The origins of this pattern are unclear, although it had existed as a wet fly, and the nymph , was probably just a logical evolution of that. Likewise are the dry fly patterns, and the color variations, that now bear the name Hare's Ear. The effectiveness of this pattern are unquestionned, it has caught virtually every game fish under the sun, in all kinds of condtions.
The #1 selling nymph in the world, has spawned the adage 'when in doubt fish a Hare's Ear.' A good rule for any fly fisher to remember. The Hare's Ear stands out as a perfect imitation of nothing, yet an impression of many things. It is buggy and shaggy, and has the benefit of becoming even more effective the more it is fished. As fish strike this pattern its 'shagginess' and 'bugginess' improve. It's gold ribbing add flash for attraction, and segmentation for realsim. The classic nymph shape matches both mayfly and stonefly nymph silouhettes, and the color and solid charactersitics make it a nice caddis imitation as well.
Beginning fly tiers will do themselves well to master this fly. For not only is it a great place to learn the art of dubbing, it is also the classic shape that will be replicated again and again. As mentioned above, another great quality of the Hare's Ear is all its varations. Natural, black and olive are commonly available. As is the extremely popular Beadhead variety. The Hare's Ear wet fly is an excellent emerger pattern. And as a dry fly the Hare's Ear rivals the Adams in all purpose utility.
No matter what your destination or intended pray is, we heartily recommend checking you boxes before heading out and make sure you are well stocked with these guys. It is one pattern you don't want to leave home without.
About the Author
Cameron Larsen is a retired commericial fly tier and fly fishing guide. He now operates The Big Y Fly Company. http://www.bigyflyco.com/flyfishinghome.html He can be reached at info@bigyflyco.com. This article will appear in the Big Y Fly Fishing E-Zine at Http://www.bigyflyco.com/Bigyflyfishingezine.html