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Higa's SOS
A nymph, tied #16–20, carried year round. It is tied against 2 named insects in this book, and stands in when nothing is hatching — all year.
A small, slim, dark mayfly nymph with a band of flash across its back, tied on a 2X heavy nymph hook in sizes 16–20 with black 14/0 thread. Pheasant tail fibres make the tail, the abdomen is wire wound tight so the fly stays thin and sinks, the thorax is peacock or black dubbing, Krystal Flash is pulled over that thorax as a wingcase, and a tungsten bead finishes the head. It is tied against the Blue-Winged Olive, Baetis spp., out in March through May and again September through November in water from 38 to 58 degrees, and against midges, Chironomidae, which show all year between 33 and 75 degrees. It also covers mayflies generally and no hatch at all — a searching pattern, in other words, that goes on when nothing on the water matches. Trout are the target. It works well behind a heavier point fly in clear water, and it is carried year-round.
- #16–20Hook size
- nymphType
- AllSeason
- 2Hatches matched
What it looks like
A drawing, not a photograph, and not traced from one. Its proportions were read off 5 independent reference photographs of the pattern and written down as 5 measured characteristics — wing angle, tail length against the shank, how far a hackle fibre reaches — every one of which had to hold across more than one of them before it could be drawn. What survives across many photographs of a fly is the fly.
What it imitates
Each of these is the same hatch record the app's own panel reads, so a pattern recommended on a river card in the app is recommended for one of the insects below.
- Blue-Winged Olive Baetis spp. · March–May and September–November · 38–58°F · #16–22
- Midge Chironomidae · all year · 33–75°F · #18–24
It is also tagged for mayflies generally, no hatch at all — a searching pattern.
Tying recipe
In tying order. This dressing is the standard one — these patterns have been in the publicrecord for decades — and materials substitute freely: the proportions and the silhouette are the pattern, not the brand of dubbing.
| Hook | 2X heavy nymph hook, sizes 16–20 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Black 14/0 |
| Tail | Pheasant tail fibres |
| Abdomen | Wire, wound |
| Wingcase / flash | Krystal Flash pulled over the thorax |
| Thorax | Peacock or black dubbing |
| Head | Tungsten bead |
When to fish it
A small dark mayfly nymph with a flash back. Excellent behind a heavier point fly in clear water.
Carried all year. The insects it matches are active all year, in water from 33°F to 75°F.
Target species
- Trout
Rivers it fishes well
Rivers with a page here that sit in the regions where the insects this pattern imitates are recorded. It is a claim about coverage, not a report of a fish caught.
- Au Sable River northern lower Michigan · July mean 72.1°F
- Catawba River the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Jackson River the Virginia mountains · July mean 66.3°F
- Muskegon River northern lower Michigan · July mean 71.0°F
- Escanaba River the Upper Peninsula · July mean 68.3°F
- Saint Croix River northern Wisconsin · July mean 77.2°F
- Smith River the Virginia mountains · July mean 51.9°F
- Tygart Valley River the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.6°F
- Kalamazoo River southern lower Michigan · July mean 71.3°F
- Aaron Creek the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Aaron Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 77.1°F
- Aarons Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.2°F
Related patterns
Same type of fly, or tied for the same insects.
- Perdigon nymph · #14–20 — Slim, epoxied, sinks like a stone. The euro-nymphing point fly.
- Pheasant Tail Nymph nymph · #12–22 — The mayfly nymph. Beadhead or not, size 16, and half the trout in the world have eaten one.
- Zebra Midge nymph · #18–24 — Two materials and a bead. The winter fly, and the fly for the last two feet of a tailout.
- Copper John nymph · #12–20 — Heavy enough to be the anchor fly. Gets the whole rig down in one cast.
- Frenchie nymph · #12–18 — A Pheasant Tail with a hot spot. The most-fished competition nymph there is.