Flies are the indispensable type of bait that a trout could not resist. Every fly fisherman knows that. The problem is that there is a huge amount of patterns that imitate almost every insect that suppose to be a delicious treat for the trout. At the end you might bring dozens of baits that you think probably will be needed to anticipate any given situation and condition when going out for fishing.
The question then will be: “What are the best trout fly baits that I should bring along without getting my box stuffed with all those patterns I have collected all the time?” Well, there are a number of fly baits that could be recommended since they are used and tested to be working very well be professional fly-fishers. These flies will get you through most fishing situation and are considered very beneficial in estimating unfamiliar lakes and streams. Here is the list:
#1 – The Adams. This is a dry fly pattern that resembles mayflies and is the classical trout fly pattern introduced by Len Halladay from Michigan in 1922. It is considered by a lot of fly fishermen to be the best dry fly pattern ever created. It has a brown and yellow-brown feather and looks very unclean, but could trigger a response without any hatching.
It is suitable for fishing in pools or cut banks where the trout used to hide or behind any obstructions. Recommended size is 10 – 18.
#2 – The Elk Hair Caddis. This is also a dry fly pattern that resembles caddis flies, stoneflies as well as the green dark mayflies. This is considered as the standard caddis fly imitation and is successful in catching countless trout. It is could be tied very easy with plenty color combination which you can experiment to find the best result.
It is suitable for fishing in rough and slow waters. You can use it either dead drift with a few twist or made it dance and move it violently. The recommended size is 8 -18.
#3 – Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear. This is a general purpose nymph pattern. It could resemble a mayfly nymph, a caddis pupa or a scud if size 12 – 16 is used, and resembles a stone fly pupa and large caddis pupa if size 4 – 10 is used.
It is suitable for lake fishing which has crowded vegetation with very slow water and can also be targeted to catch plenty of species other than trout such as carp, panfish, roach, grayling and chub. In still water you can either use a slow hand twist or a wind drift. For slow running waters the standard nymph tactics such as rising nymph, wet fly swing and drag free drift can be used satisfactorily.
#4 – The Pheasant Tail or The Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail. This is also a general purpose nymph pattern but a bit slender than GRHE. It imitates various creatures that the trout and plenty of other fish feed upon. Its’ 10 – 16 size in brown color or olive version closely resembles most mayflies.
It is suitable for stream and river fishing. The most productive way is to let it sink near the river bottom on a dead drift and slowly raise it up to simulate the movement of a natural insect.
#5 – The Muddler Minnow. This is a versatile streamer type of an artificial fly that imitates various aquatic and terrestrial preys such as sculpins, spent mayflies, stonefly nymphs, emerging green drakes, crickets, grasshoppers, tadpoles, shiners, chubs, dace and other types of minnow as well as other creatures.
This pattern was generated by Don Gapen of Minnesota in 1937. At present, the Muddler Minnow is a popular pattern for fly fishing and probably could be found in almost every angler’s fly-box and become an essential tool in sport fishing.
It is suitable and effective for river and lake fishing as well as in estuary and saltwater fishing. It can be used on floating, sink-tip and on full sinking lines. The recommended size is 4 – 10.
#6 – The Clouser Deep Minnow. This is also an artificial fly streamer to be used under the water surface. It is an imitation of various bait fishes. Along with the Muddler Minnow, it is also listed as an essential tool to be included in every fly-box for game fishing.
It is suitable for both freshwater and saltwater fishing with the recommended size of 2 – 6.
#7 – Partridge Soft Hackles. Formerly known as the Partridge and Orange is considered as and artificial wet fly that imitates the emerging pupa of a caddis fly, sunken mayfly spinner to Yellow Sally stoneflies. It is a sort of a simple pattern which just includes a soft thin thread body, a few circles of partridge feathers and a small portion of a thorax. This pattern originated in North England country and was firstly described by Thomas Evan Pritt in his book Yorkshire Trout Flies published in 1895.
The newer versions are the ‘Partridge and Yellow’ and the ‘Partridge and Green’ which is addressed to the color of the body. The yellow colored body resembles a Yellow Sally, pale morning dun mayflies and Rycophilla caddis, while the green colored body resembles a Hydropsyche caddis. It can be tied to a standard wet fly or nymph hooks un-weighted but it can also be tied to a short caddis pupa hook
It is most suitable to catch a trout and the recommended standard size is 12 – 18
#8 – The Woolly Bugger. This is another artificial wet fly pattern which includes a chenille body, a marabou stork tail with a palmered hackle. The black woolly bugger resembles a nymph of a large stonefly or chartreuse fly. If it is tied very scattered it could resemble the nymph of a damselfly.
This is a popular and very effective pattern, and is widely used for both freshwater and saltwater game fishing. Like the Muddler Minnow and Clouser Deep Minnow, this pattern is essential to be included in an angler’s fly-box. But on the contrary, there are some recommendations that it should be banned from several water sheds since it is considered too effective.
It is suitable for stream, river, lake fishing and fishing in tidal flat surfaces. The recommended size is 4 – 10.
#9 – The Griffith’s Gnat. This is an imitation of a midge that emerges, struggling or resting in the water surface. Midges cover a lot of two winged small insect, and is not a well defined pattern. Some fly fishermen hesitate to use this midge pattern since they are too small and rather difficult to notify its presence on the water surface. However, midges are the routine foodstuff of trout in both still and moving waters, especially during winter time.
The recommended size is 12 – 14, which is to imitate large chironomids on a lot of desert lakes. The better size that is suitable for most waters is the 16 -20 size.
That concludes the list of nine most popular, widely used and the best trout baits that may answer all your need for a successful trout fishing in any given situation and condition. It is for sure this list will save your time on selecting the right trout bait selection to bring along. Happy trout fishing!
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