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Large side macro photograph of a Bead Head Prince Nymph with white biot wings and peacock bodyReal photo · Bead Head Prince Nymph

Nymph · guide 08

Prince Nymph

A high-contrast searching nymph built from a peacock-herl body, gold rib, forked brown biot tail, swept brown hackle, and white biot V-wing; the reviewed bead-head form adds weight and flash.

Common size
Original Doug Prince recipe: #6–12, Orvis bead-head range: #4–18, FFI proportioned demonstration: #12
Common colors
iridescent peacock body, brown tail and hackle, white wing biots, gold rib and optional gold bead, black or brown thread by named recipe
Imitates
small stonefly nymph, caddis nymph, general attractor nymph
How to recognize it

Look for two deliberate V shapes: paired brown biots splayed at the tail and paired white biots laid over the back at about a 30-degree angle. Between them sit a close peacock-herl body, four or five gold-rib turns, and a sparse rear-swept brown hackle collar. A gold bead identifies the bead-head form; peacock alone does not make another nymph a Prince.

Fly Fishers International's Doug Prince archive says Prince originally called the pattern the Brown Forked Tail Nymph; a catalog later called it the Prince Nymph and the name stuck. Orvis notes an earlier Olson-style antecedent is debated, so this page credits the Prince name and archived recipe without presenting the broader ancestry as settled.
Large side macro photograph of a Bead Head Prince Nymph with white biot wings and peacock body
Real photo · exact pattern

Bead Head Prince Nymph

The Commons source identifies this as a version of a Bead Head Prince Nymph. The defining white wing-biots, peacock body, brown biot tail, and bead are visible; the photograph does not establish hidden ballast, bead material, or one universal size.

View
exact pattern — Bead Head Prince Nymph macro
Color shown
iridescent peacock, white, brown, and gold
Look for
The clean side macro shows the paired white biot V-wing, peacock-herl body, brown biot tail, swept hackle, gold rib, and bead.
Open full-size photo ↗

On the water

Know when and how to fish it.

Use these tips as a starting point. The river, depth, insects, and fish behavior still decide the final presentation.

01

Why it works

  • The iridescent peacock body and reflective gold rib create changing points of light, while the bead adds flash and helps the fly reach the feeding depth.
  • The forked tail, swept hackle, and high-contrast white V-wing give the searching fly a strong segmented silhouette without claiming one exact natural species.
  • Orvis documents it as useful for caddis nymphs, small stoneflies, and general searching, so insect identity should come from the river—not from the pattern name alone.
02

When to use it

  • As a searching nymph in riffles, seams, pocket water, or deeper runs when no single exact immature insect has been confirmed.
  • When locally plausible caddis-nymph or small-stonefly profiles make its size and silhouette useful.
  • As a point fly only when the bead and any additional rig weight suit the lane and required presentation.
03

How to fish it

  • Dead-drift it through the target depth first, correcting drag and depth before changing pattern or color.
  • Allow a controlled rise or swing at the end of the drift when insect movement supports it; Orvis also notes the fly can be stripped back like a wet fly or small streamer.
  • Choose bead and rig weight for current speed and landing delicacy; the page's exact photograph does not establish hidden ballast.
04

Mistakes to avoid

  • Leaving the paired white biot V-wing out of the identification or flattening it against the body.
  • Confusing the exact Prince with the American Pheasant Tail comparison; their tail, body, wing-case, and thorax architecture differ.
  • Calling the Bitch Creek comparison a Prince; it is a separately named rubber-leg stonefly attractor.
  • Treating bead-head, unweighted original, Psycho Prince, jig, or other modern versions as one unlabeled recipe.
  • Using one exact photograph plus two comparisons as though the gallery contains three exact Prince views.

At the vise

Tie this version.

Bead Head Prince Nymph — FFI Silver Award form · intermediate

This is the FFI bead-head evaluation form, not the unweighted 1966 recipe. Doug Prince's archived original uses no bead and spans #6–12; Orvis's bead-head recipe may add lead wire and spans #4–18. Keep bead, lead, jig, flash, and Psycho Prince changes explicit.

Materials

Hook
1X-long nymph hook; FFI demonstrates Dai-Riki 060, size 12
Thread
Black 6/0 or 8/0
Bead
Gold bead sized to the hook; FFI specifies 2.8–3mm for size 12
Tail
Paired brown biots
Rib
Fine oval gold tinsel or small flat gold tinsel
Body
Three or four peacock herls for the demonstrated size, reinforced as a rope
Hackle
Fairly rigid brown hen or softer brown rooster hackle
Wing
Paired white biots
Finish
Head cement on the thread wraps behind the bead

Steps

  1. Slide on a correctly sized bead, build and cement a short thread dam so the bead neither overhangs the eye nor wobbles, then seat it at the eye.
  2. Reattach thread behind the bead and lay an even base to the position above the barb.
  3. Use a small thread bump to splay paired brown biots into a centered V about half a shank long; bind the stems forward, then tie the gold rib along the shank back to the tail point.
  4. Tie in three or four peacock herls, reinforce them into a rope, and wrap touching turns forward to the bead.
  5. Wind four or five evenly spaced gold-rib turns over the herl body and secure behind the bead.
  6. Tie in the brown hackle by its butt, make only one or two turns, then sweep and secure the fibers rearward in wet-fly style.
  7. Mount the two white biots over the back so they form a V at about 30 degrees and reach the rear body or tail tie-in area; secure each against the bead, trim, whip-finish, and cement.

Tying sources: Fly Tying Skills Award — Silver Award Handbook ↗, 1981 Buz Buszek Memorial Award — Doug Prince ↗, How to Tie the Beadhead Prince Nymph ↗

Common variations

Small changes can make a different fly.

One verified, non-AI photograph shows an exact source-identified Bead Head Prince Nymph. The other two photographs are separately named American Pheasant Tail and Bitch Creek Nymph identity comparisons—not Prince variations and not additional exact angles. No duplicate crop is used to overstate exact-photo coverage.

Bead Head Prince Nymph

A source-identified exact bead-head form with visible white biot V-wing, peacock body, brown biot tail, swept hackle, gold rib, and bead.
Colors shown
peacock, white, brown, gold
Weighting
A bead is visible; the photograph does not establish bead material, mass, or any hidden lead.

American Pheasant Tail identity contrast

A separately named slim nymph whose fiber body and wing case demonstrate why brown color alone does not make a Prince.
Colors shown
brown, copper
Weighting
Comparison only; not a Prince Nymph.

Bitch Creek Nymph identity contrast

A separately named broad stonefly attractor with a woven body and long rubber legs.
Colors shown
black, yellow, brown, pale rubber
Weighting
Comparison only; not a Prince Nymph. No hidden ballast can be established from the photograph.

Related patterns

General Nymph Patterns ↗Stonefly Nymph Patterns ↗Pheasant Tail Nymph ↗Caddis Larva Patterns ↗

How this guide was checked

Fly information and photo sources.

Guide checked on 2026-07-13. Every image has its own source and usage record. Natural insects and hand-tied flies can vary in shape and proportion.

Pattern sources

Orvis NewsHow to Tie the Beadhead Prince Nymph↗Fly Fishers InternationalFly Tying Skills Award — Silver Award Handbook↗Fly Fishers International1981 Buz Buszek Memorial Award — Doug Prince↗

Image credits