Go-to fly patterns for trout?

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I'm curious what flies people use the most and why.

I'm fishing mostly medium and small rivers and streams in the Northern Front Range in CO.

Dries:

Parachute Adams - Rides low, but is fairly buoyant and easy to see. Can pass as a spinner. Catches picky fish but is more user friendly than, say, a Comparadun.
PMX - It's a caddis and hopper wearing a big white top hat. Good combo of natural fibers and jiggly rubber. My go to search pattern for summer/ early fall.
Chubby Chernobyl - Floats like a boat. Great for heavy droppers in rough water. Ugly and wind resistant though. Prefer the PMX if it isn't getting dragged under, but the chubby beats using a bobber.
Griffith's gnat - Less annoying to use than other midge patterns and I see lots of midges. Don't use it a ton, but when I need it I need it.

Emergers:

Mole fly - Catches fish that would otherwise ignore me. No replacement for this one. When I'm stumped I turn to the mole.
Film critic - Has a mohawk like Glenn Plake. Not sure it's any better than, say, an RS2, but it looks awesomel.

Nymphs:

Frenchie or similar - In general I seem to do better with simple, buggy nymphs with a hot spot. I prefer them over more the more muted/realistic patterns or the bright shiny ones. Unless they aren't working. I could switch this out for any number of similar patterns.
Blowtorch - Same as above but with a slower sink rate and added texture.
Zebra Midge - The fish I catch eat lots of midges. Boring but extremely effective.
Juju Baetis - Seems to out-catch other tiny mayfly patterns. Little bit of shine, some buggy texture, and sinks faster than a pheasant tail.

Streamers:

Sculpzilla - significantly more "alive" than a bugger when dead drifted.
Meyers Leech - jig jig jig bam.

Out of all of these I'd say the Parachute Adams, Mole Fly, and maybe Juju Baetis are the ones I'm most attached to. I think those three actually help me catch more fish. The others I could replace with something fairly different without much change in success. I think. Maybe. Or not.

What about you?

[John_B]

My go to streamer is my own spinoff of a sculpin pattern I saw a few years ago. Trevor's Sculpin https://youtu.be/AUQFVNPJXvU . Works great for trout and is plenty easy to cast with a 5 or 6 weight. It's pretty light so I typically fish it with a 6wt and a full sink streamer line.

[skaredshtles]

Royal Wulff. No reason, really, other than that's what my uncle mostly used...

And I'm a creature of habit.

[stapes]

You and I are similar re: the mole. Fish it as dry/emerger/nymph. Fish have ate it after ignoring everything else.

I’d throw caddis in that list. Dries and nymphs. Especially for certain N Front Range creeks.

San Juan worms purple, pink, red, natural. No shame.

RS2 can be killer.

[stapes]

Great thread btw. I keep thinking of stuff.

Lime trude is nice for higher country.

Big stoneflies whenever possible.

[MarsB]

I lean heavy on the EHC- parachutes, dancing, hi-vis variants. Mix in some Royal Wulfs and Purple Haze for good measure.

Tan chubbys are my go-to during hopper season, also mix in some Double Fat Alberts

Still dialing in my streamer game, but Mini dungeons and black & olive woolies seem to produce the best

I don't throw nymphs a whole lot anymore, but BWO poxys (ogden) & rainbow sow bugs (weber) respectively are very effective on the two in-town rivers. Red copper johns are another killer in the right situations.

[hatchgreenchile]

I spend 80%+ of my time at CO high lakes, and almost always open with a hippy stomper + green scud combo.

[::: :::]

Dry: Elk hair caddis & BWO

Wet: PT nymph unweighted as a dropper to a tungsten jig black stonefly

[BobMc]

For the first few years of my fly fishing career I pretty much exclusively threw big junk, articulated dungeons, sculpins, and feathery stuff.





The last couple years I’ve been throwing more dry flies. I can’t see tiny shit anymore so my go to has been a Hippy Stomper paired with a Triple Double. I can’t see the Triple Double very well so the Hippy Stomper acts as an indicator that also takes fish.



Although, usually what I’m throwing is whatever Lumpy or SFB ties on for me. Heh.

[Bunion 2020]

I live smack dab in Troutlandia (walking distance to the lower Gallatin) and know a lot of really good/old fly fisherman. What I have noticed is the really good fisherman have a few (12 or so) patterns but in many different sizes.

I am a bit of a hack so my go-to's are Para- Adams, Para-Wulffs, EHCs or Goddards, Griffiths for the small stuff but I have trouble seeing them and some type of a Stone Fly for the early season (orange simulators usually) and Para-Hoppers for later season.

Nymphs are Princes, Hares Ears and a bug a long time Gallatin guide showed me called a Swallow that seems to work year round for different critters.

Just getting into streamers and so far nothing but frustration. Bullet Head Buggers are the go to there but this winter I plan to tie some bigger baitfish imitations. I have pretty much quit tying dries cause they all seem to turn out the same size no what the hook size is.

[schindlerpiste]

Follow the hatch charts.
For most of the mountain west, it begins with midges, blue winged olives, and caddis, then mix in some sort of PMDs (nymphs and emerges). In fall, it's October caddis, BWO, sculpin and wolly bugger streamers.
I just bought a shitload of flies, and look forward to getting into it next season.

[Talisman]

Caveat: Do not use what fly, nymph or steamer I am flinging if you want to catch trout.

A few suicidal fish will whack something that resembles the hatch in my fly box.

I like to start with Copper Johns and Hare's Ears if there is no hatch to match.

Hoppers in various sizes in colors when they are around.

When the trout are fussy with my flailed offerings above: San Juan worms, marabou muddler minnows, clouser minnows or Mickey Finns (not the cheap ones where the dye washes out in 6 casts) usually do the trick.

[GiBo]

I live smack dab in Troutlandia (walking distance to the lower Gallatin) and know a lot of really good/old fly fisherman. What I have noticed is the really good fisherman have a few (12 or so) patterns but in many different sizes....

Best fly fisherman I know is like this. He always says if they aren't hitting it, go smaller.

Last couple of years of been I've using a lot of beetles. They've work EVERYWHERE. Mostly caddis and BWO otherwise.

We use egg patterns almost all winter on western Sierra tailwaters. Pink San Juans too. Usually drop black zebras, pupas or wd40's.

[Meadow Skipper]

I hadn’t noticed this thread before.

For dries Elk Hair Caddis are my usual go-to in NM and southern CO, but Parachute Adams are a close second. During stonefly season, Orange Stimulators work around here. In meadows, Dave’s Hoppers later on in the summer are fun-makers. Bead-head Hare’s Ears and Copper John’s for nymphs.

All this goes out the window if I see a certain hatch going on that I can match or if I’m somewhere that something like San Juan Worms or streamers are called for. And there’s one stream nearby where the Coachman (not the Royal) work great…usually.

[neckdeep]

I prefer dry flies that ride low or are partially suspended under the film. I prefer nymphs that sink fast enough that you don't need split shot. In general, I favor impressionism over realism.

[beer30]

Just wanna say I am also a big fan of the blowtorch and bumps with a lot of hackle

[skifishbum]

Although, usually what I’m throwing is whatever Lumpy or SFB ties on for me. Heh.

whatevers i tie on im gonna recomend you present it in a manner that gits eaten
and

[Bunion 2020]

How about a hopper/dropper?

[TBS]

I’m generally fishing the Metolius or Upper McKenzie in Central OR
lots of brush and not much room for backcast

So I generally go with a dropper rig and water haul
Stonefly nymph to get deep fast
Otherwise, Stonefly, big-ass Drake or chubby Chernobyl for dry
Hares ear or Prince on the end

[steved]

white wulff
golden retriever
_________
Hornberg
_________
copper john
zebra midge
my mono-bloodknot midge
_________
x-caddis/madam-x
spent partridge caddis
_________
henry's fork golden stone
orange stimulator
chubby chernobyl
_________
various hoppers

[ak_powder_monkey]

I basically use like 6 things

Beads (ugh)
Size 10 purple haze
Size 10 thunder creek
Size 10 Battle creek
Dirty Hoh
Size 14 chartruse copper john

Fishing in AK is pretty simple. I do use a variety of other things too, but if fish don't eat those they probably aren't hungry.

[lemmycaution]

frenchies
perdigons
perdigons
perdigons

with trout-big hook=small fish, small hook=big fish
however, if nothing is happening, mop fly ftw

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I've been tying with feathers from my chickens and other found feathers along with hair from my dog. Haven't quite figure out the pics...

The Stinky Stone (dog hair, copper wire, rubber legs, ice dub, cdc):

Gold:


Black:


Stormo-the-abnormo (chicken butt feathers for the tail and body, rubber legs, shiny stuffy, ice dub) Named after my oddest chicken, Stormo, who supplied the feathers. This one looks a little funky after being chewed on by a few brown trout, but that just makes me like it more:


The Eh-fly (Canada goose biots and herl from a wad of feathers I found near a bald eagle nest):


Goose biot body parachute adams:


Note: I claim no originality with these patterns, nor talent nor skill. I do claim amusement in catching fish with flies made of stuff that falls off my dog, chickens and other random animals. If you come across any interesting feathers of fur let me know. If it peaks my interest I'll pay for shipping.

[Harry]

^ wow. That is very cool.

[Johnny H]

Those all kill it BD. Well done. I like the Stinky Stone best of all.