NymphCopper John
The Copper John is a popular nymph pattern that's known for its ability to sink quickly. Its flashy profile and realistic silhouette make it an effective attractor pattern that can fool even the most selective trout.
Year Round
Intermediate
Trout
Apr 2025
Overview
A modern nymph tied with a flashy wire body (typically red, copper, or green), split biot tail, peacock thorax, and white biot wingcases over a heavy tungsten bead. Lead wire underbody helps it sink fast—ideal for deep nymphing.
Materials
Hook: Tiemco 3769, #12-#18
Thread: UTC 70 Denier, color to match body
Weight: Lead wire, .020 for sizes #12-#14, .015 for sizes #16-#18
Tail: Goose biots, color to match body
Abdomen: Copper wire, size to match hook
Wingcase: Thin Skin or similar material, coated with Solarez Bone Dry UV resin for glossy finish
Thorax: Peacock herl
Legs: Partridge feather fibers
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: Heavy-bodied stonefly nymphs maintain grip on cobble substrates until high flows or foraging activity dislodges them, sending them tumbling downstream with legs extended in characteristic dead-drift posture. These substantial nymphs sink quickly, bouncing along the bottom where fish intercept them.
Where Trout Eat It: Tumbling along bottom structure in runs, pocket water, and current breaks where stoneflies naturally lose their grip and drift.
How to Fish It: Dead drift near bottom, allowing the weighted fly to bounce naturally through feeding lanes where nymphs tumble in current.
Best Water: Most productive in riffle edges, pocket water, and tail-outs where stonefly nymphs drift after dislodgment.
Strike Type: Feel subtle ticks, line hesitation, or indicator dips as fish intercept the tumbling nymph.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: Try fishing this fly on a dead drift, either under an indicator or as part of a Euro nymphing rig.
Seasonal Timing: The Copper John can be effective year-round, but it's especially productive in the when stoneflies and mayflies are active. Use the Copper John when you need to get down deep quickly, or when fish are keying in on stoneflies or mayfly nymphs.
Pro Tips: The Copper John sinks quickly and is designed to be fished near the bottom. The use of a UV resin on the wingcase gives it a glossy finish that can catch the light and attract fish.
Entomology
Stonefly nymphs grip tightly to cobble substrates using tarsal claws, periodically losing their hold during high flows or when foraging, tumbling downstream in a distinctive dead-drift with legs splayed outward. Their heavy, compact bodies sink quickly toward the bottom, bouncing along substrate during drift events. Fish key on these robust nymphs because their year-round presence and substantial size provide high calorie rewards, especially during pre-runoff periods when nymphs become more mobile before emergence migrations.
- Order
- Plecoptera
- Common Name
- Stonefly
- Organism Type
- insect
- Life Stage
- nymph