By Larry Gallegos
I was out fishing with my friends Mike and Sheri when we came across a beautiful sight. A little bushwhacking had led us to a fast riffle dumping into a small but deep plunge pool, followed by a long narrow trough curving away downstream. To say it looked “fishy” would be an understatement. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room there for all three of us so I left them to it while I explored a little further upstream.
I made out pretty well, catching two small browns and a nice bow. But Mike and Sheri were taking me to school. “This place is great, I’ve caught six already and Mike has caught three.” Sheri’s rod was bent yet again as she said these words.
I knew Sheri had started the day with a Perdigon and a Rainbow Warrior. But even with the added weight of a split shot or two, I couldn’t see how those flies would’ve gotten down in such fast water. Then she showed me her rig. As it turns out, she’d lost her Rainbow Warrior and attached a Fast Water Prince Nymph in its place. That fly,
with its heavy tungsten bead and lead wraps, had “cracked the code” – at least for that spot on that day. I knew right away that I needed to add that fly to my arsenal.
I searched the internet for tying videos or step-by-step instructions for the Fast Water Prince Nymph but came up empty handed. In desperation, I looked closer at Sheri’s fly (why didn’t I do this to start?) and found that it isn’t all that complicated. Being a DIYer at heart, I decided to try tying it from scratch. In no time at all (translation: after some bungled-up, God awful razor flies), I came up with the following recipe:
Materials
Hook: Fulling Mill FM5045 in sizes 10 to 14
Bead: Copper color Tungsten Bead, sized to hook (3mm for #14 hook) * Fulling Mil 1/8″ also works
Added Weight: Lead Wire (or lead free wire)
Thread: Ultra Thread, Orange or Red
Tail: Sexi-Floss or Life Flex in Red
Wire: Copper color Ultra Wire, brassie size or Semperfli
Dubbin: Peacock color Ice Dubbin
Legs: Sexi-Floss or Life Flex in Tan
Hackle: Brown or Olive CDC feather
Tying Instructions
1. Insert a copper color tungsten bead onto the hook. Wrap lead wire onto the hook shank for additional weight. Eight wraps of lead should be enough for a #14 hook. Slide the lead wire into the rear of the bead and add a small drop of SuperGlue to hold it in place.
2. Attach thread behind the lead wraps and build up a thread dam. Then attach the wire to the far side of the hook shank as you wrap back to the bend of the hook.
3. At the bend, attach red Sexi-Floss to form a split tail a little longer than the hook shank (including the bead). Too long is better than too short. Return the thread to the rear of the lead wraps.
4. Make a long, thin dubbin noodle with peacock-color Ice Dubbin. Wrap back to the tail tie-in point and then dub a tapered abdomen up the shank and over the rear of the lead wraps. Leave an open space one-half bead width behind the bead. Wrap the copper wire forward to reinforce the dubbin and tie-off the wire behind the bead.
5. Attach tan Sexi-Floss “legs” to the bottom of the hook shank in the space behind the bead. They should extend just past the bend of the hook. Then dub the space behind the bead to fill the gap and further angle the legs rearward.
6. Attach the tip of a long CDC feather behind the bead. Coax the barbs of the CDC rearward as you wrap the stem of the CDC around the hook shank right behind the bead.
7. Tie off the CDC feather and clip the stem close. Add thread wraps behind the bead to form a hot spot and whip finish. Add a drop of head cement and you’re all set.
I’ve attached two photos, one to show the CDC collar and one to show the underbody.
I have no idea what kind of insect or bait fish the Fast Water Prince is supposed to imitate. But I learned long ago that “impressionistic” flies catch a lot of fish. In addition to being impressionistic, this fly has a lot of moving parts and is heavy enough to get down quickly, which seems like a good formula for fooling hungry trout in fast water. Tie some up and, as always, let me know how you do.
