Trueblood Otter
Hook: Tiemco 5262, size 10-16
Weight: .015 lead wire (10 wraps for size 14)
Thread: Brown 8/0
Tail: Brown partridge hackle fibers
Body: Blend even parts of cream angora goat and otter or brown mink
Legs: Brown partridge hackle fibers tied beard style
1. Debarb and sharpen hook.
2. Tie on thread behind eye of hook and wrap with contiguous wraps back
to the point of the hook.
3. Wrap on the lead wire, overwrap with thread and cement. The lead should
basically be centered on the shank of the hook, so that the nymph sinks
while staying horizontal. Take the thread back to a point above the barb
of the hook.
4. Tie in the tail of partridge fibers. The tail should be about 1 hook
gape in length.
5. Dub the body so it tapers, getting larger toward the eye of the fly.
Stop the body with enough room to tie in the legs and wrap a tapered head.
The body should be shaggy, buggy. The body may be slim or fat, your choice.
6. Tie in another bunch of partridge hackle fibers as legs, beard style,
with the tips about at the point of the hook.
7. Wrap a small, tapered head, whip finish and cement, or not, your choice.
I substituted Umpqua superfine light cahill dubbing for the goat, and Spirit
River squirrel blend dubbing, tan SQ1-018 for the otter. Any combination
of natural and synthetic furs may be used, but the end result should be
a buggy body with good light reflectance and transparency. These nymphs
are essentially cream in color, but gray, brown and olive bodied ones are
also useful.
This pattern was developed by Ted Trueblood of Nampa, Idaho, to represent
scuds, freshwater shrimp, sowbugs and other underwater organisms. It is
also known as the Trueblood Shrimp and the Otter Nymph. It is one of only
a very few older nymphs still in use today...and it still works.
It can be used as a probing pattern in lake fishing, and in streams is particularly
good in back eddies and slower pools.
I have used it with some success in a large tailwater with good populations
of scuds and sowbugs.
Good luck with it.
Bob Spencer (bspen@iglou.com)