The story, as I understand it, is that awhile back, an unknown Frenchman won the world fly-fishing championship using a fly that was in essence a Pheasant Tail Nymph. Of course, it wasn’t any ol’ PT, but one designed using elements common to the style of flies now known as Euro nymphs: an inverted or slotted tungsten bead to sink it quickly and ride point up, and a “hot spot” of color to draw the attention of the fish. And unlike the PTs that are found in the fly boxes of you and me, this fly, named the Frenchie, lacks a wing case and legs, these imitative aspects presumably being unnecessary as triggers for the fish and a hindrance to the sink rate.
What’s intriguing, however, is that the Frenchie, which may or may not be based on Frank Sawyer’s original Pheasant Tail Nymph, continues to evolve. According to American competitive fly fisher Lance Egan, the initial Frenchie used red thread, which was also wound behind the bead as a collar, pheasant tail fibers for the tail and body, thin copper wire for ribbing, and a hot-spot thorax. Lance’s popular subsequent version substitutes stronger Coq de Leon fibers for the tail and dyed, rather than natural pheasant tail for the body. His hot spot consists of UV shrimp-pink Ice Dubbing.
Devin Olsen, a teammate of Egan’s, uses brown thread, rather than red, for the “Egan” Frenchie, and the pattern shown in his book, Tactical Fly Fishing, is tied on a nymph hook, rather than a jig hook. Online, I found mention of a Frenchie on a scud hook, and other recipes use fluorescent orange or pink thread, or fine gold wire for ribbing, or have hot spots of chartreuse or purple or even UV Baetis dubbing, the latter combined with a body of olive-dyed pheasant tail fibers. Olsen recommends a bead color of copper, gold, or silver, which is common for Euro nymphs, and online, you’ll also find Frenchies with black or bright red beads. More weight is often added with underbody wraps of lead or nontoxic wire.
Given these variations and eye-popping colors, who knows whether the fish see this fly as a Blue-Winged Olive nymph, which was what Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail was so effective at imitating, or if they’re just responding through instinct to something possibly edible. Maybe the era of imitation is over, and we’re discovering, or rediscovering, the utility of flashiness in drawing hits subsurface. The important points, I suppose, are these: the Frenchie has proven its effectiveness, and you probably already have most of the materials you need to tie it. If you don’t, then hey, experiment. Everyone else is.
A size 18 hook, by the way, would be appropriate for California waters with Blue-Winged Olive hatches.