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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A classic attractor pattern, the Royal Coachman is renowned for its eye-catching appearance and effectiveness in targeting trout and grayling.
How to Tie It
The Royal Coachman is tied on a short or medium shank hook using a combination of vibrant materials. The body consists of peacock herl and red floss, creating its signature colors. The tail is made from golden pheasant tippet fibers, while the wing is crafted from white or cream-colored calf tail or duck quill slips. A brown or grizzly hackle is tied at the head and wrapped to form a full, bushy collar.
What It Mimics
As an attractor pattern, the Royal Coachman doesn’t imitate a specific insect. Instead, its bright colors and bold profile provoke strikes from opportunistic fish. It’s an excellent generalist fly, ideal for testing surface-feeding activity.
Where to Use It
This fly excels when fish aren’t focused on particular insects or in turbulent, discolored water where its visibility stands out. It performs well in all freshwater environments, including streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.
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Adams
A versatile dry fly, perfect for trout fishing in diverse water conditions. It effectively mimics a wide range of aquatic insects, making it a reliable choice for anglers.
How It’s Tied
The Adams fly is hand-tied using grizzly and brown hackle, gray dubbing, and moose hair fibers for the tail. The hackle wraps around the hook to create the illusion of legs, while the dubbing forms the body, and the moose hair adds a realistic tail. This combination produces a lifelike and highly effective fly.
What It Mimics
The Adams fly excels at imitating various aquatic insects, including mayflies, caddisflies, and midges. Its generic yet detailed design ensures versatility, making it indispensable for trout anglers across different seasons and conditions.
Fly Tying Video for the Adams
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The Blue Winged Olive is a highly effective dry and wet fly pattern renowned for its natural mayfly appearance, making it irresistible to trout.
How to Tie the Blue Winged Olive
- Hook: Use a short or medium shank hook.
- Body: Wrap olive dubbing or thread around the shank to create a slender, tapered shape.
- Tail: Attach a few strands of hackle fibers or microfibbets.
- Wing: Use upright, divided materials like synthetic fibers, mallard flank feathers, or CDC feathers for a realistic look.
- Hackle: Wrap a grizzly or dun-colored hackle around the thorax to form a bushy collar, aiding buoyancy and mimicking mayfly legs.
What It Mimics
This fly replicates the adult Baetis mayfly—a vital trout food source year-round. Its lifelike profile, wings, and hackle make it especially effective during hatches.
Where to Use It
- Water Types: Rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds.
- Best Conditions: Ideal during Baetis hatches when trout target adult mayflies.
- Fishing Technique: Dead drift the fly to match the hatch for optimal results.
Watch the Blue Winged Olive fly-tying video to perfect your technique!
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What It Is
The Sand Eel Fly is a saltwater fly pattern designed to imitate sand eels and other small baitfish. It is typically fished near the bottom, where these prey species are most active.
How It’s Tied
Tied on a long-shank hook, the Sand Eel Fly features a slender, tapered body made from synthetic fibers like EP Fibers or Super Hair. These materials create a translucent, lifelike profile. The wing, crafted from bucktail, flash, or similar fibers, adds movement and flash to attract predators. For added realism, the fly often includes painted, stick-on, or epoxy eyes.
What It Mimics
This fly replicates sand eels (or sand lances), a key food source for coastal fish. Its slim shape, translucent body, and natural movement also make it effective for imitating other small baitfish.
Where It’s Used
The Sand Eel Fly excels in saltwater environments like estuaries, surf zones, and coastal areas, where sand eels and baitfish thrive. To maximize effectiveness, vary retrieves—try stripping, twitching, or swinging the fly to mimic fleeing prey.
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