The Nuke Egg is considered by many to be an "advanced" egg fly pattern, meaning it offers more than the single dimension and solid look of the Glo Bug. A thin veil of egg yarn over the nucleus gives the Nuke Egg its translucent appearance and separates this fly from other egg patterns.
As with most other egg patterns, the potential color combinations are endless. Some favorites are: Chartreuse over Flame, or Flame over Cerise, and Cream over Blue (a big favorite for Steelhead Alley creeks in Ohio). Another perennial favorite is Oregon Cheese over Steelhead Orange, possibly due to the realistic pale veil over an orange egg.
You can use a variety of materials for the nucleus: dubbing, chenille, braids, or McFly Foam. By mixing or blending (by hand or with a coffee grinder), you can create unique patterns with just the right color or touch of sparkle you've been looking for.
Depending on water conditions, whether you are imitating steelhead or salmon eggs and the stage of the egg itself (how long they have been in the water), play around with how sparse you tie this pattern to achieve the right size as well as color and translucency. Most yarns and McFly foam can be thinned out while fishing - just pull some of the veil off, or clip it short with line nippers or hemostats. Notice how natural this fly looks when wet.
This pattern is responsible for putting many fish in the net. Be sure to have a nice selection of these eggs in your fly box.
Nuke Egg Fly Recipe
Hook : TMC 105 #6-10, TMC 2457 #8-12 Gamakatsu C14S #8-12
Thread: Uni 6/0 - color to match veil
Nucleus: Egg Yarn – Steelhead Orange or your choice
Veil: Egg Yarn – White, cream or your choice (should be more pale than nucleus color)
Tying instructions are included in the attached slide show.
Tight lines!
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