Possibly the two most important fishing flies ever tied are the pheasant tail nymph and gold ribbed hares ear nymph (GRHE). If you examine every fly fisherman world-wide, regardless of species that they are targetting then these would probably be the most prolific fly world-wide, if you only consider trout fly fisherman then this is a certainty.
Fly Fishing Tactics with The Pheasant Tail Nymph
The pheasant tail imitates olive nymphs. If this fly fishing fly is ripped in the water then it still will create takes, maybe because it is seen by trout as an agile darter nymph. Key with the Pheasant tail nymph is that it conveys many features of nymphs and emergers but has very little that can alarm a fish and spook it.
Gold Ribbed Hares Ear Fly Fishing Fly
GRHE is perhaps the most recognized, fished, and proven nymph ever tied. The hare’s ear nymph will attract fish even when there is no hatch on. The Hare's ear is a nymph that imitates almost any natural nymph. I would suggest you try it in runs and riffles, or fish it in still waters.
Stripping this nymph back toward you on a lake or pond can get trout on the rod. It is a must for every fly box. The Bead Headed varieties are brilliant. We find stripping these gets hits fish regularly. The gold bead head attracts the trout with the Hare's Ear as the main "bait". A deadly fly for the fly fisherman.
The Gold ribbed hare's ear's texture and colours of the natural materials like game cock soft hackles, gold tinsel ribbing, and cock pheasant tail fibres conveys a superb 'buggy' outline and is a highly 'impressionistic' fly. Impressionistic flies are capable of being viewed as many different 'bugs' including shrimp or scud, sow bug (hog louse) sedge pupa or larva and many mayfly species. Indeed the GRHE could even be viewed as a small fish!
Fly Fishing Tactics With Gold Ribbed Hares Ears (GRHE)
The texture and colour of the GRHE (gold ribbed hare's ear) allow them to be fished in two different ways, either imitating the hatching insect near the surface or fished low down in the water imitating a bug, scud or shrimp. Near the surface the texture could be viewed by a fish as a pupa in the process of hatching, breaking its exoskeleton and the residual nymphal skin being discarded. Using lightweight GRHE on long tapered leaders with a floating line in the surface is ideal for lakes and reservoirs. On rivers use heavier GRHE or beadhead GRHE flies upstream and dead drift lower in the water where it can be taken as a shrimp, scud or other bottom dwelling feast for trout!