Fly selection

[Cactus]

What would be a good selection of flys to start my collection? I'm looking mainly for fresh water flys, dry and wet, for WA streams and rivers with some lakes also. They will be used for trout.

I'm interested in good, every day patterns that can be used pretty much everywhere. Please include sizes as well.

Thanks.

[Old Man]

What do I know---I'm just an old man

I'll give you a few and if everyone else answers this you will have quite a few to choose from.

Elk Hair Caddis in olive,brown,black,sizes 12,14,16, and some 18.
Royal Wulff,sizes 12,14,16,18
Stimulators,yellow,brown,orange,sizes10,12,14,16.
Blue winged Olives some parachutes, some not, sizes 14,16,18,20,22.
Humpies,royal(red),black,yellow,lime green, sizes 12,14,16.

Jim

[Cactus]

Thanks, Old man!

Keep those suggestions coming everyone.

[alpinetrout]

Pheasant Tails and Hare's Ear Nymphs are must haves. I use mostly bead-heads, but I'd carry a selection of both with and without beads.

[troutman101]

These are great choices Jim.

All I can say is, Olive Wooly Bugger.

[FishPirate]

Can't go wrong with an adams, or a griffith's gnat. . .

[ceviche]

red, black floss Chironomid pupae(for lakes): sizes 10-14
olive and black woolly buggers: sizes 10 & 8
Gold ribbed Hare's ear, with & w/out bead head
Marabou Leech(for lakes): long shank size 10 hook
Thin Mint Leech(for lakes) for spring opener
Pheasant Tail nymphs

[Old Man]

What do I know---I'm just an old man

I just noticed that all I listed was dries. I guess that I like to fish them.

Jim :THUMBSUP

[troutman101]

Gee, do you just 'toon around? Looks like a lake fisherman diet.

[Randy Knapp]

Keeping to readily available patterns rather than my own or specialty patterns and in the most useful size.

Beadhead nymphs:

Prince Nymph or Zug Bug, 12
Gold Ribbed Hares Ear, 16

Wet fly:

Peacock soft hackle, 14

Dry flies:

Parachute Adams, 18
Elk hair caddis in tan and peacock,14
Orange Stimulator, 8
Royal Coachman or Royal Wulff or Renegade, 12
Light Cahill or PMD, 16

Streamers:

Black Woolly Bugger, 8
Muddler Minnow, 8
Deceiver Green over White, 2
Clouser style in hot pink, 6
Micky Finn, 8

Midges:

Lightning Bug or flashback pheasant tail, 18
Griffith gnat, 18

Terrestrial:

black ant with brown hackle/wing, 14

Specialty:

glo bug, spawn fly, 10
San Juan worm, 12

Just one guy's opinion.

Randy

[ceviche]

Yeah, and so what? Yup, I do mostly fish the lakes, but that's only because I can't bring myself to take home those hard-struggling river trout. All I can say is that, if it was born in a hatchery, then you damn well better have a well thought out gourmet recipe to honor the fish's hapless life in order to better deliver it to the Elysian Lakes and Streams. Otherwise, C&R or don't fish.

[ceviche]

Yo Randy,

I need to ask you about these particular flies:

"Peacock soft hackle, 14...
...Elk hair caddis in tan and peacock,14"

What exactly are these, and how are they tied? I'm trying to visualize these and cannot. Can you help me with the method for tying and how they should be fished for what, as well. Looking forward to hearing from you.

BTW, excellent selection of flies! :THUMBSUP

[Randy Knapp]

Peacock Soft Hackle

Size 14 dry fly hook
Black thread
Peacock herl body
One or two turns of any soft hackle like partridge, grouse or grizzly or black hen

Just wrap the thread back to the bend. Tie in four or 5 strands of peacock herl and twist them around the thread like a rope and then wrap the rope forward and tie off with the thread. Tie in the hackle and take a turn or two and tie off.

Cast it like you would a dry fly but it will also catch fish on the swing or even subsurface like a nymph or emerger

Peacock Caddis

size 14 dry fly hook
black thread
peacock herl
elk or deer hair

Wrap the thread back to the bend
Tie in 4 or 5 strands of peacock herl
Twist the herl around the thread to make a rope and wrap the rope forward and tie off
Place a wooden match size bunch of elk or deer hair just behind the eye and tie off.

Fish it as a dry but it will also catch fish on the swing.

Just substitute tan dubbing for the peacock herl for the tan caddis. I meant two different color elk hair caddis flies. One with a dark body and one light not the two combined into one. I don't palmer a hackle through my bodies because it isn't necessary but the ones you buy probably will. Just trim it off if the fish want the fly riding lower in the film.

Randy

[ceviche]

Randy,

Very good, and thanks, Mon! I'll tie up a few for the next time I fish running water.
:THUMBSUP

Ciao!
--Dave E.

[caddiscaster]

So far it looks like people have given you a good list of flies to use. I will give you a few of my favorite:

Joe's Hopper
Orange/Yellow Stimulator
Humpy
Adams
Royal Wulff

These are really basic patterns and I would recommend having them in a variety of sizes.

Also, try to get a Kaufmann's Flyfishing catalog. Their selection is pretty good, but more than that it will tell you "must have" flies and flies that work in any condition (ex.-they say that the Stimulator is their fly to select if they could only have one dry fly).

Hope some of this helps!

[wantwetwitch]

Check out this website

www.danica.com/flytier

There is some great stuff there
from many great flytiers. I'm sure you will recognise many.
My stuff is under Roy Christie
tight lines,
Roy

[mcronariver]

Those are some unique and innovative patterns.

Mcronariver

[wantwetwitch]

well thank you sir, we aim to please.
Also have lots more as yet unpublished
Tight lines to all on the Pen
Roy

[DryFlyBudha]

Here are a few that I didn't see mentioned, but you have a wealth of ideas now I'm sure.

Dry flies to try for trout, searun -
Royal Coachman 10 - 16
Soft hackles (variety of colors) fairly basic but effective sizes 10 on down

Wet flies for steel and returning river salmon -
Wooly worms and Buggers, I like size 6 and 8
Polar Shrimp 4 - 8
Orange Thor patterns 6 and 8