Nymph
Tellico Nymph
Southern peacock-back nymph
TroutSubsurface
A bright yellow-bodied nymph ribbed with peacock and palmered brown hackle — a Southern Appalachian institution that has caught trout out of those tumbling freestone creeks for the best part of a century. Loud enough to find fish in pocket water, buggy enough to pass for a stonefly or a big mayfly nymph.
Fish this when
Year-round on Appalachian and eastern freestone streams, especially in faster pocket water. Dead-drift it deep on a tight line or under a dry; the yellow body shows up in tumbling, broken current.
Why it works
The yellow body and peacock back read as a range of large nymphs at once, and the brightness pulls opportunistic mountain trout in fast, low-visibility water where a drab nymph goes unseen.
Naturals it imitates
yellow-bodied stonefly / mayfly nymph
Typical zone & fishable range
usually
Surface
Film
Subsurface
Deep
Setup sensitivity: medium
Quick facts
Tying difficulty
Beginner-friendly