tying

The Pupatator: A Fly for All Seasons

By Jeff Morgan

A general purpose attractor nymph, the Pupatator has proved itself all around the West. One version is a decent October caddis imitation.

egardless of the season, weather, stream, or size of trout, there is one fly I swear by day in and day out. It imitates nothing in particular, but I have caught trout with it in over 12 states and two Canadian provinces. That fly is the Pupatator.

Originated by guide Jack Hagan, this pattern was one of my first assignments to tie for his family's shop, Northwest Flyfishing Outfitters in Portland, Oregon. When I first saw the Pupatator, I was pretty skeptical. It was, big and ungainly. And what did it imitate? I had a few rejects left over, so I took them to the Crooked River and tried them out. While five other anglers in the area caught nothing, I caught over a dozen trout, all on the Pupatator.

Still a little doubtful, I took some to Montana's Clark Fork River in February. In 10 consecutive afternoons on the water, I landed more trout than I could count. I was using a three-fly rig and tied about 20 different patterns. All but four of the trout took the Pupatator!

That was it, I was hooked for life. Now, I routinely go through over 10 dozen a season in my own fishing or what I give to friends to use. It is almost always the point nymph on any rig I start out with when I have to fish nymphs blind (about 80% of the time on the water). I actually use the fly and promote it more than Jack, and he invented it!

All-Purpose Attractor

I still don't know what the heck the Pupatator imitates, and it is one of very, very few flies that I fish that doesn't have an entomological equivalent. As I always say, 40% of trout are receptive to attractors of some sort. All 40% seem to agree that the Pupatator is attractive to them.

Variations on a Theme

While the Pupatator can be tied in several sizes, I prefer it in size 8. The best hook is the Dai Riki 135, though it can be tied on a Dai Riki 070 or a Mustad 3906B in size 8 or 10.

The greatest problem with these flies is caused by the large beadhead chafing and rubbing on the thread. It is essential to add cement to the patterns, AND to make sure your beads do not have small inconsistencies that will quickly chew up the thread. "Cyclops Beads" brand is notoriously bad for doing this.

The original pattern was simply black biot tails, black rabbit body, silver rib, partridge hackle, and gold bead. While I don't fish the original as much as I used to, it's still a productive pattern. I added a few more twists to it, including the Ice-dub body and goose biot cheeks, to make the Improved Pupatator. On some of the patterns, I also add a chartreuse or red butt and a second black bead for faster sinking.

The Peacock Pupatator is the most popular variation. The only change I made to it is the Ice-dub body instead of standard peacock. The dubbed version is more durable, plus it looks even buggier after the body is picked out by trout teeth.

While not a close relative, the big Soft Hackle style of the Pupatator inspired the Hizzo, my green drake nymph. There are few flies out there that imitate the bulk and mottled brown-olive look of these husky nymphs, but this one does a pretty good job. I occasionally use it throughout the season, but it sees most of its action in April-June when the natural nymphs are most active.

Finally, the Pupatator crossbred with some English-style nymphs produced the Fuzzball. Most flies are tied for how they look in the shop, but this one is tied because of how it looks underwater. The body--Larva Lace over gold mylar tinsel--looks superb when submerged, and the breathing motion of the ostrich and partridge make it even more believable.

While the Fuzzball can be tied in several colors, I selected this version with the orange body and brown head as it fishes well for the upcoming arrival of October caddis pupae.

I hope that you can try the Pupatator, and that it brings you as much success as I have had with it. I also hope that showing all these "variations" will show you how effective tinkering with standard patterns can be, and how borrowing themes and aspects of various patterns helps you achieve new breakthroughs.

Patterns and Tying Instructions

Click these links for the flies and tying instructions:

Pupatator
Improved Pupatator
Peacock Pupatator
Hizzo
Fuzzball

Jeff Morgan has written many articles for Westfly, mostly on entomology and fly tying. He is the author of An Angler's Guide to the Oregon Cascades and Small Stream Fly Fishing. Jeff is currently a graduate student at Stanford University, where he is finishing his PhD in History.