101 Proven Patterns – The Best Trout Flies

Amy’s Ant

Perhaps no one knows why, but the Amy’s Ant just makes trout lose their inhibitions. You may be trying to carefully match the hatch, but the fish just aren’t buying it. If that’s the case, change gears and throw them an Amy’s Ant — they may not know what hit them.

Invented by industry legend Jack Dennis, Amy’s Ant won the Yellowstone Angler One Fly contest in 1999. As a result, this trout fly pattern has been carried by Umpqua ever since.  Like most of the best trout flies, many color variations have evolved since then. When using Amy’s Ant, be ready for quick, hard strikes!

Purple Haze

If fish could talk, perhaps the first question we’d ask them is why they seem to love purple.  Have you ever seen any hatching insect, in any stream, ever, that is purple?

In the same vein as the Electric Price nymph, but tied in many more variations, the Purple Haze can be found as a traditional dry, parachute, soft hackle / wet, emerger, nymph, streamer, trude/stimulator, and more.  Unlike most other attractor flies though, the Haze is always tied in purple, or at least other color variations are atypical.

Originating as a “purple Adams,” the Haze trout fly was invented on the Bitterroot River and has spread in popularity far beyond Montana.  Usually tied with brown or grizzle hackle, this fly has made its mark as one of the best trout flies.

Yellow Humpy

The Yellow Humpy may not have a flattering name, but it’s a very likable fly and is good at pulling tentative fish up to the surface.  The humpy is another searching pattern for a variety of large lighter-colored mayflies.  Because it floats like a life preserver, almost as if it was made out of foam, it’s especially useful in pocket water.  That makes it also good to carry a dropper, and act as a strike indicator for the dropper even while attracting fish to itself.  If you are learning how to tie flies, and want to take a shot at your first dry fly, this is a good one because it’s awesome flotation is forgiving.

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BEST DRY FLIES FOR TROUT

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Blue Wing Olive

The BWO is widely used because doesn’t imitate just one insect, but rather a whole group of them (in the genus Baetis). It turns out there are quite a few mayflies out there with olive bodies and gray- or dun-colored wings.  Perhaps the most critical thing to get right during a Blue-Winged Olive hatch is get the size of you fly and hook.  Another key aspect of these little mayflies, is that they hatch moreso in the shoulder months and even through the winter.  Fishing this trout fly pattern is a great way to beat the crowds and have more of the rivers to yourself.  A straightforward pattern, this is one of the best flies to tie if you are beginning with dry flies.  Just a tail, body, and hackle that’s it!

Why Fish Egg Patterns?

Let’s put it this way with a question.  If you were a trout, would you pass up an easy, delicious meal of eggs rolling down the stream bottom, ala whatever fish is spawning at the moment (including their own kind)?  We wouldn’t either.

The awesome thing about fishing egg patterns is, in some rivers you can fish multiple runs at once.  For example, in many Great Lakes tributaries, King Salmon run first in the fall and spawn out.  They are followed closely by large migratory brown trout, who scoop up eggs from the Kings, and then stay in the streams to spawn themselves.

To make it more exciting, early run steelhead make their way up, sometimes accompanied by Atlantic salmon.  To read about this incredible phenomenon, check out our article Great Lakes Fall Run Kings, Browns, and Steelhead.

Remember something very important – when fishing with eggs, you are targeting fish that are scooping up eggs downstream of the spawning beds other fish. So as to not disrupt the spawing fish, be very careful to not target them, and to not step on their beds which can destroy many eggs that would otherwise hatch.  As anglers the last thing we want to do is compromise the health of the very fishery we are enjoying.

Sucker Spawn

Trout don’t just eat salmon eggs and other trout eggs cannibalistic-ally, they also eat sucker spawn – why not if it’s an easy meal?  In this case, the looped yarn pattern imitates a clutch of fish eggs.  You can use whatever color you like, but just like Glo Bugs, the primary colors used are orange, peach, and yellow. Variations with even more brightly colored yarn, just as flourescent orange and pink, are effective fishing for steelhead too.  If you are learning trout fly tying, this is a great fly because all it takes is a little yarn, and is very forgiving.

Why Fish Wet Flies?

Wet flies, even when they are carried in the fly box, usually sit out the game on the bench.  But wets are actually a secret weapon that, when you know how to fish them, can make all the difference in a day’s fishing.  Sometimes they will even prevent you from getting skunked.

When To Fish Wet Flies?

Let’s put it this way.  You know from fishing dries and nymphs, that on some days the trout aren’t taking one or the other, right?  Sometimes when they are focused up, they are only looking up, and actually more often (as dedicated nymphers like to point out), they are feeding under the water instead of at the surface.

Here’s another way to think about it.  Have you ever been frustrated (or even skunked) because fish seemed to be feeding on the surface, but still wouldn’t touch your dry fly?  All the while you start doubting your casting, presentation, and mending skills?

If you’ve had that experience, you may have noticed trout that fed even aggressively near the surface – but did you realize they were actually chasing down emerging hatches, and potentially not taking flies off the surface at all?

What’s happening in this situation, is that trout are responding to extremely specific emerging hatch behaviors, that can’t be easily matched with a dry fly cast or nymph.  Even droppers won’t match the movement, because they float statically under the dry fly (which you are working hard to keep floating without any drag), not rising towards the surface as are the emerging insects.

However, what’s actually happening is just inches under the surface, emergers are doing their best to get up to the surface, of course before they get gobbled up.

When this is happening, trout can key in on the rising emergers, just as at other times they can focus exclusively on top- or bottom-feeding on dries or nymphs, respectively.  It’s actually less energy, and safer for them during a large hatch, to gobble up the rising emergers than to expose themselves to predators at the surface.

It goes without saying then, that if you can replicate the type of fly (e.g. a soft hackle with its wings starting to spread, preparing for drying off or even molting on the surface), and the way they move, then you’ve just met the trout with what they want – and may only want on that day.

How To Fish Wet Flies?

This is a different game than dry flies (avoiding drag) or nymphs (dead drifting at the right depth).  With wet flies, what you want to do is:

• Swing them gently through pocket water and deeper pools, or
• Drop them below an indicator dry fly.

In either case above, be sure to first swing these flies across and down.  Then, to get the right upward motion, strip them so they rise up just like an emerger swimming to the surface.

The awesome thing about fishing wets like this is it creates urgency in the fish, because they think they may lose their meal. It makes for some great strikes and fishing!

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Caddis Emerger – Break & Butter

Trout can really hone in on emerging caddis, at times ignoring everything else.  You’ll get a big hint this is happening, when trout sometimes actually leave of water jumping after caddis moving swiftly to the surface.  It’s like they don’t want to miss desert before it gets away.  When they do concentrate on the emergers, the difference between landing fish and not is to swing this pattern to imitate a rapidly rising caddis emerger that is swimming to the top.

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Caddis Soft Hackle Pupa

This fly does a great job imitating the movement of the emerging caddis pupa with uncanny realism.  One of the best-tied and best-looking caddis emergers we’ve seen.   You can either swing it through pocket water and deeper pools, for below an indicator dry fly.  In either case, be sure to first swing these flies across and down, and then to get the right motion,  and then strip them so they rise up just like an emerger swimming to the surface.  If you like to tie trout flies, but haven’t done much yet with soft hackle patterns, this simple pattern is a great place to start.

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CDC Caddis Emerger

Trout sense that emerging caddis flies are especially vulnerable prey, when they get to the point of breaking free from their casing and drying off their wings. At this point they are literally sitting ducks.  This pattern is especially effective because of how realistically it suspends in the water.  Not to mention, the CDC helps with just the right amount of buoyancy, to help the fly sit just right in the the top of the film.

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CDC Midge

The CDC Midge is a pattern that replicates small midges that emerge from the late fall over the shoulder and winter months to early spring.In some cases they are so small, that some fisherman tend to write them off.  However small, especially when the water is cold they become an important source of forage for trout. In fact, there are many times during the colder months when these tiny midges are the only thing hatching.  Be especially attentive to these on tailwaters.  This proven pattern is an excellent option if you want to increase the number of months you catch trout during the year, and to increase your flexibility and number of rivers you can fish.

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Puff Daddy

OK we get it, compared to many flies in this review, Puff Daddies don’t look like much, do they. But don’t be so quick to judge a book by its cover! Puff Daddies, also sometimes Puff Diddies or Puffies, imitate mayfly cripples, knockdowns, duns, and other aquatic insects.  In the right sizes and colors, you can use them effectively for many hatches ranging from BWOs to Green Drakes.  This pattern is a simple fly – looks like an emerger but actually sits in the film like a dry fly – tied with a thin dubbing body.  It is finished with a few sparse turns of a CDC feather (stemmed), and contrary to many patterns doesn’t have a tail, or wing, or any other features.  Its simplicity is not only great for fly tiers, but perhaps what makes it realistic at the same time.  This fly actually floats on its side, which helps conceal the hook as the point can actually float above the film.  It’s naturally water resistant which helps with flotation, though you’ll want to refresh it with a dry floatant after landing a fish.  Be sure to use a desiccant (such as Frog’s Fanny) and not silicone which will have the opposite effect you want on this and other CDC patterns.

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BEST TROUT NYMPHS – STANDARD

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Zebra Midge

The Zebra Midge imitates midge pupae and emerging midges.  This pattern is fished as a nymph, euro-nymph, emerger by itself, and as a dropper.  Don’t be fooled by the size, many big fish have been fooled by this very small fly.  The Zebra Midge is tied from sizes 16 to 24, and consists of nothing but a shrimp or scud hook that is wrapped in colored thread, plus silver or copper fine wire.  The head is typically a 2 or 3mm tungsten bead head, with the finish matching the wire.   If you travel for your fly fishing, you’ll notice that this pattern is to be found at virtually every fly shop on the continent, if not the world.  The pervasiveness of midges, the consistent ability of this pattern to take trout throughout the world, and how easy it is to tie have made this midge a standard pattern.

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BEST TROUT NYMPHS – FOR EURO-NYMPHING

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Why Euro-Nymph?

More and more pros in the USA are using this technique, and outfitters increasingly offer classes and guided trips using this approach:

• Your more direct and continual connection to your nymphs helps detect more subtle strikes, so you get better hook up rates.
• Increased precision of “high-sticking” helps you work the smaller pockets and eddies, increasing your effectiveness on large and small streams alike.
• Longer fly rods are not only better for this technique, but also double up your investment for large rivers and lakes.
• You can start for under $100 (just by changing your leader and flies), if you don’t want to buy a new rod right off the bat.
• Trout spend the most time feeding under water, far more than off the surface.

When Euro-Nymph?

You can use this approach any time, literally, considering that:

• It is the most effective method in the shoulder months and winter months, increasing the days of the year you will catch fish
• If you are primarily a dry fly angler, use this method when fish aren’t feeding near or on the surface
• If you are primarily a sub-surface angler, you already live by the fact that trout feed under the surface most of the time.
• Euro-nymphing is hands down the most effective method for fishing with nymphs, so use it any time.

How To Euro-Nymph?

Euro-nymphing is the art of “high-sticking” your fly rod and leader above and off the water.  This maximizes your ability to feel even subtle takes of your fly.  To accomplish this, Euro-nymphing employs:

• More heavily weighted flies, often with tungsten beads and wire, and often “jig” style with the hook facing upwards to avoid snags
• A longer rod to help with high sticking (to minimize drifting your line in the water)
• A lighter-weight line (e.g. 3-weight) helps as well.
• A colorful leader, which helps you not only see the line tighten or stop when you get a hit, but also gauge depth
• No splitshot which hinder feeling a strike in any case as the line must tighten more for you to feel it.

For more detail, read our related article.

Hot Head Euro Pheasant Tail

The Hot Head builds on the super classic Pheasant Tail, by adding a tungsten bead with a bright orange (or pink) bead head.  Ideal for low visibility water, spring fishing, euro-nymphing, and pull this one out when other patterns aren’t getting their attention.  Call it a smidgeon of attractor added to a realistic nymph pattern, and you’ve got a meal trout hungry from not being able to see food in murky water are ready to snatch up.

Newbury’s Dirty Hipster

Dressed up stonefly?  Accurate mayfly imitation?  Maimed caddis?  Strange terrestrial?  Whatever fish may think this inventive attractor fly by JP Newbury, this pattern is proven to grab fish’s attention. Pair it with another fly, with this one on the bottom.  Bounce it off the bottom, its most effective rig.  Also use as a dropper off a large foam hopper.  For you fly tiers, this one uses flash around the body, rubber legs, a stiff tail, and a black tungsten bead.

Tungsten Torpedo

This competition-designed euro-nymphing fly is designed to get down to the strike zone quickly, and stay in the strike zone.  Tied with a dense steel hook in addition to a tungsten bead, the Torpedo drops fast through the water column, into feeding lanes.

Many tie this fly with a barbless hook that has a long claw point on it. Even while barbless, the extra long claw point helps you hook and hold every fish firmly.  In addition to careful handling, barbless hooks let you to release a fish quickly without any harm.

Tungsten Micro Wooly Bugger Jig

This competition-designed euro-nymphing fly is designed to get down to the strike zone quickly, and stay in the strike zone.  Tied with a dense steel hook in addition to a tungsten bead, the Torpedo drops fast through the water column, into feeding lanes.

Many tie this fly with a barbless hook that has a long claw point on it. Even while barbless, the extra long claw point helps you hook and hold every fish firmly.  In addition to careful handling, barbless hooks let you to release a fish quickly without any harm.

Overview Of Streamer Patterns

When you are fly fishing for trout, streamers play an invaluable role in imitating bait fish and other underwater trout food.  Here’s a summary of the best streamers we cover in more detail below:

Black Nose Dace

Even though this one may look like an attractor, it’s actually an imitation of the – you guessed it – Black Nose Dace minnow.  The actual minnow has a black stripe down the body, with varying degrees of reddish color on the underbelly.  As a traditional bucktail pattern, it has made a recent comeback, benefiting from rising popularity of classic streamers. Bucktails are great for beginner tiers, as they are simple to tie.  This is a good one to practice on before tying rainbow trout and other bucktail imitations.

Mickey Finn

Maybe this one should be up in the attractor section, but in any case it’s a fly that has caught just about everything including browns, rainbows, salmon, bass and more.  Mickey Finn ‘s history is quite sordid, actually.  Originally tied by Canadian fly tier Charles Langevin, way back in the 19th century.    It First called The Langevin (sounds almost like a Stephen King novel…), later called The Assassin.  Then after a couple of writers in the 1940s went on a fishing trip, it was renamed the Mickey Finn, after the dangerously drugged drink, a name which finally stuck.  No matter the name, this pattern works.  For your older tiers out there you may thinking of this in the category of “bucktails.”

Lunkers need to eat a lot of food, and therefore are attracted to larger flies.  Need we say more?

There are many fine traditional trout streamer patterns, discussed above and that you may already have in your fly box.  They will work just fine, and often catch you lunkers.  But these flies are specically designed to target large predatory trout and other species.  Some of these flies are so large they’re actually hard to cast, unless you have the right kind of rod – stiff and long with a heavier line weight.

Overview Of Larger For Lunkers Streamer Patterns

Here’s a summary of the best streamer patterns we cover in more detail below:

Why Use Larger For Lunkers Streamer Patterns?

The flies discussed in this section are designed to appeal especially to large predatory trout. They have lots of wiggly action, from not only the design but also the materials used, and make them even more appealing to lunker predators.

Many of these flies are articulated, which has not only the benefits of making them longer/bigger, and gives them better movement, but also helps pick up fish that nip the back of your fly to test it.  Large fish got that way by being smart.  If they aren’t sure about something, they’ll test it before committing to an aggressive hit.  The 2nd hook will pick up more of these hits than a regular sized streamer.

Mouse imitations and other large surface patterns are a blast to fish when fish smack them on the surface.

And the good news is, as time consuming to tie or as expensive to buy as these patterns can be, many are also effective for bass, pike, muskie, and salt water trophies.

When Use Larger For Lunkers Streamer Patterns?

Really big trout are aggressively predatory, and often feed under the cloak of darkness. You are most likely to catch these fish from dusk through to early rise in the morning.  This is when they are pursuing bait fish such as larger minnows, sculpins,  crawfish and even mice.

Use these large streamers when you are specifically pursuing trophy trout, and be certain to select your gear and fishing methods to match your quarry. Also use these flies to pursue pike, muskie, bass and many saltwater species as well.

Fish surface patterns for large rainbows in Alaska, silver salmon, and largemouth bass.

Pull out mouse patterns by mid summer, and get ready for some terrific action!

How To Fish Larger For Lunkers Streamer Patterns?

Tips for fishing articulated streamers and large surface patterns such as mice:

• Note that you can often simply add a trailer hook after the main hook, to the flies you already have in your streamer box.  This will increase your hookup rate for both mis-hits, and fish that are smart enough to just nip at it first, testing to see if it’s real.
• The best streamers are ones that have dark colors on top and light on the bottom.  This is not only more realistic in terms of representing real prey, it helps create a distinct outline that is easier to see in low light.
• Casting these large flies can be downright difficult, resulting in tangles, hangups, and hooks in your clothing.  Many of these flies, especially when wet, actually feel like there’s  a big hunk of lead or a stick on your line. So, be sure to use a stiff rod and larger weight line.  You can roll cast once to bring your fly to the surface before back casting.  And watch that you don’t try and cast too far with too much line, or your spend more time untangling than you will fishing.
• If you are tying your own, know that these are more advanced flies that have multi-section, articulated bodies.  Be sure to incorporate materials that pulsate in the water, such as maribou, rubber legs, excessive feathers, tinsel, and hair to entire more strikes.  The fun part is, you can design your own monster streamer and probably have as much luck with is as if you bought one!
• Fish at night-time to go after the largest trout, especially when it comes to brown trout.  At night, stealth presentation is the name of the game.  At the same time, be sure to give the streamer lifelike action, even some splash.
• Be ready – because hook ups are stronger, at times even violent.  Be ready to set the hook fast based on feeling moreso than sight.  Get your rod-tip up high fast, get ready to palm the reel as they take out line faster, and reel in fast when they turn around.  Fighting these fish is less like trout fishing, and more like salmon or steelhead fishing which take a different set of skills.
• When presenting a mouse pattern, remember it is is nothing like presenting a mayfly!  Drop your mouse pattern so it floats past deeply undercut banks, water with deep trenches, and seams along riverside edges – then get ready for explosive hits.
• For fishing all of these large patterns, and tying them, the great thing is you don’t need to t worry about an exact or even a realistic-looking pattern.  You’ll probably notice that many of the commercially available patterns look like nothing you’ve ever seen.  Just something close to the most basic features of a large minnow or mouse will work great.
• For your leader and tippet, upgrade to a much larger size such as 2X – 4x where you might normally be working with 5X – 8X for trout.  In our experience, simple 10 – 20-lb monofilament is fine, you don’t need a tapered leader because the weight of the fly will carry it much like a lure on a spinning rod.

Galloups Dungeon

Now a world-famous fly, the Sex Dungeon as it’s often called is another creation of Montana tier Kelly Galloups.  This articulated streamer is now so widely used it’s recognized not only in the USA but also world-wide.  The pattern strikes a great balance between looking like a huge meal, and yet at the same time streamlined enough to move in a natural swimming motion.  This stream draws both quick reaction strikes, as well as “hunt-it-down” predation chases by huge fish you wouldn’t otherwise realize are lurking below.  Use for trout, bass, pike, muskie, and saltwater species.

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Overview Of Terrestrials For Trout

Here’s a summary of the terrestrial patterns we cover in more detail below:

Why Use Terrestrials For Trout?

So the upshot is, when you are scouting the river, add to your quiver of skills looking for terrestrials that are falling down into the river or stream, as much as you look for hatches that are rising up.

Here are some of our tried and tested tips for fishing terrestrials, which when fished right are among the best trout flies:

• In terms of positioning yourself and how you step through the river, try to stealthy as with any other form of fly fishing.
• For presenting your fly, the nice thing is that terrestrials often drop into the stream with a bit of a plop.  So, this gives you a little more leeway compared to presenting, for example, a size 20 midge or size 16 mayfly.  In fact, while most of the time you want to present and drift as naturally as possible, you might even try to plop down the fly once in a while to get their attention.
• To place your fly, first fish where the water deepens into a channel or slot, drift them under branches near undercut banks, and in places where the water circulates that would trap a floating terrestrial.
• Also cover the center of the river, because while most fall in near the bank, they can float a long while and many get pulled by the current further away from the shore.
• Just like you may fish a droppers off a large dry fly, terrestrials make some of the best rigs for droppers that there are.  This is because many terrestrials use a lot of foam, making them practically as buoyant as a life preserver.  Not only does this make them easy to fish, you can drop anything from tiny to actually rather large wets and nymphs.  Just judge the size of the dropper off the size of your primary fly, and be certain that your coenection to the dropper is weaker than your tippet strength to avoid a double break-off.
• Watch the terrestrial carefully as  a strike indicator.  It may go under when it’s hit on directly, but more often than not in our experience, it gets pulled under when the trout takes the dropper.
• As great a great a flotation device as they can be, another myth we want to bust is that terrestrials should always be fished on the surface.  Remember, they aren’t designed to float!  Fish them lower in the water column, by using split shot, sink putty, or by tying versions that aren’t foam life preserves but use other materials.  You might be surprise at the results!
• Focus on natural dead drifting, but if you aren’t having any luck try an occasional twitch.  This imitates an insect trying to “save” itself.  just don’t get carried away – it’s not like stripping a streamer to imitate a minnow for example  Just make a quick twitch with your rod tip, then drop your rod to resume a natural float.
• When you spot trout inspecting your terrestrial, give them lots of runway before they take it.  They are known to inspect your fly for a good bit before taking or refusing.  Look for their shadows, and drift as far as you can rather than pulling out early for your next cast – if your fly isn’t in the stream you’re not actually fishing!

Chernobyl Ant

The 100% foam Chernobyl Ant not only floats like a rubber raft, it loosely represents a variety of abundant terrestrials, including carpenter ants, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles).  A great choice for trout, but this floater also excels with bass and panfish (use smaller sizes).  While the primary season to use this fly is in the summertime and early fall, don’t hesitate to bring it out in late spring and late fall when trout eat more terrestrials than most people thing.  The Chernobyl Ant is effective across the USA and Canada, equally effective on both western and eastern rivers.  While it works fine by itself, be sure to double your strike potential by dropping a nymph, emerger, or other wet fly off of it.  Easy to tie, easy to fish, and easy to catch trout with this universal pattern.

Hi Viz Foam Beetle

The foam beetle by itself is a super-classic pattern that is easy to tie for beginners, and effective for trout, bass, and panfish.  The only difference with the hi-viz is the addition of a small piece of foam on top for visibility.  Some believe that the foam on top emulates wings, but how many beetles do you know that fly?  Actually the June bug does, and there are flying beetles, but we have news for you – the foam is more for you than for the fish.  Add it in any color that helps you see this otherwise dark fly, especially at dusk.  White, orange, yellow, and red are the most common.  The main features of this pattern are a once-bifurcated body, under-belly of peacock herl, rubber legs, and bright color for the thorax indicator.  While smaller than some of the other terrestrials we cover, still buoyant enough for a smaller dropper to boot.

San Juan Worm