Pyramid Lake "Tadpole"
by Tom Knoth
For years, the fly of choice at Pyramid Lake was an unweighted wooly bugger, which is still a very popular fly there. An innovative fisherman named Ike Berry started using a simple foam beetle to imitate the many dragonfly nymphs, water beetles, water bugs, and water boatman found in the alkaline waters of Pyramid; and then someone had the idea of adding a marabou tail. "The tadpole" has since proven to be more effective than the beetle and the wooly bugger.
Besides being attractive to the fish, the bouyancy of the fly keeps it above the weedy bottom of Pyramid while it is fished with a sinking line. A popular tandem fly rig is a wooly bugger followed by tadpole. I've also had very good luck by fishing different colored tadpoles in tandem. Type 3 to type 6 line or (or shooting heads) are typically best.
Although may colors work for this fly, three standouts are 1) Black, and 2) Green with Black or Brown Tail, 3) White (also known as a "Popcorn Beetle"), and 4) White over Pink or Chartruese (with White Tail). Recent Trends for the tadpole are the use of flashy foams such as "Loco Foam" as well as the use of flash in the tail.
Hook |
TMC 2457, size 8 |
Thread |
6/0, color to match body |
Tail |
Marabou in color of choice, Krystal Flash to match (optional) |
Shell Back |
2 mm Foam, color of choice |
Body |
Cactus Chenille or Estaz, color of choice |
Head |
Shell Back Foam tied down over body and clipped to shaped head |