The Fastest Way to the Bottom.
In Euro nymphing, depth is everything. If you’re not ticking the bottom, you’re usually not in the fish’s feeding lane. The Perdigon style was developed by Spanish competition anglers to solve exactly that problem: get a small fly down fast. Stripping away fur and feathers in favor of a sleek epoxy-coated body lets this fly cut through current with less drag than a bulkier nymph, reaching depth quickly instead of getting pushed around by surface flow.
Why Size #20
Midges and Baetis nymphs are often genuinely tiny, and on water where trout see a lot of pressure, a size #14 or #16 can get refused while a much smaller profile gets eaten without hesitation. This size #20 version matches that smaller scale, which makes it a useful option for winter fishing when trout aren’t moving far to feed, low and clear water where fish inspect everything closely, and tailwaters where the same fish see thousands of flies a season.
Built to Hold Its Shape
The body is wrapped with ultra-fine wire ribbing and sealed under a hard UV-cure resin coating, which resists the fraying and color loss that affects unsealed thread or dubbing bodies over time. It’s tied on a curved nymph hook with a downturned eye, a standard, reliable shape for small nymphs, and the point is barbless for quicker, easier releases.
Two Colors
Olive reads as a natural Baetis or Blue-Winged Olive nymph. It’s the better choice in clear water or against fish that have been fooled by brighter patterns before.
Orange works as more of an attractor, giving off a bit of extra contrast in stained water or when you want the fly to stand out as the anchor point in a multi-fly rig.
How to Fish It
Run it as a dropper on a Euro nymph rig, 14 to 18 inches below a heavier point fly like a Glow Attractor Perdigon or Tungsten Frenchie Nymph, tied on 6X or 7X fluorocarbon tippet to keep the rig as fine as the fly itself. Lead it downstream at the speed of the current and watch your sighter closely. At this size, takes are often subtle, a slight pause or a faint tick rather than anything dramatic.
Common Questions
Is a #20 too small to fish comfortably? It takes a slightly finer leader setup and tighter knots than a #14 or #16, but it fishes the same way. Most anglers who fish technical tailwaters regularly end up carrying a few in this size.
Olive or orange, which first? Olive for clear water and pressured fish. Orange if you want a brighter attractor or you’re fishing it as part of a multi-fly rig where visibility matters more than a perfect match.
Will the resin body hold up over time? Yes, reasonably well. The hard coating resists fraying better than an unsealed thread body, though like any small fly it will eventually need replacing after extended use on rocky bottoms.
What tippet should I use? 6X or 7X fluorocarbon is standard for a fly this size. Heavier tippet can look unnatural and may not pass through the eye cleanly.
Specs
| Color | Hook Length | Hook Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Olive | 9mm | 3mm |
| Orange | 9mm | 3mm |
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Hook | Curved nymph hook, downturned eye, chemically sharpened, barbless |
| Size | #20 |
| Bead | Slotted tungsten, mottled finish |
| Body | Ultra-fine wire ribbing under UV-cure resin coating |
| Colors Available | Olive, Orange |
| Target Species | Brown, Rainbow, Brook Trout, Grayling |
| Water Type | Tailwaters, spring creeks, technical low-water conditions |
These are proper competition-style flies. Slim, fast, deadly.
The finish on these is really impressive — smooth, hard, and shiny. That’s what makes a perdigon work and these get it right. I use these when I need to cover a lot of water fast because they swing into position quickly and efficiently.
These are arts, the smallest flies I’ve ever use
Size 20 perdigon is not easy to tie well. I know because I’ve tried. The epoxy finish on these is smooth all the way down to the bend — no lumps, no thin spots. That matters because any imperfection in the finish changes how the fly sinks and moves. On picky fish in clear water, this level of detail is the difference between getting takes and getting refusals.