My Go To Fly For Spring……PT NYMPH

At the start of each season every angler must plan for the first day of the season. As a fly angler, that leads to the flybench. What to tye?

Well for me I fall back to the tried and true. I tye nymphs and streamers and wets to get me started. Here are a few of the flies I rely on to get me going each spring.

Nymphs:
1. Pt Nymph
(Natural coloration makes it a killer fly for early season.

2. Prince Nymph
( I think the trout see that white wing thing)

3. Gold Ribbed Hares Ear
( the shine and contrast of a good buggy nymph)

4.Copper John
(Standard red/copper or green, love the shine in muddy or off colored water

5. Muskrat Nymph
(Backup to the PT and Hares Ear.)

6.Stonefly “raffia” nymph
(Several names are attached to this style..all work. Prefer Black and Brown.)

Streamers:
7. BT Slayer
(See Previoius posts for pattern)

8. Joes Smelt
( Sleek design looks good to all trout, and looks very smelt like in the water.)

9. Kennebago Smelt
(The darker smelt pattern of the Kennebago makes it more visible under certain circumstances. the white and yellow add attraction as does the silver shine of the body.)

10. Black Ghost
(Same idea as the Kennebago, darker can be seen better at specific times. This pattern uses more white and less silver shine.)
11. Ripogenus smelt
(In stark contrast the Rip is lighter than most would choose and catches alot of “local” fish)
Wets:
12. Carey Special

(Westfly Photo)
HOOK:sizes 4-10
THREAD: Black
TAIL: Pheasant tail
RIB: Copper wire
BODY: Olive chenile or peacock herl
HACKLE: Pheasant tail

13. Muddler Minnow
The classic hopper minnow, I prefer in gold and browns over other variants.

14. Bergman

(Flikr Photo)

15. Picket Pin
(A Classic wetfly of the old school. Basicly some peacock on a hook, ribbed with a hen hackle, a squirrel tail wing. Monster brookie fly early in the season as the bugs first start surfacing.)

16. Partridge and Yellow
( Standard and neon, a classic mayfly pattern.)

Now your list may vary from these few patterns I have listed, but that is an individual thing. These are just some of the 200+ flies that grace my flybox each spring. Variety is the spice of life, even in flyfishing.