The Traditional Pale Morning Dun continues to prove itself as a top producing pattern. This basic pattern floats well , is durable and has a silhouette fish love. These characteristics will keep this pattern in fly boxes for years to come.
The addition of a olive marabou tail makes this Olive Marabou Muddler Minnow an even more attractive sculpin imitation for the biggest fish in the river. A variety of colors also make this marabou fly pattern useful for different light and water conditions.
Andy Carlson, a fly fishing guide on the Bitterroot River in Montana originated the Purple Haze fly pattern. It closely resembles a Parachute Adams with a purple body. This has been a very effective pattern in Montana and has become a popular dry fly in general. It is used to match Blue Wing Olives, Mahogany Duns, Green Drakes, and Tricos.
The Zonker has become one of the leading streamer patterns. The Light Olive Gold Lead Eye Zonker is the perfect fly for imitating minnows in the clear waters of both rivers and lakes and the lead eyes will help it stay deep where the big boys hold.
The Red Rubber Midge is a simple, sparsely dressed Midge pattern. Many times simple can be deadly effective and this fly fished to midging trout can be just such a pattern. Suspended as a dropper just under the surface or presented delicately drifting in the deeper water section the Red Rubber Midge can be a successful pattern in your midging pursuits.
Fly anglers often overlook this color, but the Amber Bead Head Scud has proven to be extremely effective in any water having scuds or crustaceans. This Amber color will match a dead scud, a scud carrying eggs and also imitate small crayfish. It is a very effective pattern to fish when a river flow is rising or fluctuating. The rising water will flush scuds off of the bottom. Large fish will often key specifically on scuds due to their high food value. This color also works great in water where there are spawning fish.
The Yellow Gold Lead Eye Zonker is the go to fly for aggressive fish that will attack a bright color. Fall brown trout and many other aggressive fish love this bright minnow imitation. The heavy lead eyes make it easy to fish this screaming Yellow Zonker near the bottom.
The fly is popular for big trout in Australia and New Zealand. The brilliantly colored fly doesn't appear very bright when it's submerged. The vivid orange and yellows of the fly become brown and the deeper you fish it, the browner it becomes. Although intended for large brown trout, and by the way it also works great for Great Lakes brown trout that move into the rivers, it also works great for steelhead. Over the last few years it has become a popular Great Lakes steelhead fly pattern. This is also a great fly in the steelhead streams of the West Coast. This fly should be fished on the swing. Although it may first appear to be a good off color water or high water fly, it also works great for low water conditions. We think this is because of the brownish tint it takes on when it's in the water.
Midge fishing requires concentration, stealth and a good selection of fly patterns. The Black Bead Head Ghost Midge is one variation of the Ghost Midge theme which have proven themselves in tailwater and tough clear spring creek like waters. If you're serious about midging the Black Bead Head Ghost Midge should be in your fly collection.
This Pulsating Caddis, Olive pattern was developed by Jim Pettis, a guide on the lower Sacramento River, in 1993. The fly can be used in both streams and stillwaters. The term 'pulsating' comes from the combination of the beads and the dubbing material which give off a pulsating effect when moving within the water column. The fly can be used throughout the season from April through October. This is an extremely effective pattern wherever there are caddisflies.
Developed around the classic trout waters of Yellowstone, Midge Green Bead Head Serendipity Fly is a pattern guides rely on to catch selective fish all around the world. The color and size of this pattern is great for imitating midges and small caddis. Trout in all types of water, even in stillwater environments, can't resist the segmented buggy look of the Serendipity patterns.
The Sculpzilla, White, Streamer is a must-have streamer pattern on any water where sculpin or small baitfish are present. Big fish simply can't resist its realistic movement and appetizing size.
The Black Birds Nest is among the most productive searching nymphs available. Effective as a dark mayfly nymph presentation or simply an attractor wet fly, the Black Birds is a successful pattern for not only trout but warm water fish as well. A major characteristic of this fly is its versatility for the fisherman. It can be fished as a stillwater choice and used as a dropper fly with a dry-dropper technique.
This American version of the classic British Bead Head Pheasant Tail mayfly nymph continues to catch fish wherever slender mayflies are found. The peacock thorax on this nymph also gives it a bit of irridescent flash that makes it an effective attractor fly and a great searching pattern. This fly has caught more fish than perhaps any other nymph in the history of fly fishing.
This Tan Mottled Caddis fly excels in flat water situations where trout are keying on caddis flies. It is a great dry fly to have in a variety of sizes and colors to match caddis fly hatches wherever you find yourself fly fishing for rising trout.
The classic Green Bomber Fly has proven itself to be one of the very best waking or skating dry flies. It is a must have wherever silvers and steelhead are known to chase flies on the surface.
The Crazy Charlie is the classic flats fly. It is useful in a variety of situations and works on almost every thing that cruises the flats and is also useful in freshwater for sightfishing to carp.
The Purple Hotshot Leech Fly takes everthing that is good about the Bunny and Egg Sucking Leeches and adds weighted eyes to get it down to where fish hold in deeper pools or swift currents.
Developed around the classic trout waters of Yellowstone, Red Bead Head Serendipity Fly has become a favorite especially of pocket water fishermen on the famous Madison River. The array of colors and sizes allows this fly to be used for caddis and midges or simply as a searching pattern. Trout in all types of water, even in large stillwater environments, seem to love the segmented buggy look of the Serendipity.
The Natural Copper Zonker is one of the top selling Zonker colors. The combination of colors make the fly irresistable to most fish. This pattern will match most minnows and has also been used to imitate insects and crayfish. Most guides and avid streamer anglers will always make sure to have this color in their fly box.
The Micky Finn Fly pattern is a variation on one of the most successful trout streamers of all time. The combination of color and flash is effective on sea run fish as well.
The Prince Nymph is a proven classic fly that will continue to be an effective fish catcher in most trout waters around the globe. The flashy peacock herl body entices strikes and the split tail and wing give the impression of a stonefly, backswimmer, or dark mayfly nymph. This fly may not imitate any particular trout food but it just looks like something tasty. It pays to carry several different sizes and varieties in the fly box at all times.
Fly fishers all over the world are finding that Olive/Gray Scuds are very productive for many species of fish. They are especially important flies for fly fishing in tailwaters and on spring creeks. Some large fish key specifically on scuds because of their very high nutritional value. The Scud thrives in a nutrient rich environment with lots of vegetation. Lake fishing can be very successful fishing these near weed edges and around grass flats.
The combination of crystal dubbing, high floating foam, rubber legs, hackle, elk hair and a flashy underwing make the Olive Foamulator come to life. The addition of foam and other synthetics have improved the Stimulator profile and made it buoyant and very durable. Foamulators are very effective when there are Stoneflies or Grasshoppers around and have quickly become one of the most popular all around attractor patterns.
The Silver Hilton is an oldy but a goody. The fact that knowledgeable steelheaders and salmon anglers continue to keep a few of these in their fly boxes shows that it has a lasting appeal and continues to catch fish.
The Red Bead Head Chironomid Pupa Emerger Fly is an extremely effective stillwater pattern. Fish will often target chironomid pupae as they swim toward the surface to hatch. Chironomids have gas trapped along there abdomen as they begin the emerging process. This pattern perfectly imitates the midges in this stage. Lake fishermen have found this to be one of the most productive patterns for suspending below an indicator or dry fly and it will work in deep water as well. Almost every freshwater fish will feed on chironomids and at times it seems it is the only thing they will eat.
A sparse and very flashy streamer, this Platte River Special fly was developed for the big browns and rainbows of the Platte River. It is equally at home wherever big fish chase minnows and is an especially good pattern for large brown trout.
The Popsicle has been around since the 1980s, when young George Cook was guiding in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. The result is a gaudy fly that offers a lot of lifelike motion and plenty of flash in the water, and it has been catching steelhead and salmon for almost three decades. The squid pattern has proven its effectivness wherever anadromous fish are found.
The high floatation properties of foam has made the Black Foam Ant a favorite fly among terrestrial fishermen. Some fish seem to prefer the realistic segmentation and suggestion of legs provided by this pattern to other ants.
The Wired Rubber Legs Copper John adds a realistically segmented abdomen to an already effective pattern. This fly sinks quickly and can be used as a deep nymph or a dropper. Fish seem unable to resist the combination of color, flash, and realistic shape. The addition of rubber legs and realistically curved body creates an added attractant that makes this fly irresistable to hungry trout. Several sizes, colors, and variations of this pattern in the fly box will greatly add to success on the water.
In fly fishing flies the addition of rubber legs seems to help any fishing fly come alive. This buggy Madam X dry fly makes fish go crazy. A very successful attractor fly pattern, the Madam X has been catching trout for decades, especially in the famous fly fishing waters around Yellowstone where it originated. It works great as an imitation of a caddisfly or hopper, or can be fished as an attractor dry fly with a nymph or wet fly dropper.
Now the famous Hares Ear is a dry fly! The Parachute Hares Ear is a can't miss combination of the famous Hares Ear Nymph and Parachute Adams fly. This combination creates a substantial bug that floats well and attracts a lot of attention from hungry fish. This pattern is quickly becoming a favorite amongst fly fishing guides and many other avid anglers.