When to use it
- When the local food form, size, water type, and target depth support the exact pattern or family member.
- Use the linked river report as seasonal context, then verify what is present before choosing size and weight.
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Reviewed technical illustration← Fly Box
Nymph · guide 137
Rainbow Warrior
Lance Egan's compact pearl-and-red attractor nymph with a metallic bead, pheasant-tail tail, flashy body, and dubbed thorax.
- Common size
- #12–22 in the reviewed recipe; often #18–20
- Colors reviewed
- pearl, red, silver, rainbow-tan thorax
- Imitates
- small mayfly nymph, midge pupa, general micro-attractor
The reviewed form uses a silver tungsten bead, red thread, short pheasant-tail tail, pearl Flashabou abdomen and wing case, rainbow dubbing thorax, and red hot-spot collar. Glass-bead, black, and all-pearl versions remain labeled.
Technical illustration
Identification views
Rainbow Warrior reviewed side profile
A schematic profile emphasizing metallic bead and short pheasant-tail tail.
- View
- reviewed side profile
- Color shown
- pearl body, silver bead, red thread, pheasant-tail tail, and rainbow-tan thorax
- Look for
- metallic bead; short pheasant-tail tail; pearl abdomen and wing case; red hot-spot collar
On the water
Understand it. Then fish it.
The river, depth, insects, and fish behavior still decide the final presentation. These are reviewed starting points—not a claim about what is happening today.
How to fish it
- Start with a natural drift at the depth fish are using; add a controlled lift, swing, or short movement only when the food form supports it.
- Adjust depth and drift before treating a bead color or hot spot as the deciding factor.
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating every similarly colored fly as Rainbow Warrior.
- Letting a generic size, bead, jig, or dropper label erase the pattern's actual body profile and life-stage cues.
Variant control
Small changes matter.
Three reviewed technical illustrations show the identified profile, construction, and fishing orientation. Hook brand, bead mass, color, size, and regional tying choices remain labeled variables.
Reviewed identified form
The reviewed form uses a silver tungsten bead, red thread, short pheasant-tail tail, pearl Flashabou abdomen and wing case, rainbow dubbing thorax, and red hot-spot collar. Glass-bead, black, and all-pearl versions remain labeled.- Colors shown
- pearl, red, silver, rainbow-tan thorax
- Weighting
- Bead material, underbody weight, hook orientation, and rig weight determine sink rate; a family name does not.
Review trail
Sources, rights, and limits.
Pattern facts were reviewed on 2026-07-12. Every image has its own rights record; photographed hand-tied flies may still vary slightly in proportion.