Bead Head Prince Nymph by Charlie Craven
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- The Prince Nymph was developed by Doug Prince in the thirties and in the past fifteen years or so has become a 'go-to' pattern for many anglers across the country. The addition of a brass or tungsten bead has made this fly even more popular and effective. The original fly was known as a Brown Forked Tail but has morphed into what I show here and is commonly accepted as a Prince Nymph today. I tie the Prince (and any other fly with a bead) with lead wire shoved into the bead to add weight, hold the bead in place and center it on the hook. I find the material selection to be very important when tying the Prince. Starting with the biot tails, I select biots from nearer to the tip of the feather, as they tend to be a thinner and are easier to tie in than the biots at the base of the quill, which are wider and hard to tie along the sides of the hook. I also look for biots that have a good degree of natural curve to them to assist in the split tail look. Straight biots can be tied in correctly and still not look right, so look for biots with some curve. I find that bushy, full peacock herl really lends itself well to this fly. Strung peacock is fine as well as herls from the eyed quill as long as they are full fibered. I have been using a lot of dyed peacock for my Princes in bright green, purple and red and find it adds a nice, subtle touch of color on the finished fly. For big Princes (#12 and bigger) I often use hen saddle feathers for the collar but find that on smaller flies a genetic hen neck is necessary to get the proper size. Finally, for the white biot 'horns' at the head of the fly, I use the wider biots at the base of the feather as in this instance their width helps to hold them in place as you tie them down and adds durability. I would be hard pressed to say exactly what the Prince imitates, but if I had to hazard a guess I would have to say a stonefly nymph. The biot tails are what lead me this way, but I've seen this fly work under so many different hatch conditions, from mayflies to caddis, that I think I would be safer to lump it into the attractor nymph category.
Materials:
Hook: #4-18 TMC 5262
Thread: Black or Red Veevus 14/0.
Bead: Brass or tungsten (tungsten beads are much heavier than brass, but also more expensive), generally in gold but the color is just a matter of personal preference. The size of the bead is also open to your own personal interpretation, but it can get a little confusing. I have listed a recommended bead to hook size chart below. Incidentally, when tying with a bead you still need to leave an eye length (index point) of space behind the bead so you have room to properly tie off the fly. The index point still exists; it's just behind the bead, rather than the eye.
Weight: .015 Lead Wire
Tails: Brown goose biots, tied opposed.
Rib: Small gold oval tinsel
Body: Peacock herl, dyed if you like
Hackle: Mottled brown hen saddle for flies to #12, hen neck for #14s and smaller
Horns: White goose biots, tied flat over the body.
BEAD TO HOOK SIZING CHART 3/16" bead- hook sizes 4-8 5/32" bead hook sizes 8, 10 and 12 1/8" bead-hook sizes 12, 14 and 16 3/32 bead-hook sizes 14, 16 and 18 5/64" bead- hook sizes 18-22 LEAD WIRE TO HOOK SIZING CHART Weight: Lead wire, sized appropriately for the hook. Again, with the chart. .035- hook sizes 4 and bigger .030-hook sizes 6 and 4 .025-hook sizes 6 through 10 .020-hook sizes 12 and 14 .015-hook sizes 14 and 16 .010-hook sizes 18 and smaller
Materials Available at www.charliesfly... or by calling (303) 403-8880
The tying tips for the peacock herl was worth the price of admission. Great video as always Mr Craven!
I greatly appreciate the detail on the techniques you provided. It was huge for me as a beginner!
I just started tying stonefly nymphs with biots, and of course I have been struggling - until now! With all the conflicting techniques out there on TH-cam - Finally I have found one from my most trusted source and never need to refer to any other video in search Goose biots, tails and horns! Thank you again!
I know you're making this slower for the video, how long does it take you to make one of these without the explanation? I'm thinking you're pretty fast making these.
Thank you. You helped solve one of my tying problems with this fly.
great video and very efective flie for trouts and greylings........thenks for shering video .....have a tight lines my friend.....
I realize these videos are a bit older but man charlie this is GOLD really great video man
the "horns" are meant to imitate wings of an insect unfurling out of the wing case...at least that is what a really old fellow told me who works at fly fish food. =)
Thanks Charlie. I have your book Basic Fly Tying, and it's a great book to have. I do struggled with goose biots, but your instructions and demonstration on this video were very clear and helpful.
you all probably dont care at all but does anyone know a tool to log back into an instagram account?
I was stupid lost the account password. I would love any tips you can give me
@Valentin Yosef instablaster ;)
@Roland Ryder i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site on google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm.
Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later with my results.
@Roland Ryder It worked and I actually got access to my account again. Im so happy!
Thank you so much, you really help me out :D
@Valentin Yosef No problem =)
😃thank you
The first trout I ever caught on a fly rod took a Prince nymph (unbeaded, as it happens). So, I always have a few of these in the box! 😊
Nice tie. Thanks for the tying tips Charlie.
Great videos!
I do see that your flies are a bit more robust (more material wraps etc) than I'd like myself. For instance I'd use 3 peacock heels rather than 7-8. The hackle I would make one turn rather than 2. Well you get the idea. I like my flies sparser and more streamlined rather than 'chubby' (sorry for the word but it's not meant bad or something).
Actually D. Price's original receipe called for orange thread so you are closer than the commonly used black thread.
Awesome tutorial! Thank you sir!
Very nice, thanks for posting.
Ace tying and instruction!
Is there anything different to use instead of lead wire? Would kanthal work just as well?
Nice fly Charlie, what cheap microphone do you use?
The tip on natural curve of the biot was great. I couldn’t figure out the split until I googled and then found your website with written description. Thanks so much!
Great pattern. Nice job teaching. Several useful tips. Thanks Charlie.
From fishing small wild streams, I’d say the horns are just there for extra flash to trigger a hit.
I thought I knew how to tie these, which I did, but now I know how to tie them well. Awesome instruction Mr. Craven!
Sir that was brilliant. You are truly gifted, thank you
A regular plastic straw is pretty much unbeatable for catching all the stray hackle fibres like you did with your fingers. Try it out you'll like it 🙂
But I already have fingers!
Beautiful flie nice video I will mine like this one
This is my favorite fly to fish with.
Trout and sunfish. 👍😎👍
Excellent tutorial and fly thank you Charlie.
Finding good white biots is like finding a needle in a haystack!!
Beautiful fly thanks for the tips.
Expertly tied with pleasant comments, thanks man.
"What does it look like?" It looks like it catches fish!
👏👏
very nice like your videos a lot
great teaching vid!
Wha bobbin is used in the video
That’s a Tiemco Double Arm bobbin prototype in midge size. They are not yet available but they will be soon!
Charlie's Fly Box woah
guys like this are one of a kind!!!
sweet!!!
Always great vids, Charlie! No lead free wire?
Don Bishop You can certainly use lead free wire if you prefer it!
Excellent tutorial
Where do you get the UV light ?
charliesflyboxinc.com/product/solarez-rechargeable-resonator-lamp/
Let's play barbless(^.^)
I pinch the barbs when I tie the fly on my tippet because I keep my nymphs in a flat foam Wheatley box…and the barb holds the fly in the foam better. I always fish barbless for trout.