How To Tie Egan’s Thread Frenchie Fly

Learn how to tie Egan's Thread Frenchie, including step-by-step instructions, a video tutorial, and a material list below. Improve your fly-tying skills here.

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Egan's Thread Frenchie is a sleek and effective Euro nymph pattern designed by Lance Egan, built to imitate small mayfly nymphs and other aquatic insects. Its sparse profile, vibrant hot spot, and tungsten bead ensure it sinks quickly, making it ideal for tight-line or Euro nymphing techniques in fast-moving water. The fly excels in pressured waters and clear conditions, where its minimalist design fools wary trout. Whether used as a point fly or a dropper in a nymphing rig, the Thread Frenchie is a versatile and deadly addition to any angler's box.

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Material list:

• Hook: Hanak Competition 450BL Jig Superb Hooks (size: 12)
• Thread: UTC Ultra Thread 70 Denier (color: olive & red)
• Bead: Hanak Competition Round+ Slotted Tungsten Beads (3.5mm)
• Body: UTC Brassie Ultra Wire
• Collar: Hareline UV Ice Dub (color: Hot Orange #187)
• Resin: Solarez Bone Dry Plus UV-Cure Fly Tying Resin
• Tail: Whiting Coq De Leon Tailing Pack

Video Transcript

Hey guys, Jarrett with Trident Fly Fishing and today we're gonna be tying another great Euro fly. We're gonna tie Lance Egan's Frenchie, but the thread version. It's basically a Frenchie, but with thread. It's easier, quicker, and better. Enough said.

In the vise today I have a Hanak Competition C450BL in a size 12 and then a copper bead to match. For thread I'm gonna use UTC olive thread, and this is in 70 denier. What we're gonna do here is just start this on the hook. I'm just gonna use my thread to seat my bead there, and I'm gonna bring my thread down halfway and then just break that off.

For a tail, like most Euro flies, we're gonna use Coq de Leon. I have this in a medium speckled. You could probably use a couple different colors, anything from medium to dark to ginger, whatever your preference is. You're gonna need about six fibers for the tail. You can use a little more, a little less. Don't use seven, it's bad luck.

I want the tail to be about the length of my hook shank, maybe a little less. What I like to do here is just kind of put it on there, check my length, and then adjust it if I need to. I want that tiny bit shorter, so I'm just gonna come in here, take that out, continue down the hook shank, make sure my tail is good, and bring this back up.

I'm gonna tie in my wire. For wire, I'm gonna use UTC copper wire in the brassie size. This also looks cool with this color combo if you use olive wire, but I'm using copper because it matches the bead. Right into that slot there, bring this back, all the way back. Don't cheat yourself. We're gonna keep this super, super thin, so nice tight turns right up the hook shank. Tie that off - one, two, one in front - and then we should be able to just helicopter this off.

I have my body formed. I'm just gonna whip finish. Two turns, but tight. Make sure you don't have a tag, because our next step here is to coat this body with Solarez Bone Dry. This stuff's super thin. You want to make sure that you don't use too much of it. What I like to do is let all the excess drip off my brush, and then coat the fly. I just want to make sure all my thread wraps are covered. For durability and hydrodynamics, this thing should sink wicked quick.

Once we've got that covered up, we're gonna hit it with the light. Do want to make sure that this is fully dry before I start tying again.

The next thing I'm gonna do is start UTC 70 in red this time. This is gonna be our final thread, and it's gonna form our collar. A couple wraps, get rid of that tag. And then I'm gonna put a hot spot in of UV Ice Dub in orange.

This is extremely important - this is the difference between a production fly and a well-tied fly, in my opinion at least. You want to make sure that you break this up a tiny bit so it's shorter. And then when I dub this on, I'm gonna make sure it's dubbed super tight. It's gonna be a very, very thin, sparse noodle. Super tight. I got too much there, but it's pretty much what I want. Tighten that up, and then I'm gonna create my collar here and whip finish.

The last thing I'm gonna do is get my Solarez back out and just dab this in here. I just want to get it on my collar a tiny bit. I don't want to get it into my eye. Hit it with the light, and it should be good to go.

Great Euro nymph pattern, guys. You can tie it in a ton of different colors, and you just saw how quick and easy it is to tie. Thanks for watching guys, and we'll see you next time.