Before and After

by John Evans
(San Antonio, TX)

The story goes that Frank Sawyer invented the famous Pheasant Tail Nymph back in 1958, while serving as a river keeper in Wiltshire, England. It’s one of the most famous patterns in the world for good reason: it consistently catches fish . . . even in South Central, Texas!

There’s a video on YouTube that shows Sawyer tying his version of the fly, and I’ve studied the old film closely. Sawyer used only two materials besides the hook: some fine copper wire and a few pheasant tail fibers. He also did something interesting that we normally don’t do: he twisted the copper wire around the tail fibers before wrapping the body forward on the hook. The copper wire serves as both thread and extra weight. I also noticed that he tied his tail longer than most of us do.

The result is a scruffier-looking, thicker-bodied Pheasant Tail. Hey, Sawyer was focused on catching fish, not winning fly-tying contests. Watch the video, and you’ll see that he whips out one of these nymphs in no time flat.

I decided to try his version recently, and you can see my feeble effort in the first photo above. Then, I took a handful of these Pheasant Tails to a local stream and tried them out. I ended up fishing the same fly all morning long, and you can see the results in the second photo. That tattered Pheasant Tail was still catching fish when I left.

If it looks buggy, and is presented right, the fly works.

You know what? I think Frank Sawyer was on to something.

“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” - Benjamin Franklin

"Be sure in casting, that your fly fall first into the water, for if the line fall first, it scares or frightens the fish..." -
Col. Robert Venables 1662

As age slows my pace, I will become more like the heron.