Nymph
Perdigon
Short answer
The Perdigon is an euro-nymph that imitates mayfly nymphs, fished as a fast-sinking competition pattern. It is usually tied in sizes 14 to 20. Fish it year round, and particularly valuable in fast, deep water and in cold months when fish hold hard on the bottom.
Nymph Intermediate #14-#20
Spanish fly. Slim, sinks fast. 'Perdigon' = pellet/shot (as in ammo). Many color patterns to imitate different insects.
Printed on the 5 of diamonds
The Perdigon came out of European competition fishing, where getting a fly to the correct depth in the shortest possible distance is the entire game. The body is thread and tinsel coated in UV resin, which makes it hard, smooth and completely non-absorbent. Water slides off it rather than dragging on it, and with a tungsten bead it drops through a run like a stone.
That sink rate changes what is possible. In a fast, deep pocket where a conventional dubbed nymph would still be in the upper third of the water column by the time it left the seam, a Perdigon is on the bottom in the first meter. It puts the fly in front of fish that most anglers never reach.
The hot spot — a band of bright thread behind the bead — is doing real work. In broken water it gives a trout a point of focus, and in competition testing the difference between a hot-spotted and plain version is consistent enough that almost nobody ties them plain any more.
What does a Perdigon imitate?
Mayfly nymphs, fished as a fast-sinking competition pattern.
How do you fish a Perdigon?
Built for tight-line and Euro-nymphing: short casts upstream, rod tip leading the fly, contact maintained throughout, no indicator. Also works well as the anchor in a conventional indicator rig.
When should you fish a Perdigon?
Year round, and particularly valuable in fast, deep water and in cold months when fish hold hard on the bottom.
What are the quick tips for fishing it?
- Tungsten, not brass. The whole point is sink rate.
- A hot spot in orange, pink or chartreuse consistently outfishes a plain body.
- Keep the profile slim — bulk defeats the purpose of the fly.
How is a Perdigon tied?
- Hook: jig or competition nymph, #14-#20
- Bead: slotted tungsten
- Tail: coq de Leon fibres
- Body: thread with tinsel rib, coated in UV resin
- Hot spot: fluorescent thread collar behind the bead
Dressings vary by tier and region. Treat this as the common recipe, not the only one.
Fishes well alongside
The physical version
Perdigon is 5 of diamonds in the deck.
All 54 flies, drawn by hand, on Genuine Bicycle Rider Back stock with the patented Air-Cushion finish. A reference you can actually deal out — which was rather the point.
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