The Prince Nymph

by Jonathan

This fly is a popular American pattern which is not tied to represent any particular nymph. It has found favour with quite a number of stillwater fly men here in the UK. The use of paired goose biots to represent the tail and wing is unusual but should not present a major obstacle in the tying. If you have difficulties the clipped wing Coachman is a good alternative and I will give you the dressing for that one also. Peacock herl is very fragile and I would recommend two strands wound on together with the tying thread for extra durability.

  • Hook – Wetfly  8-12.
  • Thread – Black.
  • Tail – 2 Goose biot ( black or brown).
  • Body – 2 strands Peacock herl.
  • Rib – Fine flat gold tinsel.
  • Hackle – Brown or Black Hen (2 or 3 turns).
  • Horns – Two slips white Swan or Goose biot tied in at head after the hackle is secured.

Clipped Wing Coachman

  • Hook – Wetfly  10-14.
  • Thread – Black.
  • Tail – None.
  • Body – 2 strands Peacock herl.
  • Rib – Fine gold/copper wire.
  • Hackle – Brown Hen( 2or 3 turns).
  • Wing – Tuft of white feather fibre. ( ½ length of body.)

Dave C. and the Team

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

dave larkey March 19, 2013 at 2:30 pm

Hi DAVE just discovered your site. great stuff.Ive been tying my own flies for quite a while now but its great to see how others tie theres.I get quite a lot of feathers on the canal bank.malard .swan .coot canada goose ect .Ive tied a may fly using just one feather.but only just leant how to use a p.c.so find it hard to know how to pass ideas on keep the site going and the best of british to you and your team. Dave

Johann Hedinsson June 14, 2012 at 12:09 am

Hi David.
I like your videos very much, so simple and no nonsens dialog.
I am a crafts teacher and I am going to introduce fly fishing to my students the coming winter.
I plan on having them make their own fishing net, fly box, a knock out handle, stomach spoon and even a simple wise to tie a few flies.
I have already made some prototypes and everything looks promishing.
I plan on letting my students use your videos as a guide to their tying.
Thank you again.
Sincerely from Iceland

Johann

Fly Tying Materials June 6, 2012 at 6:23 pm

I have to say the Prince Nymph is a personal favourite of mine, a get me out of jail nymph! Keep up the good work, its great to see that your readers are now starting to take up the craft themselves instead of buying flies from the web/local store.

gerrit July 17, 2011 at 8:21 pm

I am a beginner to fly tying butt you helped me to learn fast thank you a lot

Esther December 11, 2010 at 3:41 pm

Thanks Dave,
My brother-in-law gave me a 4 swan wings and grouse wings from his hunting week-end and now I have a good idea where to start using this material.

DaveC November 10, 2010 at 6:15 pm

Hi John
Thanks for your comments. Good to know we have been able to help.
DaveC. and the Team

John Watson III November 10, 2010 at 4:21 am

Dave,
Great website! Never tied my own flies until I googled your website. I allways thought it would be quite difficult but its actually quite easy with your lessons. In a few short weeks I have learned to tie buzzers, red devils, wooley buggers, pheasant tail nymphs, vibrating daddies, stone flies & prince nymphs to name a few.

Great Teacher & great cameraman! Cannot wait to ice fish some buzzers! Better yet, cannot wait to hit the trout rivers and streams in Michigan in April 2011 with the arsenel of old school “English” flies! I may have to make another road trip to Colorado too!

Thank you and the team for creating this site. I did not know I would get so much satisfaction out of tying my own flies. I am sure I will get even more satisfaction once I catch a fish on a fly I tied. Hooked for life. Keep the videos comming!!!

Best Regards from accross the pond,

John M. Watson III
Belleville, Michigan

DaveC November 9, 2010 at 5:05 pm

Hi scott
Thanks for your comment. Good to know we have been able to help. The prince nymph is not a difficult tie and I am sure you will have the satisfaction of catching on your own tied fly.
Happy Fishing
DaveC.and the Team

scott November 7, 2010 at 4:35 am

I have been looking for a demo of this fly for a while as it works well here in Australia, its my favourite nymph. I’m keen to tie my own as the commercial ones keep loosing there wings, once they have lost those wings the trout loose interest…Thanks again Scott.

Stephen June 4, 2010 at 2:19 am

I use this fly all the time in the US and it work great in our streams and creeks. :). I find it work best with a bead head.

Sgt John March 8, 2010 at 4:16 pm

Dave, I did tie this fly., change the body color to
RED with White yarn run through it…like a candy
stick….Crappie & Blue Gill nail it..Thank you

Sgt John
SEMPER-FI
US Marine POW-MIA
Please Do Not Forget Them

Sgt John March 1, 2010 at 11:50 pm

This jig was great for Crappie in Kentucky.
I am showing other tiers how to tie this jig.
Thank you

David W January 25, 2010 at 8:26 am

Hi David.
I would like to say how fantastic i have found your website to be. The videos make easier to get the grasp of things. I was wondering if you had any recommendations for wet fly patterns in British Columbia. I am currently going for steelhead but am struggleing to find good videos to help with tying the patterns. Any help or info would be great.
All the best, David W

chris Nash January 22, 2010 at 8:06 pm

Hi, david your videos are brilliant, i have only just start to learn, whats an easy fly to tye apart from a buzzard????
Thanks,
Chris

Terry Griffiths January 8, 2010 at 1:06 am

Dave I am very gratefull to you and your team, for giving me the final push to purchase a kit and start making my own flies. Books are fine but you can not beat watching someone like you creating one, i am by no means an expert yet, but am quite proud of having caught fish on my own flies. It adds a little extra to the day, keep the videos going,thanks once again
Terry

Tony Percival December 30, 2009 at 12:32 pm

Thank you for a most informative lesson in fly tying. Some can do but not teach; Dave can obviously do both, and very well too. Thank you from a complete beginner. I am fired up and determined to have a go myself. Tony Percival

Guy November 29, 2009 at 6:48 pm

Dave i have a little question for you. Ive recently started tying flies and the biggest problem i encounter is length of fibres when palmering hackles.(black cock hackle is the biggest problem!) They always seem to be too long and the length is consistent throughought the bag of feathers. if i trim them they look crummy. My favourite fly is the bibio and this problem is stoping it looking anything like bought flies. Is there a trick to getting the fibres the right length? Thanks, Guy.

DaveC November 26, 2009 at 10:16 pm

Hi David
You will not be lost for anywhere to fish in Wales. There is much rumbling in the jungle at the moment with the canoeists and white water rafters claiming all kind of access. I would still love to be able to have those lovely rivers on my doorstep.Most famous is the Towy for its salmon and big seatrout. TheTeifi is a brilliant seatrout river but smaller than the Towy.
There is no shortage of other game rivers and the reason is the abundance of water……it does rain a lot. If you contact me on my e-mail I will get the books out and give you a more detailled breakdown, and the flies used
Happy Fishing
DaveC.and the Team.

David November 26, 2009 at 1:31 pm

Thanks again… I have learnt so much from your experience and this site.
I am leaving sunny South Africa next year for Wales and I am a little lost as to where to go fishing. Could you give me some leads so I can start planning and getting some flies made 🙂 Thanks, David

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