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AZOD's Top 10
Flies Fly Fishing Field Editor
When asked about what my favorite flies are, I usually answer with a little variation. Depending on the season, my time on the water, or recent experiences, I’ve noticed that I always reply with the same core group of flies, but often rotate my top 10 selection around just enough to keep my fly boxes interesting. Because I’m also a bona-fide fly fishing gear junkie, I’ve always had the tendency to overstuff my fly boxes just to avoid seeing any empty spaces in my boxes. Now that I think about it, some of those flies have been there for years, never used, never tested, just placed there because I liked the way the pattern looked in Umpqua’s book or I read about it in a fly fishing magazine somewhere. Listing a top 10 list that everyone agrees with is virtually impossible, but it is possible to list my top producers of the year. Like many other fly anglers, I am drawn to the prestigious and simplistic appeal of the classic high-wing dry fly, however, I cannot say with any degree of honesty that I have caught more fish using a dry fly. After all, the dry fly and rising trout have symbolized the artistic imagery that people associate with fly fishing. Although I often start off with a floating line and dry fly, I do catch twice as many trout using a variety of nymph and streamer patterns. A fly box stuffed with a good selection of these flies should prepare any Arizona angler for most trout fishing situations in our high-country. Different strokes for different folks…here’s a list (#1 being the top rated) of my top producing flies in 2002: 1. Arizona Peacock Lady: If this fly isn’t in your top ten, or list of favorites, chances are, you haven’t fished it much. This versatile pattern has accounted for over 50% of my stillwater trout in the past few years. My best producing version of the Peacock Lady consists of a #14 & 16, tied with a gold beadhead and red tail. 2. Pheasant Tail Nymph: S.B.D. - Simple But Deadly. A great fly to pick off the emerger feeders in just about all AZ waters. In stillwaters, giving this fly some action will often be the difference between catching fish and getting skunked. I find myself using the beadhead variety most of the time in a natural rust color, but have encountered many days on the water where an off-color un-weighted version produced my only strikes. A great choice to fish as a dropper behind a dry, nymph, or streamer. #16’s – 18’s are dominant in my nymph box. 3. Gold-Ribbed Hare’s Ear: Otherwise known as the grey blob, this fly is effective for panfish as well as a great prospecting pattern for sub-surface trout. I have broadened my horizons when using this pattern in recent years, using versions tied with squirrel instead of hare and also have had noticeable success using the soft-hackle versions. The soft-hackle gives it a little more movement and a little buggier look when retrieved underwater. In stillwaters, I prefer a soft-hackle grey or plain black #14 beadhead, but in moving waters, I prefer not to fish a beadhead, but weight those flies with .15 or .35 lead wraps. Surprisingly, I’ve also had a moderate amount of success in lakes with a floating version I tie with a foam wingcase and small parachute style hackle. 4. Woolly Bugger: Perhaps the most popular of this list and also everybody’s traditional producer. Simple to tie, simple to fish, and very deadly in all types of water. There are hundreds of different variations of this classic pattern, but the one I find myself using most are black and olive patterns tied with a simi-seal dubbed body and marabou tail. Last season, I had a great time fishing the Sparkle Bugger pattern, which adds a impressive amount of flash to the body. A tip by Denny Rickards that has also helped me to perfect a consistent producer is to tie the tail with only a minimal, sparse amount of marabou, which gives it a much more fluid action. I also use a wide variety of different sizes for this fly to match different situations. 5. Simi-Seal Leech: A fairly new pattern to many anglers, first introduced to me about 2 years ago. In short, it is a woolly bugger tied entirely with a foreign material called simi-seal dubbing. The dubbing itself is a great looking mixture that captures and reflects light. Fished just like a bugger, it has nearly outfished all of my bugger patterns in the past 3 years. Most popular colors are peacock, black, and golden. These can be tied in a variety of methods, such as weighted with lead wraps or with a beadhead and gold ribbing. 6. Parachute Adams: The Parachute Adams will imitate just about any mayfly hatch here in AZ. Although this little gray-bodied fly doesn't look as appealing as it’s competitors in the flyshops, it does entice a lot of trout. The Parachute Adams is a great fly to start off with in both moving and stillwaters. A size 16 is my usual focal point, but I also always carry a menu of #10 – 20 with me for different occasions (such as for use the lead fly in a dry-dropper rig). 7. Glo-Bugs: a.k.a. egg patterns, fly fisherman’s power bait. Glo-Bugs are somewhat controversial amongst fly fishers because of their resemblance to bait. I have spoken to many experienced and respected anglers that frown on this pattern for these reasons. Although highly popular in certain fisheries, such as Lees Ferry, I can personally attest to their success in just about all AZ waters. Extremely simple to tie and one of the best producing flies for spawning trout, particularly at Lees Ferry and the infamous Salt River. It is also a surprisingly effective pattern to use for stillwater trout just before and after ice-over. A variety of obnoxious neon colors such as pink, orange, and yellow should take up at least spaces in each flybox. Glo-Bugs are often the key when nothing else is working. A few years ago while fishing the White Mountains in late November, a few friends and I quickly discovered that a great method of fishing this pattern was to fish it as a dropper behind a larger, slowly retrieved streamer pattern. 8. Royal Wulff: The ultimate classic attractor pattern. I heard somewhere that this fly can catch trout all around the world. Although this does not imitate any insect in particular, it’s dense hackle and high profile give offer a profile a trout can’t resist. Perhaps it’s the color, perhaps it’s the shape, but it is one of the first flies I reach for when fishing a dry dropper rig. Normally fished in a #16, tie on a larger #10 or 12 to use as a great floating and highly visible strike indicator. 9. Elk Hair Caddis: Another excellent producer that comes in many variations. As the name suggests, the most common version is made with a wing made from elk hair. However, I much prefer to fish the version tied with CDC feathers or the Goddard version. In my opinion these two styles offer a more realistic profile and silhouette on the surface film. My CDC versions have outfished my elk hair versions almost 2:1. Another highly effective variation that works great on the Rim Lakes is the smaller tent-wing caddis. 10. Stimulator: Known to some anglers as trout candy, this is a great attractor pattern, strike indicator, and producer of many trout. The pattern is masterful and incorporates a great profile along with its characteristic of riding very high in the surface film. In the West, it imitates many different types of stoneflies and caddis. Like most other flies, this one also comes in a large variety of colors, but I find the 2 most popular and effective colors are the #12 and 14 (slightly larger when used as a strike indicator) yellow or orange bodied Stimulators. This fly has had a highly successful career in just about all of Arizona’s lakes and streams. Bonus: Ant Patterns: Some consider this a dry fly, others consider it a terrestrial. Whatever the case may be, this pattern has only recently become one of my top producers. The most common pattern I use is the red fur ant pattern, tied with pheasant tail fibers and red/brown hackle around the abdomen. Great for brushy shorelines along the lakes and overhanging brush on streams. Tip – buy or tie these patterns with a visible post…the thin wrap of hackle and dark color make this an extremely hard fly to see while on the water.
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