Fly Tying

 The Elk Hair Caddis dry fly is probably the most popular adult caddis fly pattern imitation in fly fishing.  This, along with the Adams and the Griffiths gnat, is one of my all time favorite dry flies.  These  flies have been fooling trout since they were first presented to rising trout.  It's a simple fly to tie and it's easy to see on the water.  Read on for simple instructions for tying this classic fly pattern.

Along with the gold ribbed hares ear, the pheasant tail nymph is one of my favorite flies for fly tying and nymphing.  It's also one of the most productive trout flies in fly fishing.  Frank Sawyer, an English river keeper, invented this fly pattern more than 60 years ago and used only pheasant tail and copper wire to tie his version of this simple fly, a deadly imitation of the Baetis nymph.

In fly fishing there are many classics.  In truth, there are very few flies that have not undergone some changes over the years.  The original Hares Ear fly, like most original fly fishing flies, was a wet fly pattern.  Today, this nymph is one of the most common and most effective flies in fly fishing for trout. 

The black ant fly is one of my favorite terrestrial patterns in fly fishing, partly because of how easy it is to tie, but also because trout eagerly gobble these flies up - see the section on trout diet.  They should be fished in the surface film or just below the surface, so if you use any floatant, keep it sparse.  The banks are the best place to cast this fly to since most ants find there way into the water at that point.