Crimson Prince Jig Nymph

Jig nymphs are becoming very popular these days. I enjoy the jig format, along with the larger hook gapes. The crimson prince jig nymph is a great imitation for fall isonychias, slate drakes, and other assorted nymphs. With the red collar, it can be used in colder waters as an attractor pattern, giving it just enough pop with just enough realism.

Material List:

Hook: Trutta Goods Upside Downie #14
Bead: Hareline 1/8" Slotted Tungsten, Copper
Tail: Ringneck Pheasant Tail 1/8"
Abdomen: Larva Lace Nymph Rib, Brown
Color: Wapsi Peakcock Herl Dyed Red
Wing Case: Stripped Goose Biots - White

Video Transcription

Intro to the Crimson Prince Nymph

I'm Taylor Hess with North 40 Fly Shop in Ponderay, Idaho.

Today we're going to be tying the Isonychia Jig Nymph, or Crimson Prince. It's a great pattern for imitating anything from a Mahogany Dun to a Isonychia Slate Drake, the list goes on. It's a great all purpose pattern.

We're going to be tying it on a jig hook, so for those of you that are interested in tying on jigs or don't really know too much about it, we're gonna get you all set up. Gear up, we're gonna have a fun tie today.

Step-by-Step Tying Instructions

To start off the Crimson Prince nymph, I'm starting with a Trutta Goods Upside Downie Hook. It's a wide gap jig hook. I really like these. It's gonna be a ... Excuse me, an eighth of an inch copper bead, slotted, tungsten.

We're gonna start with a pheasant tail. Probably about four to five fibers. I'm gonna tie those in just behind the point of the hook, so they're shooting straight out of the back. Then I'm going to use the pheasant tail to build up a little bit of a body. I'm gonna take that just behind that bead. Trim.

Then I'm going to take a vinyl rib. What I want to do with this is, I'm going to come back to the back of the fly, we're going to tie it in. Vinyl rib has a small crescent shape to it, so you want to make sure when you wrap, you're gonna be able to wrap the round side, facing upward. I'm gonna get that tied in. Really cinch that down. It likes to move. I'm gonna bring my thread back up to the eye. Then I'm gonna wrap this forward. Again, you want that round side out. This makes a really nice looking nymphy body.

It's gonna be a pretty bulky nymph. Once I get that all tied in I like burying as much of that excess material as possible. There's only about three wraps in there. That leaves me plenty of room.

Next what I'm going to do is, I'm going to take a dyed red peacock herl, two strands. I'm gonna tie that in just in front. I'm just gonna wrap that. Build up a little bit of a collar. I want to tighten that the whole way up to the bead. All right. Once we're there, I'm gonna turn the fly over.

When you have the fly turned over, we're going to add in some white biots. I'm going to tie these in one at a time. Makes it a little bit easier. I'm not gonna tie them super long. Just as long as they're about the same length. Normally jig flies are tied in the round, which means they're symmetrical the whole way around. This fly's gonna tumble in the water so it, probably, really doesn't matter too much what side they're on, but just for the sake of the jig fly, it's supposed to ride upside down. I'm gonna have my white by-its right on top, just as so.

Then we're gonna take our thread and we're gonna build up a nice little... Once those are tied in, we're going to build up a nice collar with our thread. This is why using like a wine, claret, or red thread goes a long way. Gives it a nice little bright spot of the fly.

Once we're whip finished, I just added a little bit of UV glue on there. Gonna cure that up. We're ready to go.

When to Fish the Crimson Prince

This little UV prince ... Sorry, Crimson Prince is a great fall pattern when there's a lot of Mahogany Duns around. You'll see them crawling out of the water. Size 14 is generally a good starting point with this pattern. You can use a bunch of different jig hooks, but I found the lighter wire Trutta Good hooks work really well. The wide gap helps you set on fish a little bit easier. I found my hook uprights are a little bit better on wide gap jig hooks.

If you have any questions about the Crimson Prince, stop in at the shop sometime, we'll get you all set up to tie it. Hopefully, you enjoyed the video. We'll see you next time folks. Thanks for watching.

If you have any further questions on fly tying, please come visit us at any of our retail locations or North40.com.

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