Nymph
Pheasant Tail / ORL Nymph
Selective sea-trout nymph
Sea trout · TroutSubsurface
French Normandy variant of the pheasant tail with ORL (oreille de lièvre — hare's ear) dubbing — a modern update to the Sawyer original, refined for selective sea trout.
Fish this when
Spring and early summer on rivers and in estuarine slack water. Fish it dead-drift on a fine tippet through holding lies.
Why it works
Pheasant tail body is still one of the most credible nymph profiles. The hare's ear dubbing softens the silhouette without overwhelming the imitation.
Naturals it imitates
mixed
Typical zone & fishable range
usually
Surface
Film
Subsurface
Deep
Setup sensitivity: medium
Quick facts
Tying difficulty
Intermediate
Heritage
ModernClassicHeritage
Modern
· France, modern — generic French competition-nymphing convention (ORL = Oreille de Lièvre, hare's ear); no single attributed inventor
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