This simple yet colorful dry fly attractor pattern was designed as a tribute to Jared McClanahan’s uncle who was killed in action as a soldier with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam.
- Hook: #12-16 dry fly
- Thread: Red
- Tail: Lady Amherst Pheasant Tippets
- Wing: White Duck Slips
- Rib: Silver Mylar Tinsel
- Body: Red Floss
- Hackle: Yellow
I’ve got an interesting pattern for you today, folks. A couple months ago I did a name the fly contest on the channel. The winning name for that one ended up being the Lemon Drop, which I think is a pretty cool name, but Jared McClanahan left a comment and said he’d like to name it the Tropic Lightning. He told me the backstory of his uncle, a soldier with the Tropic Lightning (the Army’s 25th Infantry Division), which is a pretty historic division dating back from before World War II to current day.
Jared’s uncle was a soldier with the 25th Infantry Division, also called the Tropic Lightning. And his uncle was very much a hero in Vietnam. The division’s HQ came under attack and while a lot of lives were lost that day, his uncle saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. He was actually recommended for the Medal of Honor. It was downgraded to a silver star, awarded posthumously as sadly, his uncle lost his life during the raid.
Jared and I emailed back and forth a few times, both coming up with designs on a pattern that we could call the Tropic Lightning. Now what we came up with is not a terribly complex pattern. It’s kind of a generic mayfly form, but it’s very much an attractor dry fly. If I catch anything with this this spring, I’ll certainly let you know. But if not, it was still a pretty fun one to tie and a pretty cool one to look at. So Jared, thank you for sharing your uncle’s story and helping me come up with this tribute fly.