Fly Library

Nymphs

Nymphs imitate the subsurface larval and pupal stages of aquatic insects where trout feed roughly 80% of the time. Mastering nymph fishing is the fastest path to consistent success on any trout stream.

54 patterns in this category

mayfly nymphsBWO nymphs

Pheasant Tail Nymph

Devin Olsen's quick, durable take on the world's most famous nymph.

Sizes 12–20

mayfly nymphscaddis larvae

Hare's Ear Nymph

Buggy, messy, and irresistible to every trout in the river.

Sizes 10–18

mayfly nymphsBWO nymphs

Frenchie

Lance Egan's Championship Frenchie — pheasant tail + shrimp-pink hot spot.

Sizes 12–20

mayfly nymphscaddis pupae

Perdigon

The fast-sinking competition nymph that changed Euro nymphing forever.

Sizes 14–22

aquatic wormsTubifex worms

San Juan Worm

Love it or hate it, it catches fish — lots of fish.

Sizes 10–16

mayfly nymphsstonefly nymphs

Copper John

John Barr's heavy metal attractor — built to sink and designed to shine.

Sizes 12–18

mayfly nymphssmall stonefly nymphs

Deep Sparrow Nymph

A heavy tungsten jig nymph with a dubbed body and CDC collar that imitates a range of small mayfly n

Sizes 14–18

caddis larvaemayfly nymphs

Iron Lotus

A modern Czech nymph with a woven body, tungsten bead, and hot spot collar. Built for heavy Euro nym

Sizes 12–16

stonefly nymphsattractor

Prince Nymph

Doug Prince's attractor nymph combines peacock herl, brown hackle, goose biot wings and tail in a pa

Sizes 10–18

midge pupaemayfly nymphs

Rainbow Warrior

Lance Egan's original flashy attractor nymph — the fly that started it all.

Sizes 16–22

caddis larvaecrane fly larvae

Walt's Worm

Walt Young's northeast classic — a hare's-ear sow-bug that looks like everything.

Sizes 12–16

stonefly nymphssalmonfly nymphs

Pat's Rubber Legs

Pat's Rubber Legs is a large, heavily weighted stonefly nymph pattern with rubber legs that pulse an

Sizes 4–10

mayfly nymphscaddis pupae

Lightning Bug

The Lightning Bug is a flashy attractor nymph with a pearl tinsel body and tungsten bead that catche

Sizes 14–18

mayfly nymphsBWO nymphs

Jig Pheasant Tail

The jig-hook version of the Pheasant Tail Nymph rides point-up to reduce snags and fishes perfectly

Sizes 14–20

caddis larvaecrane fly larvae

Mop Fly

A single microfiber strand tied to a hook — controversial, effective, irreplaceable.

Sizes 10–14

Rhyacophila caddis larvaegreen rock worms

Green Rock Worm

The Green Rock Worm imitates free-living Rhyacophila caddis larvae — the bright green caterpillar-li

Sizes 12–16

mayfly nymphscaddis larvae

Flashback Hare's Ear

The Flashback variant adds a strip of pearl tinsel over the wing case of the classic Hare's Ear, pro

Sizes 12–18

stonefly nymphslarge aquatic insects

Twenty Incher

The Twenty Incher is a large, heavily weighted stonefly nymph with rubber legs and a chenille body.

Sizes 4–8

small mayfly nymphsBaetis nymphs

Micro Mayfly

A tiny, sparse nymph tied on a barbless jig hook that imitates the smallest mayfly nymphs in the dri

Sizes 18–24

caddis pupaeemerging mayflies

Partridge and Orange

The Partridge and Orange is a traditional soft-hackle wet fly dating back centuries on English river

Sizes 12–16

mayfly nymphsscuds

Quasimodo Pheasant Tail

A Czech-style Pheasant Tail variation tied on a curved scud hook with a pronounced hump-back profile

Sizes 12–18

stonefly nymphscaddis larvae

Squirrel Nymph

Dave Whitlock's Squirrel Nymph uses fox squirrel body hair and tail as dubbing for a buggy, all-purp

Sizes 10–16

caddis pupaeemerging caddis

Beadhead Caddis Pupa

This simple caddis pupa imitation features a dubbed body with a contrasting thorax and a soft hackle

Sizes 12–18

mayfly nymphscaddis larvae

Two Bit Hooker

A hot-collared jig nymph that combines a wire body with a fluorescent dubbing collar for a slim, fas

Sizes 14–18

caddis larvaescuds

Sexy Walt's Worm

Loren Williams' pearl-ribbed Walt's — the same drab pattern with a western-tailwater edge.

Sizes 12–16

scudsfreshwater shrimp

Scud

The Scud imitates Gammarus and Hyalella amphipods — crustaceans that thrive in weed beds on tailwate

Sizes 12–18

sow bugsaquatic isopods

Sow Bug

The Sow Bug (or aquatic isopod) imitation is a flat-profiled, segmented nymph that imitates the tiny

Sizes 14–18

caddis larvaestonefly nymphs

Polish Woven Nymph

The Polish Woven Nymph features a two-tone woven body that creates a durable, segmented abdomen rese

Sizes 10–16

caddis larvaemayfly nymphs

Tungsten Torpedo

A heavy, streamlined Euro nymph with a smooth thread body under UV resin and a large tungsten bead.

Sizes 10–14

Baetis nymphssmall mayfly nymphs

Juju Baetis

Charlie Craven's Juju Baetis is a sleek, modern nymph that imitates tiny Baetis mayfly nymphs with d

Sizes 18–22

aquatic wormscrane fly larvae

Squirmy Wormy

Silicone wiggle-worm — controversial, irreplaceable, fish catcher.

Sizes #10–#14

mayfly nymphsgeneral attractor

Jig Perdigon

A slick, heavily-weighted Spanish competition nymph designed to sink fast through the water column o

Sizes #14–#20

mayfly nymphsbaetis

Surveyor

A modern Euro nymphing staple that blends the best elements of the Pheasant Tail and Frenchie into o

Sizes #14–#18

caddis pupaegeneral attractor

Duracell Jig

A hot-spotted attractor nymph that has dominated European fly fishing competitions for over a decade

Sizes #12–#16

caddis larvaegeneral attractor

Blowtorch

Devin Olsen's fluorescent-tagged tag nymph — pulling power for pressured trout.

Sizes #12–#16

mayfly nymphscaddis larvae

Tungsten Jig Hares Ear

The classic Hares Ear profile reimagined on a modern jig hook with a heavy tungsten bead for Euro ny

Sizes #12–#18

baetis nymphsPMD nymphs

CDC Pheasant Tail

A refined variation of the Pheasant Tail Nymph that replaces the wing case with a CDC feather puff f

Sizes #16–#20

caddis larvaescuds

Czech Nymph

The pattern that launched the tight-line nymphing revolution. Developed by Czech competition anglers

Sizes #8–#14

baetis nymphmayfly nymph

Quilldigon

A Polish-quill perdigon mayfly — drab enough to fool the picky, durable enough to survive.

Sizes 14–20

Pliva Perdigon

A Veevus Body Quill perdigon with chartreuse rib and fl. orange hot spot.

Sizes 14–20

baetis nymphpmd nymph

Egan's GTi Caddis

Lance Egan's 'Go-To Imitation' — a contrasting-back net-builder caddis larva.

Sizes 10–14

caddis larvahydropsyche

Rowley Stone

A net-back-foil stonefly with sculpin-olive sow-scud collar.

Sizes 6–10

stonefly nymphgolden stone

Mayday Mayfly

Rowley's attractor mayfly nymph — holographic body, hot orange rib, Simi Seal thorax.

Sizes 14–18

mayfly nymphattractor

Egan's Red Dart

A Red Tag / Prince Nymph hybrid with a UV-pink hot spot.

Sizes 12–16

mayfly nymphattractor

Lickety Split

Rowley's split-case Baetis emerger — black body, pink foam wingcase.

Sizes 14–18

baetis emergermayfly emerger

Silver Bullet Baetis

A drab, fast-sinking Baetis imitation for fish that refuse the hot-spot.

Sizes 14–18

baetis nymphmayfly nymph

Egan's Thread Frenchie

A pheasant-tail-free Frenchie — faster to tie, virtually bullet-proof.

Sizes 14–18

mayfly nymphmidge pupa

Rowley's PW Nymph

A Polish-woven caddis nymph — dark back, light belly, squirrel collar.

Sizes 10–12

caddis larvafree-living caddis

ZebraGon

Rowley's hybrid of a zebra midge, mayfly, and perdigon — a guide fly with endless variations.

Sizes 14–18

midge pupamayfly nymph

Egan's Rainbow Warrior Perdigon

The Rainbow Warrior compressed into a Spanish-style perdigon — drops like a stone, keeps the flash.

Sizes 16–20

mayfly nymphmidge pupa

Egan's Tungsten Surveyor

A Hare's Ear in Rainbow Warrior clothing — silhouette meets sparkle.

Sizes 14–18

mayfly nymphsow bug

Soft Hackle Carrot

A Czech-team staple — hare's ear body pulsed by CDC and wrapped in hot orange.

Sizes 12–18

caddis pupamayfly nymph

Egan's Iron Lotus

A thread-bodied, UV-coated Baetis nymph with a subtle red hot-spot.

Sizes 14–18

baetis nymphpmd nymph

Lite Brite Perdigon

A Krystal Flash perdigon — the attractor counterpart to the Quilldigon.

Sizes 14–20

attractormayfly nymph