Euro NymphsCDC French Jig
The CDC French Jig has burst onto the scene as perhaps the best dropper fly for dry-dropper rigs. This pattern became so popular at the Fly Fish Food shop in Idaho Falls that guides would come in and clean out the entire stock. Created by Cheech at Fly Fish Food, the combination of a pheasant tail body, CDC collar, and emerald green head creates an irresistible profile that consistently produces.
Year Round
Intermediate
Trout
Dec 2025
Overview
The CDC French Jig combines classic pheasant tail nymph elements with modern euro-style features. The CDC collar adds subtle movement and creates a buggy silhouette that fish find irresistible. The emerald green Ice Dub head provides a striking visual trigger point while the red holographic tag adds flash near the tail. This pattern has earned its reputation through consistent performance in the hands of both guides and recreational anglers.
Materials
Hook: Hanak H 400 BL Jig Hook, size #14 (or Fulling Mill 5045 Jig Force Barbless)
Thread: UTC 70 Denier, black
Bead: Fulling Mill Slotted Tungsten, silver nickel, 3.2mm (or Firehole Stones 3.5mm sterling silver)
Tail: Spanish Coq De Leon, pardo (or Hareline Coq De Leon medium speckled pardo)
Tag: Veevus Holographic Tinsel, small, red (or cranberry)
Body: Ringneck Pheasant Tail, black (or Nature's Spirit muskrat gray)
Rib: UNI-Soft Wire, small, neon silver (or Semperfli Tying Wire 0.2mm bright silver)
Collar: Nature's Spirit CDC, dark slate dun (or medium slate dun)
Head: Ice Dub, emerald green (or UV peacock eye)
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: Baetid nymphs maintain active positions in current edges, frequently abandoning holds to drift short distances before reestablishing new feeding stations. Trout selectively target these jig-presented nymphs because the inverted hook design creates natural swimming postures that match the head-down orientation of drifting mayflies.
Where Trout Eat It: Trout target this along the streambed in deeper runs where the jig design creates natural head-down orientation matching drifting mayfly nymphs.
How to Fish It: Fish as dropper 12-18 inches below large dry flies or hopper patterns on 5X-6X fluorocarbon tippet. The CDC collar adds subtle movement.
Best Water: Henry's Fork and South Fork Snake River pools. Target deeper pockets and channel swings where the jig rides hook-point up.
Strike Type: The strike registers in the sighter as a sudden sag, brief hesitation, or subtle forward movement of the indicator line; set immediately with short, crisp lift to engage the jig hook before fish expels the fly.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: Fish on 5X-6X fluorocarbon tippet. Ideal as dropper below hoppers, stimulators, or other large dry flies.
Seasonal Timing: as a searching pattern. Particularly effective during mayfly activity when the dark pheasant tail body closely matches emerging nymphs.
Pro Tips: The tungsten bead provides quick sink rate while the silver nickel finish adds subtle flash. The emerald green head creates a visible hotspot.
Entomology
Baetid nymphs maintain active positions in current edges, frequently abandoning holds to drift short distances before reestablishing new feeding stations. Trout selectively target these jig-presented nymphs because the inverted hook design creates natural swimming postures that match the head-down orientation of drifting mayflies.
- Order
- Ephemeroptera
- Family
- Baetidae
- Common Name
- Blue-Winged Olive
- Organism Type
- insect
- Life Stage
- nymph