Thread Frenchie

Nymph imitating mayflies, for trout. Beginner. Lance Egan.

A slotted tungsten bead on a jig hook, a sparse Coq de León tail, a slim thread body ribbed with fine wire, and a collar of pink Ice Dub behind the bead.

Materials

Steps

  1. Slide on bead: tungsten bead Slide the tungsten bead round the bend and up to the eye, small hole first. Slot towards the point.
  2. Attach thread Attach the thread at just behind the eye with a few turns and trim the tag end. Just behind the bead.
  3. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to the start of the bend in touching turns.
  4. Tie in: coq de león fibres, dark pardo Tie in the coq de león fibres, dark pardo, leaving 1.3× the gape sticking out behind. A sparse pinch, tips evened; bind the butts forward to the bead so there is no bump.
  5. Tie in: fine copper-brown wire Tie in the fine copper-brown wire with a few firm thread turns. Bound down the back of the shank.
  6. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to 88% of the way along the shank in touching turns.
  7. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to 20% of the way along the shank in touching turns.
  8. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to 88% of the way along the shank in touching turns. A slim, slightly tapered thread body.
  9. Wind: fine copper-brown wire Wind the fine copper-brown wire forward to 88% of the way along the shank in 4 turns. About four turns under tension; helicopter the wire off.
  10. Tie off: fine copper-brown wire Tie off the fine copper-brown wire with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  11. Dub: uv pink ice dub Twist a thin noodle of uv pink ice dub onto the thread and wrap it forward to just behind the eye. A small pinch, dubbed tight, a few turns against the bead.
  12. Whip finish Form a small head, whip finish with 5 turns and cut the thread. So a band of the hot-spot thread shows at the bead.

History

The Frenchie is a pared-down Pheasant Tail Nymph, without wing case or legs and with a bright hot spot behind the bead. Richard Anderson traces it to a French angler who won a world championship with such a fly; who tied the first is not recorded. By Lance Egan's account, the early Frenchie had red thread, a pheasant tail tail and body, a copper wire rib and a hot spot thorax. His later Frenchie takes a tail of Coq de León, which is stronger, and the Thread Frenchie, one of his staple nymphs, also trades the pheasant tail body for slim thread. It is a fly for tying in batches, in many colours.

Fishing it

Slim and dense, it gets down fast. Fish it on the point or the dropper of a two-nymph rig, on a Euro-nymph rig, under a hopper in summer, or below an indicator on lakes. The bead turns a jig hook point up.

Sources