Rocky River Trout Unlimited

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  • RRTU Store
  • Rocky River TU
    • RRTU Events >
      • Monthly Meetings
      • Streamside Day Trips
      • Alarka Trips
      • Fly Tying Classes >
        • Instructional Tyers
    • Davidson River HEP
    • Communications
    • Conservation >
      • Conservation Partners >
        • NC Camo Coalition
    • Diversity >
      • WOMEN ON THE FLY
      • BSA Merit Badge
    • Outreach
    • We welcome your feedback!
    • Become a TU Member
    • Mission and Brief History
  • Calendar
  • FORR
  • Programs
    • Trout In The Classroom
    • RiverCourse Fly Fishing Youth Camp
    • Casting Carolinas
    • Wilson Creek Adopt-A-Stream and Stream Watch
    • South Mountain Adopt-A-Park
    • Stone Mountain State Park
  • Resources
    • Fly of the Month Patterns >
      • Dry Attractor >
        • Stealth Bomber
      • DRY FLY PATTERNS >
        • Adams Variant
        • Asher
        • Baigent's Variant
        • Blue Quill
        • BWO
        • BWO Catskill
        • BWO CDC Emerger
        • BWO Sparkle Dun
        • BWO Spinner
        • Carolina Wulff
        • CDC Biot Comparadun
        • CDL Comparadun
        • Coachman Variant
        • Crackleback
        • Dragonfly Dry
        • Dry Pheasant Tail Variant
        • Dun Fly, August Fly,Wasp Fly
        • Early Nelson
        • Egg Laying Caddis
        • Elk Hair Caddis
        • EZ Caddis
        • Female Adams
        • Fluttering Caddis
        • Gray Fox Variant
        • Griffith's Gnat
        • H & L Variant
        • Hopper Juan
        • Japanese Beetle
        • Jassid
        • Jim Charley
        • Klinkhamer
        • Lacewing
        • Light Cahill Catskill
        • Little Green and Little Yellow Stonefly
        • Mr. Rapidan
        • North Carolina Yellow Sally
        • Parachute Adams
        • Puff Diddy
        • October Caddis
        • Orange Forked Tail
        • Rattler
        • Red Headed Caddis
        • Smoky Mountian Candy
        • Trude
        • Rusty Spinner
        • Sulphurs Part 1
        • Sulphur Part 2
        • Yellow Palmer
      • Midges >
        • Grey Goose Midge Emerger
        • Morgan's Midge
      • Nymphs >
        • Brassie
        • Chironimid
        • Copper John
        • Crossover Nymph
        • Crow Fly
        • Damsel Fly Nymph
        • Deep Sparkle Caddis Pupa
        • Devil's Doorstop
        • Girdle Bug
        • Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear
        • Hot Creek Special
        • Mr. Rapidan
        • Peridgon Nymph
        • Realistic Stonefly
        • Royal Prince
        • Scud
        • Egan's Tasmanian Devil
        • Tups Indespensible
      • Scud >
        • UV Scud
      • Soft Hackles >
        • Center Bead Soft Hackle
    • Fly Patterns
    • RRTU Class Recipes
    • NC General Hatch Charts
    • Fly Shops, Outfitters and Guides
    • Fly Fishing >
      • RRTU Reference Fly Tying >
        • Entomology Basics
        • More Entomology Basics
      • More Fly Fishing Basics
      • Fly Fishing Tips
      • Trout Fishing & Trout Fishing Stories
    • Fly Casting
    • History, Reading, References >
      • S. Appalachian & Smoky Mtn History >
        • Archive History >
          • Archive History
          • FORR Campaign >
            • FORR 2020
    • Calendar Copy
  • RRTU Store
Picture
Royal Prince

It all seemed to begin with the crappie jig that anglers fished deep around bottom structures on ponds, natural lakes and reservoirs where these particular panfish reside. The jig head hook was genius. A fish hook with a weighted head that basically positions itself hook-up in such a manner that it is less likely to catch on bottom structures and be lost. Shop any bait and tackle shop today and the jig hook is a fair portion of the lure variety. Beyond the plain head jig hook, there are painted heads (with eyes) and each in lots of sizes and weights. The crappie jig is a pre-tied Chenille body and marabou tail in a variety of colors but the painted jig heads are used along with soft plastic squiggly tails of numerous designs. Actually, the lightest weight and smallest hook crappie jigs in a variety of colors work amazing well on delayed harvest trout streams. 

An early, successful product on the market was the Trout Magnet which uses squiggly material attached to a gold-plated jig hook. So, as fly fishers discovered that these warmwater jig hooks and lures worked well to attract trout, the fly tyers among them began using the plain jig hook to tie nymph fly patterns. Fly Fishing competitions have spawned the genius in anglers of Europe, thus, Euro-Jig fly patterns have steadily evolved. Hook manufacturers are now producing jig hooks in much smaller sizes and weights that meet the demand of the fly fisher.

Kastrof’s Royal Prince

My first experience with a jig nymph was a guided trip down the Nantahala with Ken Kastrof. Floating the “Nanty” with Ken while the wheels are generating electricity is a true “whitewater fly fishing experience.” Ken specializes in this trip. He only allows one guest. He explains that as a guide he can only provide guidance to one person during the fast paced trip through the rapids - and you do catch really nice, large trout in the rapids as well as the runs if you carefully and exactly follow his guidance. 

When he says prepare to cast to such and such pocket, you get ready. When he says casts, you cast with a sidearm cast as there is always overhanging branches where the trout lie in the pockets. Ken helped me rig a sighter tippet for his Royal Prince with two contrasting colors. Specifically, as you pass through the rapids, you must keep the jig nymph at the same depth by keeping the sighter tippet color change point at the surface. The jig bounces over any shallow places with protruding rocks and suspends above the bottom elsewhere. Large, hungry trout lie among the rocks in the rapids and respond aggressively to the Kastrof’s Royal Prince. Ken uses size 8 gold-plated jig heads for weight and flash and ties the prince pattern similar to the Prince Nymph except for the purple collar of royalty.


Royal Prince

Fly of the Month 2.21

Tom Adams and Alen Baker


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