Copper John
Created by John Barr of Colorado, the Copper John is the best-selling fly in American fly shops — and for good reason. Its copper wire body sinks fast and stays deep, while the UV-epoxy-coated wing case creates a realistic segmented nymph profile. It works on virtually every trout stream in North America, imitating a wide range of mayfly and stonefly nymphs. Fish it deep on a tight-line or indicator rig, or as the point fly on a two-nymph setup.
- Type
- nymph (Mayfly)
- Hook sizes
- #12–18
- Target species
- trout
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best seasons
- spring, summer, fall, winter
Materials
- hook: Standard nymph hook #12–18
- thread: Black 70D
- bead: Copper or gold tungsten bead
- weight: Lead-free wire underbody
- tail: Brown goose biots, split
- body: Copper Ultra Wire (medium), tightly wrapped
Tying steps
- Slide a copper tungsten bead onto a size 12–18 standard nymph hook; mount and wrap lead-free wire.
- Start black 70D thread; wrap over the lead.
- Tie in two brown goose biots at the bend, splayed as a split tail.
- Tie in a length of medium copper Ultra Wire.
- Wind the copper wire in tight, flat, touching spirals from the tail to the 2/3 mark.
- Tie in a piece of black Thinskin or turkey tail over the 2/3 mark as the wing case.
- Twist 3–4 strands of peacock herl and wind a full thorax forward to behind the bead.
- Pull the wing case over the thorax and tie down; coat it with UV resin for shine.
- Tie in spotted partridge or brown hen saddle fibers as legs swept back; build head and whip finish.