Copper John
Materials
- Hook — TMC 5262 or equivalent 2XL heavy nymph hook, sizes 10-18
- Bead — Gold tungsten (or brass), sized to hook: 3.8mm suits 10-12; drop to 3.3mm or smaller for 14-18
- Weight — Lead wire .015-.025, 8-12 wraps countersunk into the bead
- Thread — Black 70-denier or 8/0
- Tail — Dark brown goose biots, one per side, split
- Abdomen — Copper Ultra Wire, Brassie size for 10-14, small for 16-18
- Wingcase — Black Thin Skin with a strand of pearl Flashabou over the top
- Thorax — Peacock herl, 2-3 strands
- Legs — Mottled hen back or Hungarian partridge fibers, one clump per side
- Coating — UV cure resin (or 5-minute epoxy) over the finished wingcase
Tying steps
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Slide the bead onto the hook, small hole forward. Wrap 8-12 turns of lead wire behind the bead and shove the front wraps up into the bead's rear cavity to lock it in place.
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Start thread behind the lead and build a smooth, tapered underbody over the lead wraps so the wire abdomen has a level foundation.
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Tie in two goose biots at the bend, one on each side of the hook, curving away from each other to form a split tail about half a shank in length.
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Tie in copper wire along the near side of the shank back to the tail, then wrap it forward in tight, touching turns to about the 60 percent point. Helicopter the tag off and cover the butt with thread.
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Tie in a strand of pearl Flashabou, then a strip of black Thin Skin (shiny side down) on top of the shank at the front of the abdomen, both facing rearward.
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Tie in 2-3 peacock herls by their tips and wrap a full thorax forward to the bead. Tie off and trim.
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Tie in a small clump of hen back or partridge fibers along each side of the thorax so the legs sweep back to about the hook point.
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Pull the Thin Skin forward over the thorax, then the Flashabou centered over it. Secure both behind the bead, trim, build a neat thread collar, and whip finish.
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Coat the wingcase and Flashabou with a drop of UV resin and cure it. The resin dome is what gives the fly its trademark flash and durability.
Notes
John Barr started the Copper John in 1993 and did not consider it finished until 1996; it went on to become one of the best-selling nymphs in American fly shops. It imitates nothing exactly and everything approximately: its real job is sinking fast and getting noticed. The biot tails, Thin Skin wingcase, and resin coat make it one of the more involved standard nymph ties.