Fly Fishing Tips - Understand Fly Types

Understanding fly types is essential for successful fly fishing. Flies are imitations of natural prey like insects or small fish, and they're generally grouped into three main categories:

Purpose: Imitate adult insects that float on the water's surface.

Use When: You see fish rising to the surface (rising rings, splashes).

Common Patterns:

• Adams
• Elk Hair Caddis
• Blue Winged Olive (BWO)
• Royal Wulff

Tips:

• Float your fly naturally with no drag.
• Dress with floatant and dry it often.

Purpose: Mimic immature insects underwater (most fish feed here).

Use When: There's little surface activity—works almost anytime.

Common Patterns:

• Pheasant Tail
• Hare's Ear
• Copper John
• Zebra Midge

Tips:

• Use a strike indicator and split shot to get the fly deep.
• Dead-drift the fly to mimic natural insect movement.

Purpose: Imitate baitfish, leeches, or larger aquatic prey.

Use When: Targeting aggressive or predatory fish (especially in deeper or murky water).

Common Patterns:

• Woolly Bugger
• Clouser Minnow
• Muddler Minnow
• Zonker

Tips:

• Strip the fly with varying speeds.
• Cast across or downstream and retrieve to trigger reaction strikes.

• Emergers: Represent insects transitioning from water to air—deadly during hatches.
• Terrestrials: Mimic land insects like ants, beetles, or grasshoppers—great in summer.
• Attractors: Bright, unrealistic patterns meant to provoke curiosity or aggression.