When I came into the
shop (Blue Ribbon Fly Shop) today, my assistant manager, Henry Seay, had left
me a note. It said that he thought that it was time for me to revisit my top
six flies again. This is an article that I have written several times, over the
years. The only thing that changes is the flies. New flies come and old
standards are revisited. The following are the top six flies that I currently
fish with, on a regular basis. Though I carry hundreds of patterns these six
flies account for about ninety percent of the fish that I or my clients land.
The only fly that has
made every list of my top six flies is the woolly bugger. I remember the first
time I fished it over thirty five years ago. I was fishing the Little Red River
with my brother, Dan. He gave me a couple of them and told me to give them a
try. I asked how to fish them. He said that it didn’t matter as long as it was
in the water. That turned out to be true and I have been fishing them since. I
have caught more different species with a woolly bugger than any other fly.
Don’t leave home without it.
On my last list, I had
included the copper John. I have changed over to the pheasant tail nymph. This
fly has been around since 1930. There is a reason for any fly to be around that
long. The pheasant tail is easy to tie and catches fish. I have found it to be
a great nymph imitation for our sulphur mayflies that are coming off now. I
always tie them in a copper bead head version. It sinks like a rock and the
copper bead will show off well in stained water.
The ruby midge is new to
my list and it has worked its way in by being my best producer for the last two
years. It has replaced the zebra midge as my go to midge pupa pattern. Since
the White and Norfork Rivers are major midge waters; it is my most important
fly. Most of the guides I know fish them, on a daily basis. It is the best
selling fly at Blue Ribbon Fly shop.
The San Juan worm is the
fly that I fish the most. I fish it every day. I generally fish two fly rigs
and the San Juan Worm is my top fly. I think that it acts as an attractor and
gets the trout’s attention. Though I usually catch more fish on the bottom fly,
I catch quite a few on the worm. After a rain, it is my go to fly because worms
are washed, into the river during a rain. It is also the easiest fly that there
is to tie.
The newest member of
this year’s list is the hare and copper. It is a pattern that has been around
for a while. It is a simple fly with a body of hare’s mask a copper bead and
copper rib tied on a scud hook. It is impressionistic and kind of looks like a
scud, caddis or sowbug but not exactly. It has been producing well for me and I
had a young man take two spectacular cutthroats yesterday on Dry Run Creek
using it.
My final selection, for
the list, is the green butt. I didn’t choose it just because it is my signature
pattern. I chose it because it works. This is the fly I tie at Sowbug and the
FFF Fly Fishing Fair every year. It is an easy tie and looks elegant. It is a
soft hackle and it is the first thing that I tie on, whenever I see some top
water action. I developed it about fifteen years ago and have fished it ever
since. It has become a popular local pattern that sells well in the shop.
Armed with these six
flies I can catch fish just about anywhere. Give them a try!
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