Ice, Ice, Baby. Fly-Tying 101: #2 Ice Nymph

A lot of today's flies are regional. They tend to only exist in certain locations, mainly because people who guide/fish in those regions are told this is what works here by people like, well, me. After spending a summer guiding in Southwest Colorado, on rivers like the Juan, Animas, Gunnison, Florida, etc. I picked up flies that I hadn't seen before that worked really well. This ice nymph is one of them. I use the blue on the Yakima in a size 18 and caught a lot of fish. Surprising because I was told by multiple people that it only works in Colorado/Utah/Wyoming. HAH! Well it works here too. So here we go with our second victim of the week. The Ice Nymph, no not those little white haired chicks you see in fairy tales and bad B movies, but the little nymph that sparkles in the water. You can tie the body in any number of colors, but for this exercise it will be in blue.

 

Supply List:

Hook: Daichi 1150 #16-22

Thread: 8/0 Black

Tail: Black Saddle Hackle Fibers

Body: Holographic Flashabou, Blue

Rib: Silver Ultra Wire, Brassie

Thorax: Black Ice Dub

Head: Black Cyclops Bead, Mini

Step 1: Slide bead on to the hook. Wrap the thread back over the shank to attach it, cut excess tag off. Wrap back evenly to bend so the thread builds an even body base layer. Cut off a clump of hackle fibers, tie in at the bend butt first. You want the tail fibers to be about as long as the hook shank. 

Step 2: Tie in ultra wire under between the hook gap at the bend. Cut 2-3 pieces of flashabou, tie in flashabou right where you tied in the tail fibers. Wrap the flashabou forward to right behind the bead head, tie off. Wrap the ultra wire forward in the same direction you see in the photo above.

Step 3: Tie in a dubbing loop. Place a pinch of the ice dub into the loop and spin. Wrap the dubbing from where you tied in the wire and flashabou, forward to the bead. Tie off the loop, cut the excess, whip finish, and you are finished.

Colors: You can tie this fly in multiple colors. Keep the tail and ice dub black and just swap out which flashabou color you are using. Purple, Olive, Pearl, Blue, Red, Root Beer, Pink, and Lime Green are some of the colors you could try. I prefer the Holographic Flashabou, but the normal stuff works just as well.

Where it Fishes: This fly fishes for trout in multiple applications. It works on rivers in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, but for those of you looking for it to work closer to home. I have used this fly on the Yakima with extreme success, especially dropped below a stonefly nymph like a Pat's. It will work on the Snoqualmie Forks, Cedar, Greenwater and other rivers where a BWO hatch is fairly prevalent. The smaller sizes would probably also work on the Ford.

As I stated earlier, all the posts regarding our tying will also be followed up on our tying page via our website. You can go there and see previous flies by clicking, Creekside Tying Page.

Until next time.

Feed Fish Flies, Not Toxins.

-RB