Tying the Holy Grail Nymph (caddis pupa fly pattern)

I found this pattern in Nick Carter's "Fly Fisher's Guide to North Carolina and Georgia." A very popular and effective fly pattern that can be tied to imitate almost any kind of caddis pupa.
Hook: #12-16 curved shank
Bead: 2.4 mm
Thread: Red
Rib: Opal or pearlescent tinsel
Body: Hare's mask dubbing
Wingcase: Pheasant tail fibers
Hackle: Partridge
** Some of the popular books used on this channel: **
Fly Pattern Encyclopedia: amzn.to/34U0rUe
Mike Valla's "Tying the Founding Flies," 2015, amzn.to/354oSir
Valla's "Tying and Fishing Bucktails..." 2016, amzn.to/3Jg2Mys
Valla's "Tying Catskill-Style Dry Flies," 2020, amzn.to/3DmYOjJ
Valla's "Classic Streamer Fly Box," 2020, amzn.to/3n3Vakf
Dave Hughes, "Essential Trout Flies," 2017, amzn.to/3lbCZYX
Hughes, "Nymphs for Streams and Stillwaters," amzn.to/3HC2jpc
Hughes, "Wet Flies," 2015, amzn.to/33ac3lQ
David Klausmeyer's "Favorite Flies," 2020, amzn.to/3oeSNMa
Randle Scott Stetzer's "Flies, the Best One Thousand," amzn.to/34Q15mp
Terry Hellekson's "Popular Fly Patterns," 1976, amzn.to/2L4IyvS
Dick Stewart's, "Flies for Bass and Panfish," 1992, amzn.to/3aGpFs1
Savage Flies is a project with the mission of encouraging and teaching fly tying to as many people as possible. The channel is named after one of my western Maryland homewaters, the Savage River. Thanks for stopping by.

[@jbpipes9551]

Another great pattern. One thing I like about your style of tying is the realistic approach to obstacles that we all encounter. Keep 'em coming!

[@SavageFlies]

Well thank you JB! I've never claimed to be anything other than a recreational tier who started a KZbin channel a couple years ago! Besides, there are plenty of experts out there who tie beautiful, flawless flies. I'm just not that guy. Maybe someday. :-)

[@tubbyguyoutdoors]

Heard of it never tied it . Going to have to add this one to my box . Thanks for sharing

[@FlyTyer1948]

A very good choice. Adding a collar in front of a bead can be difficult since the bead blocks the fibers from being stroked rearward. Some work arounds - strip one side of the hackle so it cans be angled backwards when wrapping; fold the hackle before tying it in; or crimp the hackle fibers with your thumbnail if you have already tied it in, & it still won’t lay backward.

[@SavageFlies]

Great tips Bob! This does make me wonder... if we wanted a darker hackle, could we use, say, a dark regular hen feather, but with one side stripped so we're only laying down half the fibers? Maybe. I also thought about trying a starling but it looked like it was going to be a little short and probably wouldn't have as much action as good old partridge.

[@kevinihintz]

Thanks Matt ,looks real good. I fish a carey special that you demonstrated a while ago and I have caught šo many fish on it !!! This fly will be as good or better. Cheers, Kevin , NZ

[@MyItalians]

Fun fly. Like the collar look. It will go in the box. Thanks

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Nich and good luck with it! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@leemowers9395]

Nice looking spider, Muskrat would yield a great looking Dun colored nymph as well. that one should fish well, Good luck in the application foothills. Great video lesson my friend.

[@SavageFlies]

Always appreciate your notes Lee! And good call on muskrat. That would definitely make a nice dun colored natural.

[@soundbwoikilla764]

The holy grail pattern is one of my go-to nymphs for blue ridge brookies. I think one of the reasons it's so effective is that the bead is hidden from weary trout. Plus as you pointed out, it's easy to tie variations. I also tie these with an Indian hen back feather for a full collar instead of the traditional partridge feather.

[@SavageFlies]

Great call on the Indian hen! I thought about trying starling for a smaller size, which might work if I ever want to tie this thing in an 18 or so. But I like the idea of other soft hackles. Thanks for the note!

[@Wyamike734]

Thank you for the video Matt. I will have to give it a try. Have a great week.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Mike! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@bigdaddy99929]

Great fly and fun to tie. Thx Matt!

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Clyde! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@JamieoftheNorth]

Amazing pattern! Have had great success with it on my local rivers here in Maine. Great video, thanks for posting.

[@SavageFlies]

Thanks Jamie! Speaking of Maine, my wife and I just put that on our list of potential vacations for next summer. If I can talk her into heading up in the Airstream to visit the Rangeley region, I'll be a happy guy. :-)

[@JamieoftheNorth]

@@SavageFlies You're going to love it there... classic waters with huge brook trout.

[@tomt5176]

Hi Matt. I’m catching up on some KZbin notifications with my coffee because I was ocean fishing for fluke again yesterday. This little caddis is very nice, but the fluke is a holy grail of summer fishing in NJ. Makes a nice meal too! Be well.

[@SavageFlies]

That sounds like a blast Tom! I need to expand my fishing from trout and the occasional bass/panfish to more species. I do have some Maryland snakehead on the radar but in my two times out, haven't been able to hook one yet. :-)

[@tomt5176]

@@SavageFlies Snakeheads, sounds intriguing and like you’ll need to watch your fingers. This October will find my buddies and I on the flats down in the Bahamas looking for bonefish. If you find yourself there one day and you happen to hook into a bonefish, YOU will be hooked for life - just like us! Always a pleasure viewing and chatting. Be well.

[@burtonbrocious171]

Good tie matt tks for posting 😊

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Burt! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@michaelhanners6745]

I enjoy watching you do your craft. I would love to see some footage of you fishing this fly. And others! Especially in the southern streams.

[@SavageFlies]

Well thank you for these kind words Michael! I'm heading up to Penn's Creek in PA in the morning so with any luck I'll get some footage up there. I know that's not quite southern, but I do try to get down to GA or the Smoky Mountains at least once a year. :-)

[@michaelhanners6745]

@@SavageFlies Penn’s Creek is fine too. 😀

[@Jd-yc3gw]

Good morning Matt. Late ☕️ this morning. Had to take our trailer in for some work before we head out at the end of the week. I like the looks of that fly. That is on my list but I’m going to tie a few with an orange bead and orange thread for our tea stained lakes. My pike fishing was fun on Saturday. Only landed a couple little ones in the 24-28” range. I finally got my tube rigged up so I can use my sonar. Heading up north this Friday and hopefully get some more fishing in. Take care and have a great week.

[@SavageFlies]

Holy cow, "little" ones are 24-28"? That just seems crazy to me! So it's the end of the week... where are you taking the trailer out? We took the Airstream out for the first time a couple weekends ago (I'm officially an RVer now). It was a blast and it just turned my camping/fishing season from spring through fall to all year! I'm already planning my next trip for September. I haven't decided where yet, but it'll be a solo trip somewhere between PA and NY. I can't wait. Well, have a great trip wherever you're headed!

[@Jd-yc3gw]

@@SavageFlies Normally I measure Pile by weight but these were long and narrow ( little arrows) and didn’t have much meat on them. I usually like to keep a few around the 5 lb mark. They are easier to debone and cook up nice. We are headed north about 225 miles to where we used to live. We have a family wedding to attend. We are headed up for a couple weeks so hopefully get some fishing in. I leave my boat up there so we don’t have to haul it back and forth. I’m sure you will like that airstream. RVs make great basecamps for fishing and hunting as long as the roads are decent. We use ours for our snowbird trip to Arizona. Heading back there again this winter.

[@MayheM_72]

I don't have any partridge, but I've used guineafowl, and I like the way the speckled feathers look when you hackle them in a wet fly. (Hey, I'm cheap! LoL!)

[@marshallbaldwin8960]

Great Nymph pattern! Thank you Sir Matt!

[@crowdaddy8355]

One of my best fishing days was with a holy grail. Thanks Matt, nice one right there.

[@SavageFlies]

Cool to hear Chad! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@vrich3733]

Looks like a fish catcher! Thanks Matt!

[@kenb4685]

Great looking fly Matt. Nice tutorial. Thankyou.

[@melchurch3019]

I always like the soft hackle look for movement and natural lines from the feather. Nice tie.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Mel! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@howardmceachern6614]

Excellent fly, Matt. Thanks for the info and knowledge.

[@SavageFlies]

You bet Howard! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@laytonmarvin3790]

This is an awesome pattern, many fish caught with this fly. Thanks Matt for sharing.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Layton! Have a great weekend my friend!

[@diecastrejuvenation7779]

Good looking fly. Should be a fun one to tie. Thanks for sharing Matt!

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Troy! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@davehall2160]

It's one of my favorite flies, Matt and definitely a fish catcher Thanks for the video, Matt

[@SavageFlies]

You bet Dave! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)

[@paulallen7651]

Way to place that bead! Great thread work. The tying just keeps getting better and better. I have too many flies but I’ll whip up a few of these just in case. Greetings from the eastern shore. Thanks Matt.

[@SavageFlies]

Hahaha! Thanks Paul; I appreciate the note. It's amazing how tying 3-4 nights a week for three straight years can improve your tying. I cringe when I go back and watch some of my first videos. They're hard to watch. I'm always asking, "What the heck was I thinking??"

[@huntingmissouri5420]

Good tie Matt! Thanks for sharing. I know I always leave small notes but that's me I don't say much but what I say I mean! Love your channel bud!! I really think you are making a difference in the fly tying world. Your a great teacher! Keep up the good work, I know it's alot of work making videos an getting them edited for the channel! Thanks again bud!

[@rebelsqk]

That fly will catch fish! An can be varied by just changing the dubbing color. Had seen that dubbing rake in a catalog. I did not see nor did it say what was special about it for the price. Now I see. Thanks.

[@SavageFlies]

Wow Franky, thanks so much for this comment! I've been pretty busy lately and haven't always gotten around to responding immediately, but do know that I read all these comments and sincerely appreciate them. You have a great weekend my friend!

[@SavageFlies]

Hey, thanks for the note! And you're right... this Hareline dubbing rake is kind of pricey, but it's different from the others in that it has sharp zirconium blades in between the tines. It really does make it a lot easier to pull out just the right amount of underfur.

[@johnnylightning1491]

Nice fly Matt. I wouldn't say the color combinations are endless for this one but there are a few. Keep the good stuff coming buddy and wish me luck on the tax auction on Thursday.

[@SavageFlies]

Well Dave, it's Thursday night around here. How did the auction go this morning?? If you did land the property, I want to see some pictures!

[@johnnylightning1491]

@@SavageFlies it went for double plus what I was willing to pay so someone else bought it. It would have been nice but I kind of knew I might be out bid. C'est live. Maybe something else will come along.

[@SavageFlies]

@johnnylightning1491 Well good luck on the next one!

[@joeduca8582]

So that's a Holy Grail, now I understand what it's expected to do by it's name. Looks like a Hare's Ear that morphed into another tasty fish treat. I like the bead behind the hackle, props the fibers up so they don't mat on the body. Sort of like that North Country Spider. By the way, that Spider looks like it's tied on a sneck hook. That's an old style hook, do you know when that photo was taken? Good choice for the video Matt, thanks.

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Joe! I've never heard of a sneck hook but it sounds interesting! This spider I snagged for the picture was from Steve Culton's "Current Seams." Tied by Robert Smith and talked about in this article: currentseams.com/2017/02/02/robert-smith-on-tying-north-country-spiders/ (But I didn't see him mention the hook used.) Okay, it's late and I just finished Friday's video. Now off to bed before heading up to the farm after work tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

[@joeduca8582]

@SavageFlies Thanks for the link! Yeah, a long time ago, I read some article about hook styles and how they changed over time. The "sneck" hook had a somewhat squareish bend. It fell out of favor over time. I Googled sneck hook and was surprised to see Mustad still produces them 😳 for fishing in the weeds, they're green hooks. Sounds very UK for "rough" 🎣 fishing. Comes around goes around I guess 🤷.

[@joeduca8582]

@@SavageFlies Thanks Matt, I read about 5 articles from that site, good stuff! 🤓👍

[@joeduca8582]

😃👍

[@hirkojs]

Great video Matt !!! What area in North Carolina are you heading to ? I’m on the coast next to Camp LeJeune & Jacksonville. If you’re ever in my area I’d love to meet up with you and do some fishing

[@SavageFlies]

Absolutely! I'd love to plan a trip someday. The only area I've fished in NC recently has been the southwest (actually in the Great Smoky Mountains). And Bryson City and the Tuckaseegee a couple years ago. But I'm open for any trout waters. :-) My next trip, will be solo camping in the Airstream, possibly up to NY or maybe PA in September. If I head down to GA/NC this year it'll probably be in December. Maybe the Raleigh area, but I haven't planned it that far out. I'll make sure to announce it in a future video when I figure out where I'll be heading.

[@brianhoover2294]

I wonder how this will fish on our local Maryland trout streams???

[@soundbwoikilla764]

This is one of my go-to flies for both brook and brown trout in the small Maryland streams (along with the Guide's Choice nymph). Definitely give it a shot if you've never fished one. The tan that Matt ties has been the best for me, followed by an olive.

[@SavageFlies]

I think this will be as good or better than most bead head nymphs we use around here. I think the coolest feature, that might differentiate it from all the others is the hackle in front of the bead. It's a little bit hidden, and also helps splay out the hackle. I'm looking forward to giving it a try. :-)

[@jimgollach6202]

Nice fly Matt! I use a lot of partridge tieing my nymphs, can be a little tricky handling the feather, but well worth the effort, makes for some nice looking flies, and the fish also think so. Enjoyed watching. 👍

[@SavageFlies]

Appreciate it Jim! Have a great weekend my friend. :-)