How It’s Tied
The Ant Fly replicates the appearance and buoyancy of a real ant using simple yet effective materials. A short-shank hook creates a compact profile, while the body is crafted from foam, fur, or dubbed synthetic fibers. Thread wraps or contrasting materials add segmentation, and rubber or synthetic fibers can be used for legs. This straightforward design allows for customization in size, color, and materials to match local insect hatches.
What It Mimics
This fly imitates ants and other small terrestrial insects that often fall onto the water’s surface. As a key food source for surface-feeding fish, the Ant Fly excels at triggering strikes, especially in summer or after rain when terrestrial activity is high. Its realistic yet simple design makes it a must-have for any fly angler.
Where It’s Used
Versatile and effective, the Ant Fly works well in rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds—particularly near overhanging vegetation, grassy banks, or areas with abundant terrestrial insects.
How to Fish It
Present the fly delicately on the surface, letting it drift naturally or adding subtle twitches to mimic a struggling insect. It can be fished alone as a dry fly or paired with a dropper nymph. Watch for gentle takes, as fish may sip it quietly, requiring a quick and precise hook set.
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How It’s Tied
The Crab Pattern is crafted on a short or medium shank hook using a blend of materials to create a realistic crab silhouette. The body is typically formed from dubbing, chenille, or synthetic materials, wrapped around the hook to achieve a rounded, textured shape. Some variations incorporate a mesh structure for added realism (as shown in the picture).
Legs and claws are made from rubber, silicone, or natural materials like hackle fibers, ensuring lifelike movement that entices fish. Dumbbell or bead chain eyes add weight for a quick sink rate and a natural bottom presentation while keeping the hook point upright. Weed guards (as pictured) are often included to prevent snagging.
What It Mimics
This pattern replicates various crab species found in saltwater flats and coastal zones—a staple food for bonefish, sea bass, striped bass, permit, and redfish. Its realistic profile, movement, and rapid sinking ability make it irresistible to predatory fish, triggering aggressive strikes.
Where It’s Used
Ideal for saltwater flats, mangroves, and coastal areas where crabs thrive, the Crab Pattern excels when fished near the bottom. Cast close to your target, let the fly sink, and retrieve with slow strips or short twitches to mimic a crab’s natural motion. Keep it near the seabed for maximum effectiveness.
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How to Tie the Parachute Adams
The Parachute Adams is tied on a standard dry fly hook with materials that ensure buoyancy and a lifelike profile. The body, made of gray or olive dubbing, thread, or floss, is wrapped to form a slender, tapered shape. The tail consists of hackle fibers or microfibbets for natural movement.
Its signature feature is the parachute-style hackle, wound horizontally around a wing post of calf tail, Antron yarn, or synthetic materials like polypropylene. This design keeps the fly stable and upright on the water.
The wing post is often white or brightly colored for visibility. The hackle should be sparse, with tips just beyond the hook point for a low-riding, natural silhouette.
What the Parachute Adams Mimics
This fly imitates various mayflies, a key food source for trout. Its realistic profile and parachute hackle make it ideal for targeting fish during mayfly hatches.
Where to Use the Parachute Adams
Effective in all freshwater environments with mayflies, it’s a top choice for trout and other mayfly-feeding species.
Also see: Adams Fly.
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How It’s Tied
The Czech Nymph is tied on a curved or jig hook (sizes 8–16). Heavily weighted with lead wire or a tungsten bead, it sinks quickly to the bottom. The body, made of dubbing, synthetic fibers, or floss, is segmented with fine wire or contrasting thread. A built-up thorax—using extra dubbing or shellback material—creates a pronounced profile, mimicking the swollen thorax of aquatic insects.
What It Mimics
This pattern imitates caddisfly and mayfly nymphs in their larval stage. Its weight and shape keep it near the riverbed, replicating bottom-dwelling insects. Available in various sizes and colors, it adapts to local hatch conditions.
Where It’s Used
Ideal for fast-moving rivers and streams, the Czech Nymph excels in targeting trout and grayling that feed on dislodged nymphs. It’s fished using Czech or European nymphing techniques—short, controlled drifts with a tight line to detect subtle strikes.
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Grey Wulff
A classic mayfly imitation with a deer/elk hair wing, offering high visibility and buoyancy. Perfect for hatches or searching patterns.
How It’s Tied
The Grey Wulff combines fine dubbing, calf tail, and saddle hackle. Its body is made from grey or tan dubbed fur, while the tail and divided wings use calf tail fibers. Wrapped saddle hackle gives the fly its signature bushy profile.
What It Mimics
This pattern imitates adult mayflies, especially drakes and duns. The bushy hackle and divided wings keep it riding high on the water, ideal for rough or fast currents where natural insects struggle. Its profile and color closely match various mayfly species.
Where It’s Used
Effective in freshwater streams and rivers, the Grey Wulff excels in fast-flowing or choppy water. Its buoyant design ensures visibility for both angler and fish.
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Overview
The Butcher is a simple yet highly effective and eye-catching streamer pattern designed to target aggressive predatory fish.
How to Tie It
To tie the Butcher, use a short or medium shank hook and assemble materials that create a vivid profile. The body is typically made from black floss or dubbed fur, wrapped neatly for a sleek, slender shape. Fine silver wire or tinsel adds ribbing and a subtle shimmer. A small cluster of red fibers forms the tail, providing a striking contrast. The wing, a defining feature, consists of paired mallard flank feathers, enhancing the fly’s natural underwater movement. Blue or black hackle completes the throat section.
What It Mimics
The Butcher imitates various small aquatic prey, primarily baitfish. Its bold coloration, mallard wing, and vibrant hackle make it an irresistible target.
Where to Use It
This versatile fly works in both freshwater and saltwater, attracting species like trout, salmon, asp, perch, and pike-perch. Any predatory fish that strikes small streamers will fall for the Butcher.
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The Zebra Midge is a simple yet highly effective fly pattern that imitates small aquatic insects, particularly midge pupae. Its slender, segmented body and bead head are key to its success.
How to Tie It
The Zebra Midge is typically tied on a small hook (sizes 16–22). A brass or tungsten bead is slid onto the hook to add weight and mimic the insect’s head.
The body uses just two materials: thin thread and fine wire. The thread (often black or red) forms a slim, even base, while the wire (usually silver or copper) is wound over it to create a segmented look.
Despite its simplicity, tying a Zebra Midge requires precision—especially in achieving a neat body and clean wire wraps.
What It Mimics
As the name suggests, the Zebra Midge imitates midge pupae, a primary food source in many waters. Its slim, segmented body and bead head closely resemble the shape and translucency of these insects.
Where to Use It
Midge pupae thrive in both still and moving waters, making the Zebra Midge effective in diverse fishing scenarios. It excels in clear water where fish scrutinize prey, thanks to its realistic profile.
Though popular for trout, this fly also works for many other species that feed on midges.
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How It’s Tied
The buzzer fly is crafted with a simple yet effective combination of materials: a thin hook, thread, wire, and sometimes a small bead. The slender body is created by wrapping thread around the hook shank, often in varying colors to mimic different stages of the chironomid larva. Wire ribbing adds segmentation and durability.
What It Mimics
This fly imitates the chironomid midge pupa, a key food source for trout in stillwater environments. Midges spend a prolonged pupation stage ascending to the surface to hatch, and the buzzer perfectly replicates this phase, making it a highly effective pattern for stillwater trout fishing.
Beyond trout, the buzzer also attracts carp, bream, chub, ide, and roach, as it mimics other midges and worms found in or near the water.
Where It’s Used
The buzzer excels in stillwaters like lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. Fish it near the bottom or suspend it at varying depths using floating, intermediate, or sinking fly lines. Its slow ascent mirrors the natural movement of midge pupae, creating an irresistible presentation. Watching a buzzer drift toward a fish can be as thrilling as seeing a rise to a dry fly!
Watch a Fly-Tying Demo
Check out the video below for a step-by-step guide. For more tutorials, visit Steve’s YouTube channel.
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How It’s Tied
The Klinkhammer fly is typically tied on a Partridge Klinkhammer or similar curved-shank hook. The abdomen features a thin dubbed body material, while the thorax is built with denser dubbing or peacock herl. A synthetic material like poly yarn or Antron forms the wing post, and the hackle is tied parachute-style around it. Foam may be added for extra buoyancy. The finished fly suspends its body below the surface, with the hackle and wing post floating above.
What It Mimics
The Klinkhammer is an emerger pattern designed to replicate aquatic insects transitioning from nymphs to adults—a vulnerable stage that attracts feeding fish. Its submerged abdomen mimics the nymphal shuck, while the exposed hackle and wing post imitate the emerging adult and its wings. This design effectively copies mayflies, caddisflies, and midges, making it irresistible to trout and other species.
Where It’s Used
The Klinkhammer’s versatility makes it ideal for diverse environments, from small streams to large rivers and lakes. Its ability to mimic multiple insects ensures effectiveness throughout the fishing season, as different hatches occur at different times. By adjusting size, color, and materials, anglers can tailor the fly to match local insect species, maximizing success.
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How to Tie It
Begin with a sturdy hook (sizes 6–12). The body is crafted from two-toned foam, mimicking a grasshopper’s form while ensuring superior buoyancy. Rubber legs add lifelike movement when twitched or stripped. For extra realism and floatation, underwings made of elk hair or synthetic fibers complete the fly.
What It Mimics
True to its name, the Clod Hopper replicates grasshoppers—terrestrial insects that frequently land on water in summer, becoming prime targets for hungry fish.
Where to Use It
This fly shines in warm months when grasshoppers thrive. Target grassy banks or overhanging vegetation, where these insects often tumble into the water, triggering explosive strikes.
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