San Juan

The San Juan Worm emerged in the 1970s on the San Juan River below Navajo Dam in New Mexico, where it was meant to imitate the river's huge population of aquatic worms (annelids). It is usually credited to fly tyer Jim Aubrey. Scoffed at by purists at first, it has long since become a worldwide standard - not least because it passes just as well for a red midge (chironomid) larva.

The pattern is deliberately simple: a length of red (micro) chenille on a shrimp or curved hook, with the ends fused by a flame. It is fished dead-drift close to the bottom, often as a dropper below a heavier nymph or an indicator; a weighted version carries red copper wire underneath. Especially productive in coloured water, after rain and on cold days when little else is working. It is tied barbless.

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