Copper John
by Tom Knoth

The Copper John was developed by John Barr and is quickly becoming one of the most popular nymphs ever.  It is representative of several insects including mayflies, caddis, midges, and stoneflies.

This fly emerged in 2001 as the number-one seller in the Umpqua catalog, the successor to the Hare's Ear and Prince as the first nymph anglers pull out of the box.  Laced with lead and copper wire and sporting a flash of color to augment a basic mayfly profile, this pattern dives quickly to the strata where trout feed and hold.

In the beginning, the body of Barr's fly was natural copper, but he later added patterns with red, green, and black wire to his fly box. He's now been experimenting with chartreuse, blue, and silver with good success.  When in doubt, the copper-wire Copper John is a good choice.  At times it pays to show fish many colors to see which one works, but you can also match the size and color of the Copper John to insects that have been, are, or will be emerging.

Chartreuse, for example is a great color to imitate emerging caddis pupa on the Lower Stanislaus River and Tuolumne Rivers, and is just a great general attractor color, to boot.  It is a good early season color and ideal for overcast days.  The Red Copper John (#16) is a great summer pattern and for reasons unknown is quite effective during PMD and Yellow Sally hatches.  In smaller sizes, Red Copper Johns also imitate Chironomid larvae.  Small (#18-20) Black Copper Johns are ideal for fall when Trico and Baetis hatches are in full swing, and black is always a good low light conditions color as well.

The Copper John is also an effective lake fly and be cast and retrieved or kick trolled as a dropper behind a larger streamer pattern or wooly bugger.  Tied in silver, it imitates a small baitfish and can be deadly on bass.  It is of note that this also quickly becoming a popular fly at Lake Pyramid, where it is typically fished under an indicator when there is some chop on the water.

Online Tutorial for Copper John

Go back to Groveland Fly Tyers page