tail Nymph suggests all sorts of real trout food throughout the season. The standard pattern developed by English River Keeper Frank Sawyer, uses the butt ends of the Pheasant to build a wing case. A useful variation is this fly tied as a gold bead head. Frank did not try to suggest legs in his design as he had observed that nymphs tuck them in when swimming. He devised the pattern for use on the River Avon in Wiltshire in Southern England. it quickly became world famous. Frank's book 'nymphs and Trout' first published in 1958 describes the method of tying and fishing the nymph. The main theme in all of his patterns is simplicity. Franks wife was an expert fly tyer. For years she supplemented his earnings by producing batches of  Pheasant Tail Nymphs for sale to anglers

Early fly fishing in America was influenced very significantly by English traditions, particularly before 1920. Today, America has its own flies, techniques and equipment. However, some English traditions still have a tremendous influence. One of these is the work of George Edward MacKenzie Skues, a solitary bachelor lawyer and master of the famous River Itchen, in Hampshire, Southern England. (the same UK county where the English Fly Fishing Shop first started) Between 1900 and 1939, Skues wrote dozens of articles for British fishing magazines as well as several influential books, almost exclusively on fishing for trout with nymphs. Skues successor as a leader in British nymph fishing was Frank Sawyer. If Skues is the grandfather of modern nymph fishing, Frank Sawyer is the father. In G E M Skues extreme old age he encouraged and helped Frank Sawyer to publish his findings, realizing that the young keeper had hit upon something truly significant. 

Author - Craig Moore

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