A Word About the Copper John

generic Copper John fly

           This article is going to be all about the Copper John wet nymph fly. The Copper John is one of the most common nymphs out there to date and for good reasons, it catches a ton of fish! The Copper John went through a period of changes during 1993 when it was first tied and the tier, John Barr, was happy with it by 1996. Most importantly, John found a good pattern of materials that worked exceptionally well any time of the year. This particular fly doesn't resemble any one insect, but instead acts as a number of them. I recently started tying the Copper John myself, as they aren't a beginner fly to start tying, and have had a lot of fun adding my own unique bits and pieces to them.

         The traditional "CJ" comes in one standard color design. Typically, a copper bead is in front of the thorax comprised of peacock hurl, feathers and thin skin. Behind the body of the fly are two biots that sit snugly underneath a layer of copper wire. This is the Copper John! It comes in all sizes from 12 all the way down to a #22 hook, and can be fished as a lead or dropper fly. Some folks incorporate thin lead to help build profile and bring the fly down to the bottom of the river faster. The fun part I must say about tying these, as you see in my photos, is that you can use about any color or type of materials you want to give your CJ a very unique look. I was fiddling around one day and tied a few that look similar but have their small differences. I enjoy using red copper wire along with red biots instead of the standard brown or black biots and copper wire.

       When I fish with these types of nymphs I usually decide between the Copper John, Lightning Bug, or Pheasant Tail. I prefer the Lightning Bug in silver over the other two but all of them are very good choices and catch fish year around. The CJ is best fished in my opinion as the dropper, depending on the size, and drug along with the current right on the bottom of the river or stream. Split shot is probably necessary to get the flies down to the bottom as soon as possible.

       If you are new to fly fishing you may not have purchased or tied a Copper John yet. I recommend every fly fisherman has several of each size in their box. The CJ is a good search pattern to find the fish and will work on the coldest days of winter into the hottest parts of summer. I hope you can learn from this short article and catch a few more trout with this specific fly. If they aren't hitting on the surface, maybe tie on a Copper John and you'll pick off a few trout! Tight lines all!