Flies you are never without

[Wet_Fly78]

As being new to tying flies, and less than a year back to fly fishing, I was wondering what flies you experienced FF'ers would never leave the house without? Through my limited fly fishing experience, I would never leave without the following: Partridge and Orange, Alexandra, Woodcock and Hare's Ear soft hackle. Black and Silver Spider, Pheasant tail nymph, Hare's Ear nymph, Prince nymph, and Adams dry fly. I fish a cast of 3 wet flies, and 90 percent of the time, it is the same 3 wet flies.

 

[dc410]

Sparrow nymph (just posted it in the Fly Tying forum earlier tonight). I’ve caught many different species of trout, SMB, LMB, many species of sunfish, fallfish, perch, carp, brown bullheads and even Pacific salmon in Alaska tied on a size 2 Gamakatsu B10S stinger hook with this pattern. I’ll often also fish it as one of my flies on a 3 fly wet fly rig. You can dead drift it, swing it, strip it and fish it as a nymph, wet fly or streamer. Heck you could probably grease it up and catch fish in the film with it. As long as it’s in the water you are in business. It’s tied of all natural materials (no beads, wire, tinsel or flash on this one) of natural earthy colors (brown, olive, gray) and incorporates good contrast and a ton of movement which in my opinion makes it tough for fish to refuse.

 

[Vtsalmon]

I am never without a bead head pheasant tail . Elk hair Caddis. And a Ausable bomber

 

[wildtrout2]

Never without Adams, Royal Wulff, Hares Ear, various Copper Johns, Wooley Buggers, and plenty of beadhead Green Weenies.

 

[Swattie87]

Keep in mind this evolves over time based on what I have the most confidence in at the moment, but if you made me pare down my fly box to a half dozen flies, right now, they’d be:

1. Black BH Wooly Bugger (or Slumpbuster), whichever you find easier to tie. Size 10-12ish. (I like them smaller.)
2. BH, pretty heavily weighted, dark colored Stonefly nymph, with legs of some kind. Size 12-ish.
3. A small BH nymph pattern for use as a dropper off a dry fly. My current favorite is a Bird of Prey Caddis, size 16-18.
4. Egg (pink-ish color)
5. Wulff or Humpy, whichever you find easier to tie. Yellow or Ausable type color. Size 12-14.
6. A small foam Hopper of some kind. Size 12-ish. Dealer’s choice, whatever is easy for you to tie.

 

[brain]

white cork slider.

 

[falcon]

Mostly CDC dry flies for various hatches. Most common nymphs (PT, Zug, HE etc), Rubber leg Stones. I tie 99% of my flies. If I left my fly boxes at home for some reason even after a 2 hour drive I would go back and get them.

 

[redietz]

Partridge and Orange, Renegade, Hare's Ear Flymph, Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle, and Stewart's Black Spider.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

#14 Stimulator- experiment with colors
#14 Hot Spot Black Foam Beetle
#12-#14 Adams- hi-vis parachute style
#12-#14 Elk Hair Caddis...Olive, Tan, Black (with black, tie in hi-vis poly in wing)
#20 Hi-Vis Griffith's Gnat
#8-#10 Golden Retriever
#10-#12 BH Woolybugger- black, white
#12-#14 BH Prince Nymph
#14 Black Bead Green Caddis Larva (Rockworm)
#14 Atomic Pheasant Tail Nymph
Micro Eggs- Oregon Cheese, Apricot

 

[JimNovo]

Dries…
BWO parachute
Adam’s Catskill
CDC Caddis
Sulphur Breadline Emerger

Nymphs….
Gold ribbed hares ear
Flashback bead head pheasant tail
Green LeBug
Red Zebra midge

A few sizes of each and I’m good to go!

 

[Bamboozle]

I do have minimalist set-ups for small wild trout streams where I reduce the selection dramatically. However, in my chest box excluding hatch specific patterns & stuff I am forgetting, I am never without:

Wet:
Beadhead (BH) Prince Nymph, several sizes
GRHE, BH-GRHE & BH-Flashback GRHE, several sizes
A generic brown bodied nymph I tie, several sizes
Partridge & Orange (& wire bodied versions of the same)
Starling & Purple (& wire bodied versions of the same)
Partridge & Peacock
My wire bodied midge pupa in copper, red, gold, chartreuse and green
Cress bugs
Caddis pupa in white & green

Dry:
Foam beetles, bees & foam inchworms fur ants and a cricket or two
BWO's (typically thorax ties) in a couple of sizes & color variations
Griffith's Gnats & other dry midges
EWC in different sizes & colors

Streamers:
BH-Woolly Buggers in a couple of different colors

 

[JerryC]

I carry three fly boxes with me. A limited number of patterns. I carry a midge box, with a couple of home grown midge patterns and small, size 18 to 20 PT and Hares Ear nymphs. Dry flies, I carry one caddis pattern, the CDC and Elk(deer hair) in various sizes and body and wing colors. The Usual in sizes and colors to match the hatches, snowshoe emergers and few other generic mayfly and stonefly patterns. Nymphs, size 12 to 16. They are all bead head soft hackles, either PT nymphs or hare's ear, and some tied with odd ball materials, plus a few soft hackles. And of course a box of mop fly nymphs and dries. Tied on size 12 or 14 hooks. Colors, Olive, black, tan, yellow, red, gray and chartreuse.

 

[Tigereye]

You are pretty much on track.
Dries: Adam's, R. Wullf, Lt Cahill
Wets: Partridge and green, March Brown
Nymphs: Frenchie, hares ear
Streamer: wooly bugger (rootbeer and black)

 

[PENZZZ]

Through the seasons I carry a full range of insects that hatch in PA. But the fly I’m never without is a very simple pattern I tie to represent a Japanese beetle. I’ve caught trout on this fly in all twelve months of the year.