The Pink Squirrel is the creation of John Bethke of Wisconsin, who says that the pattern was born of his desire to create a nymph that wasn’t an exact imitation of anything but would catch trout nearly all the time. Since the fly first appeared in the early 2000s, it has proven itself in the Driftless Area and everywhere else trout swim.
Bethke’s pattern calls for a strand or two of Krystal Flash, but Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions ties it without the tail. In this great video, Tim walks you through his tying process, which is simple and elegant. If you want a refresher course on how to make a dubbing loop, watch Tim’s video on that topic.
Pink Squirrel Variant
Hook: Scud/pupa hook (here, a Dai-Riki #135), sizes 12 through 18.
Bead: Gold tungsten bead, 3/32-inch.
Thread: Black or bright pink, 8/0 or 70-denier.
Rib: Red Ultra Wire, small.
Adhesive #1: Dubbing Wax.
Body: Tan Antron, natural fox-squirrel, and olive Ice Dub mixed in a 4:2:1 ratio.
Thorax: Pink Ultra Chenille, micro.
Adhesive #2: Head cement (here, Sally Hansen Hard-As-Nails).
Tools: Plunger-style hackle pliers, dubbing whirl, whip-finisher.
I have been tying this nymph for the Lake Taupo (NZ) steelheads. It is of interest that a similar nymph called the Galah (after the Australian parrot prime colours) with a natural rabbit body and a pink thorax was created by Adrian Bell of Christchurch and used by me, Adrian and his brother Malcolm, on the Tongariro river in 1984. I still use the Galah for steelheads and I do like John Bethke’s nymph and will use it in March 2023 on my next trip to the Tongariro river.
kind regards
Brian Moyse