Make Mine A Frenchie

I have one suggestion for when you tie this pattern. Almost every instructional video I’ve watched featuring Frenchies has recommended a sparse, tight dubbing noodle for the thorax. One thing I’ve noticed about fishing this pattern, though, is that the more trout I catch on it, the more trout seem to like it. Once that dubbed thorax gets a little shaggy, it hangs down partially over the pheasant tail body, and for me, that’s when this fly really starts to shine.

The looser Ice Dub picks up more light and can imitate everything from a shrimp to an emerging caddis pupa. In fact, I’ve found this look to be so desirable that I now wrap the dubbing more loosely when I’m tying these flies. They may not always look pretty in the vise, but they’re deadly.

In the past 20 years, it seems there has been a push toward simplicity in fly tying, despite the fact that we have more synthetics than ever to work with. Part of it, I think, is the proliferation of the internet and the exchange of ideas around the world. Those ideas have includes various nymph patterns and techniques – the popularity of Euro nymphing is just one example.

If you look at other fly patterns popular in Europe, you’ll notice many similarities, one of which is their Perdigon shape. They utilize a basic tail, wrapped body, and a hot spot collar. Many of them are tied with tungsten beads, which are heavier than lead, and on jig-style hooks. They appear almost bullet-shaped, and sometimes they’re coated with epoxy to add realism and help the fly sink fast in heavy currents.

The Frenchie certainly fits this European style, with the exception that no epoxy is used to coat the body. Of course, you can tie Frenchies on traditional nymph hooks, as well as on scud hooks, but to me, a Frenchie just isn’t a Frenchie if it’s not on a jig hook. The benefit of jig hooks is that they ride along the bottom with point facing up, so you get snagged less often.