Rainbow Warrior - Tungsten

The Rainbow Warrior is a flashy little attractor nymph that suggests small mayflies, midges, and emerging bugs without getting locked into one exact insect. Think of it as a tiny underwater attention-getter for trout that are feeding subsurface but not handing out a menu.

It has a slender profile and a tungsten bead, so it sinks quickly and gets into the strike zone fast. As it drops deeper, the flash actually starts looking more realistic—not less—because many aquatic insects have shiny, reflective exoskeletons. Down in the water column, that little bit of shimmer can look like a natural bug drifting by, not just a shiny bead with ambition.

Ours has an Antron tail that gives the fly more of an emerging presence. That little trailing material adds the look of movement and vulnerability, like a bug starting to break free from its shuck. Trout love an easy meal, and “almost escaped but not quite” is basically the buffet line.

Fish it when trout are eating small nymphs, midges, or emergers, especially in faster runs, seams, riffles, pocket water, and deeper feeding lanes. It’s also a strong choice when the water has a little chop, depth, or color and you want a small fly that still gets noticed.

Fish it under an indicator, as a dropper, or on a tight-line/Euro nymph rig. Because the tungsten bead helps it sink fast, it works well behind a lighter fly or as part of a two-nymph setup. Keep the drift natural and near the bottom—this fly is flashy, but it still needs to act like food, not a parade float.