TYING A FLASHY GOLD RIBBED HARE’S EAR NYMPH
According to George Leonard Herter, David Hemming invented the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear in 1832. It is a classic fly that imitates Mayfly nymphs. Over the years, the fly has evolved, and now it is tied in many different variants. Here we will tie the Flashy Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph with a golden Tungsten bead.
Materials for Flashy Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph
| Part: | Materials: | Size/Color: |
| Hook: | Mustad | R50 #10 |
| Bead: | Taimen | Tungsten Gold 2.8 mm |
| Thread: | Veevus | Black 14/0 |
| Tail: | Partridge | Natural |
| Rib: | UTC | Ultra Wire Gold SM |
| Body/Thorax: | Hare’s Ear Dub | Natural |
| Wing Case 1: | UTC | Pearl Tinsel Medium |
| Wing Case 2/Legs: | Partridge | Natural |
Video Instructions on How to Tie a Flashy Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph
Slideshow on How To Tie a Flashy Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph
Step 1 – Tie in the Tail and Make the Body
Originally, the list of materials used to tie the GRHE was shorter. David Hemming used guard hairs from the hare’s ear for the tail. The gold rib was the same as the light dubbing for the body and a darker dubbing for the thorax. Fibers from a turkey tail feather were used for the wing case.
We start by putting the tungsten bead on the hook. Then we tie in the thread close to the bead and continue with even wraps until the thread is in line with the hook’s barb. At this point, we tie in a small portion of Partridge fibers for the tail. The tail’s length should be approximately half the hook shank length.
Now it is time to tie in the gold wire for the rib. Then the next step is to make a thin noodle with the Hare’s Ear Dub. Wrap the dubbing noodle around the hook until you reach the point where you have covered approximately half of the hook shank length. Complete the body with the gold rib.
Step 2 – Tie in Materials for Wing Case and Make the Thorax
The pearl tinsel will be on the top of the wing case, so this is the material you have to tie in first. Tie in the tinsel on top of the fly. The next step is to tie in the Partridge feather that will be both the wing case and the legs of the fly. This step can be tricky, as the Partridge feathers are fragile. Remember that you can always go back and do it over again. Prepare the feather by aligning the front fibers, then pull some fibers on each side of the feather back. These fibers will be the legs and should not be tied in now. Make a dubbing noodle with the Hare’s Ear Dub. Wrap even turns to build up the thorax. The thorax should be bulkier than the body of the fly.
Step 3 – Make the Wing Case and Legs
You have to fold the Partridge feather over the thorax to make the wing case. Make sure that the fibers you tied in are evenly covering the upper side of the thorax. Also, make sure that the fibers for the legs are evenly distributed to each side of the thorax. Complete this step by tying in the Partridge feather and removing the excess. Fold the pearl tinsel over the Partridge feather, tie it off, and remove any excess of the tinsel. Complete the fly with a whip finish or a few half-hitches and a drop of varnish.
How to Fish the Flashy Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph
The tungsten bead adds weight to the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear variant. The weight makes the Flashy GRHE a good fly for faster streaming waters or when you want to go deep. Fish it dead drift upstream using an indicator. You can also use the fly as a dropper on a tandem setup when you want to fish smaller nymphs in fast-flowing water.
