Another change to the royal family
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| The Royal Family |
Like most experimental flies that I tie, I'll whip up one or two and have them sit on the bench until either I remember where I put them in my box, or I run into a situation on the stream that calls for them. The Arizona Prince was kind of both... I was Czech nymphing a section of stream this spring and broke off my last Masked Marauder when I decided to just experiment. Like always, the trusty
Masked Marauder had caught plenty of fish that day, and I was OK with ending the day experimenting with a new pattern. Even though the Arizona Prince really isn't all that innovative, there is always some question when you replace peacock herl (arguably the most fishy material on the planet) with dubbing. On it went, and I saw multiple fish move out of their way to eat it that afternoon. After a few fish I made sure to get a good mental picture of the fly because I only had one of them... Yep. I broke it off. Luckily the pattern is really simple and I was able to get more samples tied. I have fished it in many color combos since the initial test, and it is one fishy bug that has earned a spot in the starting lineup.
~ Cheech
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| This is the bug I was fishing that day. |
Recipe:
Thread: Whatever floats your boat. Preferably 70 denier
Tails: Biots
Rib: Coats & Clark sewing thread or rod building thread
Flash back: UTC holographic tinsel - medium size
Wings: Biots
Legs: Any small diameter rubber leg material. I used
Montana Fly tentacles in medium size. (they can be barred with a sharpie for extra cool factor)
Video Tutorial:
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| Tan dubbing and a dark wing |
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| Original angled view |
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| Olive with pale yellow wing |
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| Chartreuse for bluegill |
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| Who doesn't like blue? |
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| Hot wing olive |
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| Fire orange. |
