Tying and Fishing Freestone Nymph

I ought to be tying Redfish flies for an up coming Texas trip in stead of Freestone Nymph. But I am in the mood to tie some rocky mountain freestone nymphs for a March trip coming up. This has been a spring go to pattern I have used since my guiding days in Montana. From doing a little freestone stream research I tracked the color variations from stream to stream, of small stone fly nymphs through Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.

Recipe and Tying Freestone Nymph

I have used several types of dubbing from synthetic to all natural furs with good success. The recipe below is my favorite spring go to combinations of the Freestone Nymph.

Recipe:

Hook: Ahrex FW 520 in size 12-18 are the sizes I tied and use in the Rockies for all species of trout.

Bead: Brass Beads to fit your hook size. In bead selection I have tried every color under the sun with limit success. I will continue down this path. I do believe the right color bead other than brass will work.

Thread: I am have come to Love Semperfli 18/0 Classic Waxed. It is my favorite. To each is own, it’s what makes the world go round.

Tail: I prefer Red Squirrel Tail, but have done very well with Pheasant Tail Fibers

Rib: Again Gold seems to be part of the magic. I have used copper, silver and red.

Abdomen: Here is where it gets interesting. My favorites are Semperfli Gel Core Micro Fritz in Cinnamon, Brown Olive. Or Pheasant Tail Fibers wrapped up to the thorax. I do like and use Semperfli Dirty Yard in Golden Olive and Caddis Brown.

Throax: My favorite material is Holographic Orange Dubbing, I have used other colors and even Peacock Herl with decent success. I all depends on stream flow, water color.

Wing Case: One of the most important parts of this nymph. Flash makes the difference here. From Pheasant Tail Fibers with Solerez Clear Coat to Pearl and Gold Braid Flash with resign coating.

Hackle: I really like changing up colors here as well. Right down to my own dyed Partridge. I use Partridge and Whiting Farms Brahma is my favorite in March Brown, Straw, and Burnt Orange.

I keep at least six dozen in a variety of sizes in my box.

Fishing the Freestone Nymph

High sticking or Cech nymphing this fly works well. When I was guiding all the time, I would use a big indicator so the client would see it move.

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