There's a reason why articulated streamers are popular – they attract fish. Why not apply the same concept to nymphs? The articulated tail imitates movement of swimming nymphs which attracts the attention of trout. Articulated nymph patterns have been around for quite sometime. Dave Whitlock wrote about the articulated damselfly nymph in the book, “The Fly Tyers Almanac” back in 1975. He found that this pattern presented a life-like action that entices fish to strike.
There are several different ways to attach the tail to the body. Since the hook bend is on the front, I felt a 15 pound mono attaching both parts would suffice. Another option would be to place the hook in the back instead of the front. If this was the case, I would use heavy wire connecting the two and securing with some glue.
Pheasant Tail nymphs should be in every fisher's fly box. They imitate a variety of nymphs and can be tied with or without a bead head. Change the color of the pheasant tail and dubbing as you like. Instead of dubbing, you can also use peacock herl.