TYING A GREEN MARY COPPERHEAD VARIANT
Simon Robinson invented the Mary Copperhead Nymph in 2003. He says it is a variation over the Pheasant Tail Nymph by Frank Sawyer. Initially, Robinson tied the fly with a grizzly tail, pheasant tail body, and hares ear dubbing for thorax covered with a pearl cover. Today, it is normally tied with colorful beads and dubbing for the thorax.
Materials for Green Mary Copperhead Variant
| Part: | Materials: | Size/Color: |
| Hook: | Maruto | D04BL #12 |
| Bead: | Taimen | Brass Copper 2.8 mm |
| Thread: | Veevus | Black 14/0 |
| Tail: | Pheasant Tail | Green |
| Body: | Pheasant Tail | Green |
| Rib: | Benecchi’s | Copper Small |
| Thorax: | Hare’s Ice Dub | Olive |
| Wingcase: | Pheasant Tail | Green |
Video Instructions on How to Tie a Green Mary Copperhead Variant
Video coming soon.Slideshow on How To Tie a Green Mary Copperhead Variant
Step 1 – Make the Tail and the Body
Once you have put the copper brass bead onto the hook, you can start tying in your thread. Continue wrapping the thread around the hook shank until you reach the point where the shank begins bending. Tie in a few fibers from the pheasant tail feather. The fibers should have a length of approximately half the hook length. Continue tying in the copper wire for the rib. Also, fold back the pheasant tail fibers for the body. Wrap the pheasant tail fibers around the hook shank in even turns to build up the body. Complete the body by ribbing it with the copper wire. The body should cover half the hook shank.
Step 2 – Make the Thorax, Wing Case, and Legs
Move your thread close to the bead. Take 8 to 10 pheasant tail fibers and tie them in with the tips facing forward. The tips should overlap the bead by 40 to 60 % of the body length. These fibers are going to be the legs of the nymph. Tie down the fibers until you reach the point where the fly’s body ends. Make a dubbing noodle with the Hare’s Ice Dub and build up the thorax. The thorax should be a bit bulkier than the body. Separate the pheasant tail fibers pointing forward in even portions to the thorax’s sides. Fold over the pheasant tail fibers pointing backward and tie them down close to the bead. Remove any excess. Complete the fly with a whip finish or a few half-hitches and a bit of varnish.
How to Fish the Green Mary Copperhead Variant
The Mary Copperhead Nymph is a popular fly paired with a Klinkhamer for the Klink & Dink combination. Try either the Klink & Dink combination or the Green Mary Copperhead alone dead drift upstream or across the stream. To add some life to the fly, you can tighten up the line, lifting the fly and imitating a rising nymph about to hatch.
