Articles With the Tag . . . fly patterns

Buggy flies, guide flies, confidence flies: Fur nymphs are all of that. A fur nymph looks alive, and it’s not overdone. It’s just fur on a hook. These flies aren’t very exciting to look at. The material list is slim. And there’s not much to know about tying them. Anglers may be bored with the spartan form, but trout respond to the simplicity. And there’s a lot of inherent attraction in a fur nymph, with very little to turn a trout off.

Some anglers lend too much credence to the hatch charts for nymph selection. A nymphing angler must be careful not to take every dry fly concept and principle underneath.

Never forget, what you see on the surface or in the air does not necessarily correlate with the best fly choice under the water. Tan Caddis may be all over the water’s surface, but are they easily available as a nymph to the trout right now? We can’t know that for certain, but we can test the theory . . .

When you work the Pusher, imagine the wings flexing and pulsing as you hand twist retrieve and pulse the rod tip on a three count. See the fly in your mind’s eye and make it come alive in the dark. Then hold on tight . . .

The Perfect Parachute Ant is so effective and so versatile for me, that it’s the only terrestrial I carry in my box, most days . . .