Lance Egan's Frenchie has become the gold standard in the nymphing world over the last several years and is now nearly as popular as the time-tested Pheasant Tail Nymph from which it draws inspiration. You can vary the size and weight of the pattern to sweep the water column from top to bottom and mimic a variety of mayfly nymphs from large green drakes to diminutive blue winged olives. The first time I ever fished the Frenchie it hooked ungodly numbers of whitefish and several nice cutthroat on the Chewuch River and it's been a regular producer of trout for me ever since. My one complaint about the fly, if there is one, is that the brittle pheasant tail ultimately succumbs to the rigors of fish teeth and is eventually torn to shreds, despite my best attempts to reinforce it with a layer of super glue before wrapping the body and counter ribbing with wire over the top.
When Semperfli introduced their Gel Core Body Micro Fritz, I took one look and imagined a universe in which tens of dozens of trout could devour a Frenchie and only just barely scuff it up. The Micro Fritz comes in a wide array of colors and, just as I'd hoped, will take a licking and keep on ticking. The rootbeer color as an abdomen is a pretty close match for the pheasant tail Frenchie and has proven equally effective. In addition, I've tied them using olive, black, gray, peacock green and purple Micro Fritz. The purple Fritzy Frenchie has accounted for a lot of fish through the seasons and remains my favorite of the bunch. It's easy to tie and beyond durable, earning it a prominent place in my nymph box.
Just as with the original Frenchie, it's worthwhile to alter the hot spot collar dubbing on some of your patterns. I like chartreuse, UV orange, UV shrimp pink, fluorescent hot pink and UV pink Ice Dub as options. It's a minor adjustment but as we've all experienced in fly fishing, on some days the devil is in the details and trout will favor a particular color over others.
Purple Fritzy Frenchie Recipe:
Hook: #14 Fulling Mill Jig Force
Bead: 3.2mm Gold Fulling Mill Slotted Tungsten
Thread: 70 Denier Red Ultra Thread
Tail: Medium Pardo Coq de Leon
Rib: Small Copper Ultra Wire
Body: Purple Semperfli Gel Core Body Micro Fritz
Hot Spot: UV Pink Ice Dub