Your Best Choice for Trout Fishing Flies
How many times have you seen a picture of a retirement-age man, fishing alongside a stream, decked out in a sports vest and hat, covered with his favorite trout fishing flies? I am very familiar with that picture, in fact, I grew up with that man. My grandfather loved to fish for trout. He passed down that passion to every generation that has followed. Along with that appreciation for the sport, he also shared with us his time-honored secrets and tips for success.
Fly Fishing Variations
My grandfather developed a style of fly fishing for trout that has worked consistently for many years. He began with a standard fly rod and reel, but over time adapted his techniques to work with a spinner set up. There is an art to this variation that is valued by those that try it. The common tie to the more accepted form of fly fishing is what is at the end of the line, the flies.
Trout Fishing Flies
Artificial flies are made by using a barbed or barbless hook, and attaching feathers, fur, hair and other embellishments with threads and fibers. These materials are carefully tied in such a way that the final product resembles something the trout recognizes as food, and is going to pursue. Trout fishing flies can be found in various patterns and colors, which, when broken down further into different sizes, suggest even more land or water insects. If you survey 20 different fly fishermen, you will come up with 20 different answers to questions regarding the "best" trout fishing flies. Each angler will have their own box of essential flies, and each box will be unique. There are, of course, different types of flies, and different times requiring each type. Fly selection is a very personal choice, and luckily, there is literally something for everyone. Many fishermen enjoy tying their own flies, and creating their own patterns. But either way, the selection is amazing. Just remember that the entire realm of flies fall into one of 4 categories; dry flies, wet flies, nymphs or streamers.
Basic Flies for your Box
A combination of the different types of flies is a good start in your own collection, whether you display them on your hat, or in a small, compartmentalized box to keep them organized. Always remember that the fly you select is aiming to mimic a natural food in the trouts life. Find out what insects or bugs are present in the environment at the time you are fishing, and copy that lead.
The go-to fly in the dry fly group is the Adams, which is probably the ultimate trout fly. This fly imitates many insects, such as mayflies, stone flies and caddis flies, crickets and grasshoppers, with its gray body and brown hackle. Dry flies are designed to float on top of the water, which many anglers prefer, because it will produce the visible strike on the surface, rather than below.
Wet Flies have been designed to imitate drowned insects such as those listed above. For this reason, they are best presented to the trout just below the surface of the water. Remember that most trout feed deeper in the water, so although wet flies tend to produce more hits than dry flies, they still fall behind nymphs and streamers, the other two groups of flies, in the most productive department.
Streamers are made to mimic small fish. As with wet flies, streamers are also fished below the surface. During certain times of the year, streamers are the best bet in your fly selection.
Nymphs have the reputation as being the most effective trout fishing flies overall, because they aim to copy the struggles of water-bugs, larva and worms in the flow of the water. Just think about where these insects would be found in natural settings, and you might have great success letting the nymph drift naturally with the current along the edge of the stream, under brush, logs and trees or behind boulders.
Your choice
No matter which flies you stock your tackle box or hat with, you will have an adventure experimenting to find the correct fly for the moment. Don't be discouraged if the fly you had so much luck with yesterday is not producing anything today. That's part of the challenge of fly fishing for trout. Just have an assortment so you can try different approaches until you find the one that works best. Soon you will have your own list of favorite trout fishing flies!
Fly Fishing Variations
My grandfather developed a style of fly fishing for trout that has worked consistently for many years. He began with a standard fly rod and reel, but over time adapted his techniques to work with a spinner set up. There is an art to this variation that is valued by those that try it. The common tie to the more accepted form of fly fishing is what is at the end of the line, the flies.
Trout Fishing Flies
Artificial flies are made by using a barbed or barbless hook, and attaching feathers, fur, hair and other embellishments with threads and fibers. These materials are carefully tied in such a way that the final product resembles something the trout recognizes as food, and is going to pursue. Trout fishing flies can be found in various patterns and colors, which, when broken down further into different sizes, suggest even more land or water insects. If you survey 20 different fly fishermen, you will come up with 20 different answers to questions regarding the "best" trout fishing flies. Each angler will have their own box of essential flies, and each box will be unique. There are, of course, different types of flies, and different times requiring each type. Fly selection is a very personal choice, and luckily, there is literally something for everyone. Many fishermen enjoy tying their own flies, and creating their own patterns. But either way, the selection is amazing. Just remember that the entire realm of flies fall into one of 4 categories; dry flies, wet flies, nymphs or streamers.
Basic Flies for your Box
A combination of the different types of flies is a good start in your own collection, whether you display them on your hat, or in a small, compartmentalized box to keep them organized. Always remember that the fly you select is aiming to mimic a natural food in the trouts life. Find out what insects or bugs are present in the environment at the time you are fishing, and copy that lead.
The go-to fly in the dry fly group is the Adams, which is probably the ultimate trout fly. This fly imitates many insects, such as mayflies, stone flies and caddis flies, crickets and grasshoppers, with its gray body and brown hackle. Dry flies are designed to float on top of the water, which many anglers prefer, because it will produce the visible strike on the surface, rather than below.
Wet Flies have been designed to imitate drowned insects such as those listed above. For this reason, they are best presented to the trout just below the surface of the water. Remember that most trout feed deeper in the water, so although wet flies tend to produce more hits than dry flies, they still fall behind nymphs and streamers, the other two groups of flies, in the most productive department.
Streamers are made to mimic small fish. As with wet flies, streamers are also fished below the surface. During certain times of the year, streamers are the best bet in your fly selection.
Nymphs have the reputation as being the most effective trout fishing flies overall, because they aim to copy the struggles of water-bugs, larva and worms in the flow of the water. Just think about where these insects would be found in natural settings, and you might have great success letting the nymph drift naturally with the current along the edge of the stream, under brush, logs and trees or behind boulders.
Your choice
No matter which flies you stock your tackle box or hat with, you will have an adventure experimenting to find the correct fly for the moment. Don't be discouraged if the fly you had so much luck with yesterday is not producing anything today. That's part of the challenge of fly fishing for trout. Just have an assortment so you can try different approaches until you find the one that works best. Soon you will have your own list of favorite trout fishing flies!
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