Maholo Nymph

 ~By: Lance Dean | May 5th, 2024

Maholo Nymph

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bout a decade ago, I came across an article by Ben Smith of Arizona Wanderings.  He wrote a post about a fly commonly used at Pyramid Lake. The fly had a gold bead, ice dubbing thorax and utilized pheasant tail for legs and a tail. The part of the fly that stood out the most to me was the holographic tinsel it sported for an abdomen. The post was titled “Fly Tying: The Maholo Nymph.” 

After reading his tutorial, I did want is common for me to do when finding a cool new fly and looked it up on the internet. I discovered the “Maholo Nymph” was created by Rob Anderson of “Pyramid Lake Fly Fishing.” I found Rob’s email on his website and emailed him about his pattern. He sent me a couple pictures and explained that the “holo” in Maholo was for the holographic tinsel found on his pattern. I thanked him and then proceeded to obtain the suggested materials for the Maholo Nymph. 

A few months later it was brought to my attention at one of Rob Anderson’s Pyramid Lake gatherings that the Maholo Nymph was just a Pheasant Tail Nymph with a Holo-Tinsel body. It’s interesting to me how one simple change can make a world of difference with how a fly looks. (We see this in so many flies today) As the gathering continued, I was also made aware that the name “Maholo” was derived from the Hawaiian word for thank you (Mahalo) and the holographic tinsel wrapped around the body. It was then mentioned that when a giant Lahontan Cutthroat eats your fly, you say THANK YOU!

Another pattern that I have found that is the same fly is the Lightning Bug, it to uses tinsel as its abdomen, just not holographic tinsel. So now there is the Pheasant Tail, the Lightning Bug, and the Maholo Nymph as the same fly with subtle differences.

The Maholo Nymph is as simple to tie as a Pheasant Tail Nymph. Place the bead on the hook, wraps a few wraps of lead or lead-free wire, tie in the tail, and tie in the holo-tinsel. Then wrap the holo-tinsel up the fly to create an abdomen. One the abdomen is created tie in a piece of mirage opal tinsel for the wingcase. Then dub a thorax and pull and secure the mirage opal tinsel over the top of the thorax. Whip finish to complete the fly.

The colors options for the Maholo Nymph are unlimited. I like the Orignal red, wine with a white bead, black and blue. Yes blue, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I believe the blue is an under-utilized color for our flies.

VIDEO:

Fly Tying: The Maholo Nymph - Arizona WanderingsArizona Wanderings (azwanderings.com)