nymph
Egan's Red Dart
An attractor nymph that merges the Red Tag's tail with the Prince Nymph's soft-hackle collar, finished with peacock Ice Dub and a UV-pink hot spot. Designed for fish that want flash with natural pulse.
Originated by Lance Egan
Recipe
- HookHanak 400 BL Jig — size 14 · Hanak
- BeadSlotted Tungsten — Gold 3.3mm
- ThreadUTC Ultrathread 70D — Red · Danville
- TailRed saddle hackle fibers
- AbdomenHareline Ice Dub — Peacock
- RibSulky Metallic Tinsel — Opalescent 8040
- Rib7X tippet (secondary rib)
- HackleBrown / Furnace / Coachman-Brown hen cape
- ThoraxHareline Ice Dub — UV Pink (hot spot)
- Weight.015" lead wire (optional)
History
Lance designed the Red Dart at the 2011 World Fly Fishing Championships in Bolzano, Italy. The local fish were eating Red Tags and Prince Nymphs, and he was winning sessions on a modified Prince: red thread collar and peacock Ice Dub body. His next step was to merge the two patterns into one — replacing the Prince's biots with a Red Tag–style dyed hackle tail, keeping the brown soft-hackle collar, and tucking a UV pink hot spot behind the bead. The fly has won Lance fish in Italy, America, and every country he has fished since. Why does it work? He doesn't know. The fish do.
Fishing tips
Add the optional .015" lead wire under-body for a heavy Euro-rig anchor fly.