How to fish a Copper John on tailwater

The Copper John is not subtle. It is heavy, it is bright, and it looks like nothing that has ever hatched. It is also one of the most consistently productive nymphs ever tied, and on tailwater it earns its keep in a very specific way: as the fly that gets the rest of your rig down.

Fish it as the anchor

The wire body and bead make it dense for its size. On a two-fly nymph rig, tie the Copper John on as the point fly and hang something smaller and softer eighteen to twenty-four inches behind it. The Copper John cuts the current and drags the trailer into the feeding lane; the trailer is usually what gets eaten. Both outcomes are fine.

Size down further than feels right

On freestone water in spring, a size 14 or 16 is a reasonable choice. On a cold tailwater in low, clear conditions, go to 18 or 20. Pressured trout in clear water look hard at anything bigger. A size 20 Copper John still carries enough weight to sink a rig in water up to about three feet, which covers most of the runs you will fish.

Where it works

• The seam between fast and slow water, where food collects and fish sit out of the current.
• The head of a run, fished on a short line with the rod tip high and the leader tight.
• Deep bucket water in winter, with enough weight to reach fish holding on the bottom.
• Behind other anglers. An attractor nymph often works precisely because it is not what the last four people drifted through.

A note on tippet

Small heavy flies break off on the strike more than any other kind. On size 18 and smaller, 5X is a sensible floor and 6X is better in clear water, provided your drag is set honestly and you are not trying to horse fish out of heavy current.

Our Copper John is tied in size 20 in a twelve pack. If you fish it as an anchor fly you will lose them, which is exactly why we sell them twelve at a time.