Most Used Fly?

Early in the season, it was sulphurs

Then I started nymphing, so...

Little J, Iso's.

Spring - Scuds.
 
The two that I use the most over a year's time are Buggers and BWO wet.
 
Clouser Minnow and variations. Poppers see a lot of time for me in summer months.
 
1. BH prince nymph
2. BH gold ribbed hares ear
3. Elk hair caddis
 
Feel free to call me a hack if you would like but my go to flies for a great variety of species are:

1. Blood Dot
2. Zonker or Leech
3. Wooly Bugger variations

Yep... won't be winning any purist of the year awards over here!
 
along with the usual HE and PT nymphs/soft hackles, BWOs, Sulphurs and Stimulators I usually blow through, it turns out I also went through a lot of white Wulffs this year, maybe because I actually caught the Whitefly hatch on the Susky this year...
 
Not to mention that many patterns are similar in outline so that 10% is probably too high for specific patterns.
 
This topic changes from year to year for me, but this year, I would say that I used a stimulator more than any other dry fly. For nymphs, I used a tungsten bead head pheasant tail. Put those two together in a dry dropper set up, and you will catch some summer time fish.
 
3wt7x -

I'm a little surprised that you - and I believe several previous posters - named stimulators here.
Though I've used them out west on cutthroat rivers with pretty good success, I've never really tried them in PA. Maybe I should fish them more here.
 
I like stimulators for dry-dropper setups because they float high and are highly visible. They are also good when fish are willing to feed on top, but are not keyed in to anything in particular.

I was told once that a Yellow Stimulator makes a good bee imitation; when you start seeing bees and wasps again in the spring, give one a try 🙂


dryflyguy wrote:
3wt7x -

I'm a little surprised that you - and I believe several previous posters - named stimulators here.
Though I've used them out west on cutthroat rivers with pretty good success, I've never really tried them in PA. Maybe I should fish them more here.
Click to expand...
 
Stimulators work great out East - however, they are usually smaller in the East in a 12-14 range while out West they get to be the size of your thumb. But on occassion when the big stones are flying around a bigger one will do the trick. It is a great pattern to hang a dropper from.

BTW, I'm not sure the trout know if they are in the East of the West. It seems like plenty of new fly tying ideas are coming from the West and us Eastern fishermen shouldn't dismiss Western patterns.
 
I had boxes of western patterns after my return from MT the other year. They worked everywhere I tried them in PA. The stimulators even worked on glassy pools on valley creek, much to my (and afish's) surprise. The gray drakes have worked well on bluegills and brook trout, and since they are extended body foam + poly, they are a great choice. I tied a bunch of size 2+ buggers for out there, and now regularly use them for PA trout.

And of course, the bighorn ray charles is now a regular in my cress bug box.
 
dryflyguy wrote:
3wt7x -

I'm a little surprised that you - and I believe several previous posters - named stimulators here.
Though I've used them out west on cutthroat rivers with pretty good success, I've never really tried them in PA. Maybe I should fish them more here.
Click to expand...

Yes you should. On freestone streams after a summer thunderstorm has brought the water levels up, they are really the killer fly. I prefer the yellow bodied ones.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Greenie Worms/Green Weenies/Sinking Inchworms. Is that because no one uses them, or because no one wants to admit using them? 🙂
 
San Juan, Black or Brown Woolybugger, hare's ear, and you just can't beat the ole Adams.
 
If I had to stick to one dry and one subsurface they would be:

1) Parachute Adams Dry
2) Brown Hackle Peacock wetfly, with a brown tail not red.

of course I'd want these in different sizes.
 
tan caddis CDC/Elk size 14-18

and off the bend a

Red Lighting Bug size 16-18
or
Rainbow Warrior size 20ish

but i am realy itching to try a

"Royal F'n Wulff"

this year.
 
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