The Prince Nymph

[McFlyLures 0]

Prince Nymphs have been around for quite some time.  Originally designed by Doug Prince in 1930 (at least from what I found online), it has been a fly that has worked well even to this day.   While they aren't the easiest nymph to tie, they really aren't too difficult when you get the hang of them, and you can fill a box in a day or two.  They really do work well even though they dont look like anything specific.  More of an attractor pattern in my opinion, they still seem to get bites.  Every nymph fisherman should at least have a few in their boxes of varying sizes.  These can be tied in large to small sizes, Id say probably size 10-18.  Under size 18 they start to get kinda difficult, but with some major skill and practice maybe you can get even smaller.  

While these are specifically made to fish for trout, I have caught a fair share of sunfish and bass on them, and even heard of people using them for catfish and carp of all species.  

 

[flytire 0]

"The Prince Nymph, known first as a Brown Forked-Tail Nymph, imitates nothing – and everything – simultaneously.  It has an inherent ‘bugginess’ that trout find it irresistible.  Its split biot tail is bold, the glossy green peacock herl shimmers in the current, the soft hackle collar breathes seductively, and the tinsel and white wings scream for attention.  It is your basic sub­sur­face attractor, one that has been catch­ing trout for decades.  Many devotees profess that it imitates stonefly nymphs.  Indeed, a Prince Nymph does resemble juvenile stoneflies.  But, it resembles juve­nile Christmas tree ornaments just about as well.  Perhaps trout take it as a stonefly, but a cased caddis larva, caddis pupa, mayfly or dobsonfly nymph, or even a drowned terrestrial seem equally plausi­ble. Does it matter?  Not a bit.  Prince Nymphs ap­peal to trout, and that’s what counts when you’re fill­ing the fly box or tying a clinch knot.

Doug Prince of Monterey, CA is often described as the originator of the Prince Nymph, but it was devel­oped and first tied in the 1930s by Don and Dick Olson, brothers from Bemidji, MN.  They called it the Brown Forked-Tail Nymph.  It acquired its princely name in a roundabout way during the 1940s.  Buz Buszek, namesake of the Federation of Fly Fishers’ annual award for fly tying excellence, owned a fly shop and mail-order business in Visalia, CA begin­ning in 1943.  He employed local tyers to supply flies for the shop.  Doug Prince was not a commercial fly tyer, but he was Buszek’s good friend and tied flies for him for one year in the 1940s.  Prince was a tal­ented fly tyer who knew California rivers well.  He tied his name­sake fly for California’s Kings River, but he called it the Brown Forked-Tail Nymph, presumably in refer­ence to the Olson original.  Buz Buszek was hur­riedly preparing a new mail-order catalog one day, and he wanted to in­clude Doug Prince’s peacock-bodied nymph that was so effective.  Buszek couldn’t remember the fly’s name, however, and in haste he just called it the “Prince Nymph”.  Buszek’s catalog was distributed throughout the West, and the fly at­tracted a loyal following.  Doug Prince’s name spread with the fly, although he played no part in its self-congratulatory name.  Doing so was not in his humble charac­ter:  “I tied what worked for me, and that’s all I ever really wor­ried about.”  Doug Prince received the FFF Buz Buszek Memorial Award in 1981 but said at the time that he had “no idea” why."

[SilverCreek 0]

Nice write up Flytire!

[Poopdeck 0]

Nice video and a nice write up on my #2 on the pecking order nymph. 

[niveker 0]

4 hours ago, flytire said:

imitates nothing – and everything – simultaneously. 

Apparently, when I tie and fish them, they just represent nothing, as I rarely do well with them.  

Thanks for the 'how to' McFly and the history lesson flytire.  

[flytire 0]

2 hours ago, SilverCreek said:

Nice write up Flytire!

its from the web

[SilverCreek 0]

Oh, then I can make a correction. Doug Prince won the Buz Buszek in 1981 and not in 1982. 😇

[flytire 0]

squatch fixed it just for you!