Size 12 Montana Prince Nymphs

If you could only carry one nymph, the Prince would be on every short list. Doug Prince's pattern has been a staple since the 1930s because it suggests everything and imitates nothing in particular — trout read it as a stonefly nymph, a caddis larva, or just something alive and worth eating.

This size 12 is the workhorse of the family: heavy enough to get down in riffles and pocket water, buggy enough to draw strikes when nothing obvious is hatching. The peacock herl body flashes iridescent green and bronze with every twitch, and the white goose-biot wings give it the unmistakable Prince silhouette that trout key on.

Fish it year-round as your lead fly in a tandem nymph rig, dead-drifted along the bottom under an indicator — or tight-line it Euro-style through seams and drop-offs. In sizes this large it also doubles as a stonefly imitation during early-season stonefly activity. When in doubt, tie on a Prince.