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COMMON FLY PATTERNS

Adams (Mayfly)

Alderfly (Alderfly)

Ant (Ant)

Baetis (Mayfly)

Beetle (Beetle)

Black Caddis (Caddis)

Black Midge (True Fly)

Black Quill (Mayfly)

Black Stonefly (Stonefly)

Blue Dun (Mayfly)

Records 1 - 10 of 161  |  Next 

MEMBER FLY PATTERN RECIPES

Fly Tying

PHEASANT TAIL NYMPH FLASHBACK BEAD HEAD

By: Chris Turner
Hook: 10-18 nymph style
Thread: black 8/0
Abdomen: pheasant tail fibers
Thorax: peacock herl or peacock dubbing
Tail: pheasant tail ends
Rib: gold or copper wire
Head: bead, and shell back is flashback material
Picture added: 09/27/2009
Fly Tying

BLACK NOSE DASE

By: Chris Turner
Hook: 8-14
Thread: black 8/0
Tail: red yarn
Body: silver tinsel
Wings: brown over black over white deer hair
Rib: silver wire
Head: black thread
Picture added: 09/27/2009
Fly Tying

SUCKER SPAWN EGG

By: Chris Turner
Hook: size 8, 10, 12
Thread: red, 8/0 or color to match yarn
Body: egg yarn, glo bug yarn
Head: thread
Picture added: 09/19/2009
Fly Tying

THE RECYCLE FLY

By: Dan O'Donnell
Hook: 10, 12, 14, 16
Thread: black 6/0
Abdomen: black haretron
Hackle: none
Thorax: black haretron
Tail: black goose biots or rabbit guard hairs
Body: black haretron tapered
Wings: none
Rib: none
Legs: none
Head: gold bead
Picture added: 08/19/2009
Fly Tying

SULPHUR MAYFLY

By: Chris Turner
Hook: 12-18
Thread: tan 8/0
Abdomen: Sulphur super fine dubbing
Hackle: ginger to match hook size
Thorax: Sulphur super fine dubbing
Tail: ginger hackle fibers the length to the strait part of the hook
Body: Sulphur super fine dubbing
Wings: white of dun hackle tips . (wings the length of the strait part of the hook )
Rib: none
Legs: none
Head: thread
Picture added: 08/18/2009
Fly Tying

SAN JUAN WORM

By: Chris Turner
Hook: 10 - 18
Thread: red 8/0
Tail: red ultra chenille
Body: red ultra chenille
Head: thread
Picture added: 08/18/2009
Fly Tying

POLY WING TAN CADDIS

By: Chris Turner
Hook: 12- 18
Thread: tan 8/0
Abdomen: tan super fine dubbing
Hackle: ginger
Thorax: tan super fine dubbing
Tail: none
Body: tan super fine dubbing
Wings: white or tan poly yarn
Rib: none
Legs: none
Head: tan thread
Picture added: 08/17/2009
Fly Tying

LOPAT'S LATEX LARVA

By: Chris Smorul
Hook: Mustad c49 sz 10-16
Thread: Danville Flymaster 6/0-your color choice.
Abdomen: Hareline Dubbing-your color choice---Latex Strip roughly 1/4 inch wide
Hackle: none
Thorax: Hareline Dubbing, your color choice.
Tail: none
Rib: Small wire or monocord, your color choice.
Head: Bead to match hook, your color choice
Picture added: 07/27/2009
Fly Tying

10 IN 10

By: Josh Calkins
Picture added: 06/26/2009
Fly Tying

FLY NYMPH

By: Steve Gibson
Hook: No. 8
Thread: Fine mono
Tail: Yarn
Body: Fuzzy Leach Yarn (FLY)
Head: Gold bead
Picture added: 06/07/2009
Records 1 - 10 of 24  |  Next  |  Add a new recipe

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Records 1 - 10 of 216  |  Next  |  Add a video

A QUICK ENTOMOLOGY LESSON

Entomology is the scientific study of insects. However, there are some other creatures listed on this page that aren't insects like eggs and mice. They are included on this page because the correlation between entomology and fly fishing is the study and understanding of what fish eat. Perhaps a better name for this page should be "fish food" but I did not want to confuse the issue. The information below is a very short version of some common items fish eat and fly anglers mimic with fly patterns.

MAYFLY

Mayfly patterns Mayflies have upright wings as they enter adulthood. They have prominent tails and a curved body. Their life cycle is twenty four hours and flies are tied to mimic nearly every phase. They are very graceful and slow in flight unless they are in spinner phase where they often quickly dip down and fly up again.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Nymph | Emerger | Dun | Spinner


STONEFLY

Stonefly patterns Stoneflies have wings folded flat over their back as they enter adulthood. Two pronounced short tails make them noticeably different from caddisflies and mayflies. Wing case covers are also pronounced during their nymph phase. They are clumsy, slow, and erratic in flight.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Nymph | Adult


CADDIS (Sedge)

Caddisfly patterns Adult caddisflies have wings folded to the side and look like a triangular tent when at rest. Their wings at rest make them noticeably different than other flies. They hover in flight and also often frantically skitter over the surface of the water. The caddis nymphs have cases they live in before adulthood.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Larva | Pupa | Adult


MIDGE (True fly)

Midge (true fly) patterns Midges look just like mosquitos but unlike the pesky bugs, midges don't bite. Midges are very small but are fed on often and many times offer a successful option when fish are not feeding on other flies. They should not be ignored and anglers should have both wet and dry patterns.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Larva | Pupa | Adult


DAMSELFLY

Damselfly patterns A damselfly nymph has a long, slender body with three, feathery tail-like gills which allow it to breath underwater. It moves through the water by sort of wriggling from side to side. The damselfly adult has a very long, slender abdomen and, when not flying, usually holds its long stiff wings together with tips touching over its back.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Nymph | Adult


ANT

Ant patterns Flying ants are often blown onto the water and fed on. They are also carried uphill by warm air currents and blown onto the water (upslope blow-ins). In late summer and fall ants will be on leaves and in branches of streamside vegetation, looking for food. They live in dead trees by the streams, and lots of them drop into the water.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult


EGGS

Egg patterns Trout, salmon, steelhead, and other fish species all eat eggs. They eat smaller eggs of whitefish, other trout species, and even the spawn of their own species. Eggs constitute some of winter's most reliable patterns and are widely available during the cold months because the spawning activities of many fish take place in late fall or early spring. They are often laid in areas of fine gravel, which are quickly disturbed during spates. When you use egg patterns, concentrate your efforts below riffles. While many anglers make a big deal about the ethics of fishing over a redd, there's nothing wrong with fishing downstream of redds.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Egg


SHRIMP

Mysis shrimp patterns Mysis shrimp live in more than 50 reservoirs across the Western U.S. and Canada, however, only three reservoirs have the depth, water temperature, and dam characteristics that result in large numbers of Mysis being swept into their associated tailwaters. All are in Colorado (Reudi Reservoir, Dillon Lake, and Taylor Reservoir). Mysis create massive trout in these tailwaters due to the high nutrient level of Mysis, the high fat content, the availability, and the ease of feeding on clumps of the dead or near-dead shrimp.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult


LEECH

Leech patterns Leeches are most active during the morning or evening hours. However, a well place leech pattern will be taken by an opportunistic fish. Wooly buggers are used with success throughout all times and all seasons. Chironomids (leeches) are a staple food for stillwater fish but are also fed on in mountain lakes and streams.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult


CRAYFISH

Crayfish patterns Crayfish molt several times a year, and when they do, they are vulnerable to fish. They shed their hard exoskeletons as they grow leaving them defenseless with soft shells. They are aggressively eaten by fish simply because it is less work and a large meal. A soft-shell crayfish is lighter in color than one with a hard shell, so fish patterns that are lighter in color than the crayfish you see to imitate this vulnerable stage.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Molting young and adult


BEETLE

Beetle patterns Beetles are fed on by when they incidentally fall into the water. They are very important in late summer and fall. There are no specific life cycle habits or hatches which toss beetles into the water in great numbers. They are abundant and fed on frequently so have patterns in your box.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult


GRASSHOPPER

Grasshopper patterns Grasshoppers (hoppers) are often blown off grass and bushes and into lakes and streams in summer and fall. The patterns are large dry flies that require no soft, subtle presentation.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult


SOW BUG

Sowbug patterns Sowbugs are are flattened top to bottom and have seven pairs of legs. Their legs are used to crawl along weed growth. Sowbugs most often have a gray back with lighter colored legs and belly. Sowbugs can flourish in slow, unpolluted tailwaters, springs, creeks, and small ponds.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult


SCUD

Scud patterns Scuds are distant cousins to the crayfish, sowbugs and shrimp. Many anglers refer to them as shrimp but they are not. Scuds have a hard, segmented exoskeleton and 7 pairs of legs underneath the body. The front 2 pairs of legs are for grasping vegetation. The other legs enable scuds to swim. They commonly move in an erratic and random manner. Located between the various pairs of legs are their gills. Scuds spend their entire life beneath the water's surface.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult


TUBIFEX WORM (San Juan worm)

Tubifex (san juan worm) patterns Tubifex worms wiggle as they floats through the water. They usually crawl through silty bottom or on the rocky bottom of rivers. The worms live in the moss and silt and feed on decaying organic matter. Aquatic worms can live underwater without any oxygen (unlike typical earthworms).

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult


CRICKET

Cricket patterns Crickets are often blown off grass and bushes and into lakes and streams in summer and fall. The patterns are large dry flies that require no soft, subtle presentation.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult


MINNOW

Minnow patterns Minnows are smaller, younger fish that are easily and often fed upon.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Youth


SCULPIN

Sculpin patterns Sculpins are smaller, younger fish that are easily and often fed upon.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Youth and adult


MOUSE

Mouse patterns Field mice spend their summers on the banks of rivers and lakes and are often blown onto the water by a gust of wind or a slip of foot. They also swim across the bodies of water. The swim quickly and frantically and are often devoured by predatory fish.

Patterns mimic the following stage(s)
Adult

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TOP CONTRIBUTORS

Below are the FFC members that have made valuable contributions to Fly Fishing Community member recipes.

FLY PATTERN RECIPES

Chris Turner (6)
John Bolton (4)
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matt guymon (2)
Robbie Roemer (2)
Steve Gibson (2)
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Chris Smorul (1)
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