PMD Nymph

[allan_s]

I am tying up some PMD nymphs for a 2 week trip to Montana this year. From what I have seen they are a rusty/brown color with some being a little bit more olive but still primarily a rusty/brown coloration.

I have a few guide books that give suggestions but for the most part they focus on emergers and dries, as most people go to Montana for their hatches. Pretty much their suggestions are PT or HE.

I certainly will have plenty of both, as I do anytime I go fishing anywhere but I am looking for something specifically that anybody here has used to imitate Ephemerella inermis and E. infrequens.

Any suggestions/pics of nymphs you have used to success? To be more specific I will be on Rock Creek, Bitterroot and few other streams in that portion on the state.

Just curious, I have looked a lot online and I haven't been impressed with what the 'on-line experts' suggest, so I guess I trust you guys more than some random guy who writes a blog!

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

[gutcutter]

-Wood Duck for the tail.
-Extra Fine Gold Wire rib.
-TroutHunter Pro Dub Nymph in Rusty Olive color for the abdomen.
-Black Turkey or Pheasant for the wing case on an emerging nymph or Brown Marabou on a swimming nymph.
-TroutHunter Pro Dub Nymph in Rusty Olive for the thorax.
-Brown Partridge for the legs.
-Coat the wing case with Epoxy or UV Glue on the emerging nymph.

 

[InTheMend]

A frenchie will work just a well or better than anything else for pmd's, especially on montana fish.

 

[Tiogadog]

Pmd Barr's emerger

 

[allan_s]

Thank you guys

 

[Chaz]

From what I see of the photos of nymphs available, I'd tie a hares ear nymph, using hares ear as it is supposed to be tied, I might also use peacock hero for the body. These aren't trout like we have in PA that get to inspect flies forever before deciding to take or refuse.

 

[Tiogadog]

Chaz wrote:
From what I see of the photos of nymphs available, I'd tie a hares ear nymph, using hares ear as it is supposed to be tied, I might also use peacock hero for the body. These aren't trout like we have in PA that get to inspect flies forever before deciding to take or refuse.

Not on those rivers, but there are some out west where the trout really do inspect flies. I am thinking the trophy tail out of the Taylor River in Colorado for one

 

[Pontus]

The crowd favorites out there are the Green Machine and the Lightning Bug. I had a lot of success with my Mink Mayfly nymph that I tie. A guide that I fished with showed me his favorite PMD nymph and it looked more or less exactly like my mink pattern although he wouldn't say what it was made out of. I also tied a fly that I called the Dark Lightning Bug (same as the standard but using black tinsel instead of silver).

My recommendation is to not worry about specific fly patterns. Tie 14, 16, and 18 of the following: 1 dark flashy, 1 light flashy, 1 tan, 1 olive.

I wouldn't worry too much about matching the hatch on the nymphs. There are so many insects floating around at any time in a Montana river that it really comes down to your presentation. One thing that I realized especially in the mid to late summer is that the stonefly nymphs take 3 years to mature, and trout are always keyed into them. I always fished a size 6-12 stonefly for weight, and then dropped a 14 or 16 mayfly off the back. On my tough days, I sometimes turned the entire day around by going way bigger than I had been (size 6 montana nymph in August). Other days I'd be fishing a very standard tandem rig with no success, then switch colors and kill it.