Hare’s Ear

No surprise here. The Hare’s Ear is probably the most widely used nymph in America. It looks like nothing in particular and a lot of things in general and possesses that overall bugginess that makes it one of the best subsurface prospecting patterns that I know. On a dead-drift, shallow or deep, in any kind of water, any time of year, this one rings the dinner bell. The shape generally suggests a mayfly nymph, and the fly can be especially productive in riffles or pools prior to a hatch. But you can fish it on the swing during a caddis hatch and even use it as a scud imitation in weedy spring creeks. If I were restricted to just one nymph pattern, I’d knot on a Hare’s Ear.