Tungsten Head Bloody Prince

The Kinni Nymph was developed to fill a niche that the fly manufacturers fail to address. This nymph is basically tied from a Black dyed Pheasant tail. The success of the standard p.tail has been a widely acclaimed mayfly nymph. The black color of this pattern not only shows up against any background, it replicates the darkened color every mayfly nymph goes through during emergence or instar stages. I believe the sparse flashback reflects ambient light as well replicates the air bubble that nymphs form while emerging or changing size. The #20 is new this year and only comes with a black bead.

Size 18

Check out these legs! Many anglers believe that the long legs of the crane fly are the characteristic that trigger the fish to strike when it is on the water. This crane flies has a creamy yellow body and is tied parachute style. Don’t let the hook size fool you into thinking this is a small fly. It was designed to imitate one of the numerous hatches of crane fly in the region.  Crane fly patterns are hard to find in the commercial market.  Use the standard yellow cheddar head or choose the highly visible fluorescent fire orange version.

At first look this fly may look like a normal Prince nymph, but it’s not. This fly is my # 1 pattern and has taken more fish than any other. The Tungsten bead makes it a great fly for getting down fast in the turbulent waters of high gradient runs and drops. It is my lead fly in a two fly system over 90% of the time. The secret is in the red collar. I believe it out fishes a standard Prince, and has been a staple custom fly for over 10 years. A great steelhead fly as well. Don’t be without this one.

Size 16

In a short period of time the Pink Squirrel rose to the top of the charts as a successful pattern in the Midwest. This pattern was talked about in chat rooms and forums but many groups called for its secrecy as not to “let the squirrel out of the bag” so to speak. At Bentley’s Outfitters, John Mowery and myself decided to come up with our own version. This version was a stark contrast from the original, sporting a hot pink head rather than the pastel pink of the original. We added a dark burgundy body, which completed our variation from the original. In no way do we take credit for inventing this fly, we just made it better! In the first year we sold over 100 dozen of this size #16 alone. The commercial companies have tried to copy this pattern, but it’s not quite the same. This recipe is safe for now, and available for you as it was first tied years ago.