Photo: Custom illustration. Naturalist Study - Plate No. XIV.
Fly pattern
Copper John
A heavily weighted nymph tied with a copper wire body, flash back, and rubber legs. Designed by John Barr, this fast-sinking attractor nymph is highly popular as a dropper under a buoyant dry fly on fast freestone rivers.
Key points
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Fast-Sinking Profile. The combination of a brass/tungsten bead and lead wire wraps with a segmented copper wire body helps it cut through heavy current to reach the feeding zone quickly fly technique articles 2026 06.
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High Flash. The epoxy or UV-resin coated flash-back and metallic body provide visual attraction in turbulent, oxygenated water.
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Freestone Dropper. Frequently fished as the subsurface fly in a "dry-dropper" rig beneath a chubby chernobyl or stimulator on systems like the elk river.