I figured that it was about time to start listing some of my favorite/deadly flies to use for Trout in the lakes of western North America. These are flies that I will not leave home without when going to any of the lakes in western Canada and the western parts of the USA.
Flies are a man made representation of the food that These fish eat. The types of food varies from region to region and from lake to lake depending on many factors. Trout will target different insects depending on what type of insect is hatching at the lake at the time you are fishing.
These hatches can change in timing depending on many factors, some of these are:
1-Weather Pattern (If it has been too cold or too hot the hatch times can change)
2-Elevation (The higher the later the hatch)
3-Region (Some regions have earlier hatches than others)
These are just a few of the reasons for hatch times to change, there are other more specific reasons for this change, but these are the the ones that will affect it the most.
If you are experienced Fly fisher you probably already tie you own fies, if you don’t and are planning on getting more into this great sport, you will need to start tying your own. Again there are a few reasons for this:
1-Price ( Flies will get expensive after you start loosing them)
2-Ease of matching the hatch. (This is something you will need to learn)
Now let us get into the actual list, These are by far my favorite flies and by no means does this mean that they are the only ones in my fly box. If I were to count the flies I do have I would get into the Thousands of them, with dozens of different patterns for each different fly I am trying to imitate.
1- Chironomids: These are by far the most sought after food for the Rai
nbow Trout in lakes. These small worm like bugs are a year round staple for Trout, and they will feed on them whenever possible. In the months of May-September these insects are in greater numbers than than they are in the months of October-April, so the trout will gorge on them when given the chance.
The Chironomid is a flying insect in its Adult stage and Trout will feed on them in this stage as well but not nearly as much as they do when they are in the Pupal stage. There are many different patterns to imitate this insect. Some work better that others but this once again depends on the lake and the region you are fishing. The following links are only a few of the patterns you can use.
Patterns
Patterns 2
There are also different things you will need to know to be a successful Chironomid Flyfisher, the following link is to a gentleman that in my eyes is the best Flyfisher in western North America. His name is Brian Chan and this is an article he wrote on Chironomid tactics.
2-Leetches: These again are available to Trout all year round and trout will eat these juicy morsels whenever they are given the chance. These are not insects, but they are a huge part of the Trout diet. They are the cleaners and scavengers of the lake bottom and they do a great job of keeping the bottom clean from dead and decaying. They come in a variety of colors and as a fly fisher you will need to have a few of each color and size in your box.
Patterns
3- Dragon Fly Nymphs: These are by far my favorite fly to use. Over the years I have been fishing I have had more luck with these insects than with any other fly in my box. These once again are available to Trout year round, but are sought after more in April-October. The Dragon is only part of the Trout’s food when it is in the Pupal stage, they will not target the adults very often. The Dragon fly is a predator and will hunt other insect larvae and pupae as well as small leetches and scuds(shrimp). Dragons like many other insects in lakes of the Western part of North America will be of different colors depending on factors like water color, color of the bottom, and chemical composition of the water so you will need them in several different color patterns.
Patterns
4-Caddis Flies These insects are another important food source for the Trout. The Trout will feed on the Caddis fly in all of the stages of growth, and will feed especially hard on the adult stage. This is when you can target the fish with the dry fly. The difference between a Dry fly and a wet fly is just that, a dry fly is a imitation that you fish on the surface of the water and the wet fly is an imitation you fish sub-surface. Once the Caddis emerges and becomes the adult fly, the fish gorge themselves on these large flying insects as they sit on the waters surface and dry their wings form the emergence.
Larva Patterns
Pupae Patterns
Adult Patterns
5- Damsel Flies These are another year round staple for the hungry Trout. Damsels are alot like the above stated Dragon fly, only smaller. They are a great fly to use in the Larval stage and the Trout will feed on them in the adult stage as well, but not as aggressively. These insect as well as the Dragon will spend up tp 4 years living on the lake bottom before coming up and emerging, becoming the adult we all know. They will find anything they can to crawl out of the water on, this means weeds, tree roots, and even your anchor rope.
Larval Patterns
Adult Patterns
As I stated before, these are the flies I would not leave home without. I have approximately 1000 flies in my fly boxes and many of them are not listed here, but if I only had 5 choices of flies to take with me in the lakes of the western part of North America these would be them.
Good luck and have fun.
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