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Choosing the Best Fly Pattern
by Dave Hughes
Follow these three steps to
choose the pattern that trout will take, no matter what
the conditions.
When you peel all the peripheral layers of the problem
out of your way, trout fly selection reduces itself to a
simple set of three steps. Separate these, focus on them
in the correct order, and each leads to the solution of
the next. You'll end up with the best fly for the
situation. Initiate your trout fly selection only after
you've stepped to streamside and looked around. Don't
park your rig, tug on waders, and decide without sight
of the water what fly you're going to fish.
1. Observe and Interpret
The first step at streamside is to observe conditions.
Notice the wind and weather, air and water temperatures,
whether the water is high and muddy, low and clear, or
somewhere in between. It's not necessary to measure
anything. Just take time to gather a rough idea of how
things look and feel to you, and thereby assess how
active or inactive trout might be in the water.
Look for trout. If you see them rising, cruising,
winking along the bottom you'll know what type of fly
will reach them at the depth they're feeding. In the
absence of visible trout, look for insects, even if
they're few and not on the water.
When insects are flying over water that is not so deep
that trout won't rise to the top (usually 2 to 4 feet)
or not so dirty that they can't see to the top, it's
probably a dry-fly day. A hackled searching dry will
likely draw trout up.
If you see insects on the water of the same somewhat
shallow depth, but you see no fish rising, try fishing a
traditional wet fly, or a brace of them, on the swing in
the middepths. Wets work best when it seems trout should
be feeding on top but they're not.
If the air is cold, the water is cool and looks
lifeless, and no insects are out and about, your choices
dip down to the bottom. You might try a streamer fished
>deep in pools or swept across tailouts. In shallow
riffles and deeper runs, tie on a nymph, adding split
shot to get it down and a strike indicator to relay news
about takes.
I'll give you a bold summation about fly type here: The
most successful trout fishermen I know go directly to a
nymph, split shot, and strike indicator setup unless
specific observations, such as visible rising trout,
dictate a different method.
2. Select a Fly
Now that you know the fly type to try, the critical
decision looms: Which particular fly to try? Most often
fly selection is easy, because you've already acquired
enough hints to tell you what to use.
If a hatch is occurring, collect a specimen in your hand
or hat. Don't worry about its Latin name. Just observe
its size, form, and color, and match it as closely as
you can. Common errors here include going to a size too
large, when it's better to be just right or even a size
too small, and matching the color of the insect's back
instead of its belly, which is nearly always a lighter
color and is what trout see when they tip up to take it.
If conditions predict success with a dry fly, but you
see no hatch to match, notice if any insect is dominant
even if it's not on the water. Choose a dry fly close to
it.
If insects are out but none are dominant, choose a dry
fly that fits the crowd. If you have nothing else to go
on, use a drab Adams, fished close, on somewhat smooth
water; a buoyant Elk Hair Caddis, fished at medium
range, on water that is bouncy; or a bright Royal Wulff,
fished at close to medium range, on boisterous water.
If conditions look likely for a nymph, hoist a few rocks
off the bottom and examine what might be clinging to
them. Match the dominant species as nearly as you can.
If nothing stands out, try a nymph in a common size and
color. My favorites are the Fox Squirrel and Olive Bead
Head in size 14 or 16. I often use a weighted Brook's
Stone or Olive Scud in a larger size and then tie the
smaller fly as the point. This offers trout a choice,
always a good way to find out fast which fly will fool
them.
If you choose a wet fly or streamer, pick a pattern that
matches an active food form. If none are evident, use
what you wish. Most of the time you'll use these
swimming flies to explore water, fishing downstream,
probing everywhere, trying to entice scattered trout.
3. Adjust When Necessary
The final step is called for only when your chosen fly
fails to fool trout. Put the brakes on your fishing;
check to see if your original observations and
interpretations still seem right. If they do, try a
different pattern in the same category. Switch from a
bright dry to a drab one, from a small nymph to a large
one, from one wet or streamer to another.
Make just one or two changes of flies within a type;
then switch from one fly type to another. If you try two
or three dries of different sizes, shapes, and colors
and none draw strikes, go to nymphs or some other
below-surface style. If trout refuse, try swinging a wet
fly or streamer.
Most often, if you observe what's happening on the
stream and interpret it correctly, you'll choose the
right fly in the first place. But keep in mind that
conditions change during the day. Whenever your catch
falls off, stop casting and take time to examine
prevailing conditions. Notice what has changed and what
you need to change to bump your success back up.
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