For every fly fisherman, there are a few infamous lists. A list of fish we haven’t yet, but really want to catch, a list of places we want to fish, or maybe a list of things we want to buy. But no list is as hard to put together as the list of our favorite flies, especially a list of just ten. The other lists are fairly easy to come up with because we know the species we love most to fish for, and for most of us the list of places we want to go, is usually of well known, or highly spoken of locations, and our lists of products usually just includes gear from all the top brands. But our list of favorite flies, that’s tough. There are always a few flies we know will be on the list, but then again there are a few that some of us have come to love, that don’t make it onto most peoples’ top 20. Then there comes the challenge of ranking them. For me, and I know for many others, the favorite fly may not be the most productive throughout the year, it just happens to be our favorite. Maybe because the take is more exciting, maybe because the fly can only be used in a certain, favorite, place, maybe you can’t explain why. It just is. So, for this list, I sat and thought for a good while, and this is what I came up with.

1- The Bunny Leech- Over the past few years, I’ve come to love rabbit fur as a tying material. I have almost completely stopped fishing buggers due to the fact that rabbit hair just gives you so much more movement in the water. Simply put, rabbit hair looks and fishes way better than the marabou/hackle combo of the woolly bugger. I know this is going against the norm, as the bugger is probably the most famous and most used fly ever, but you can’t deny facts, and the fact of the matter is, I have caught more fish on rabbit than I have on buggers. Even terminal tackle fisherman are switching to rabbit hair when it comes to jigs. Choosing this as my top fly was actually the easiest part of the list. It catches the most fish for me. I can put this fly in any water, anytime of the year, and as long as there is a hungry fish around, I’ll catch fish.

2- The Egg Pattern/Bead- For as long as I’ve been a fly fisherman, I’ve had egg patterns in my fly boxes. But until recently, I hadn’t fished them much. A friend of a friend who had spent time as a guide in Alaska told said friend that the majority of the trout caught up there were on egg patterns trailed behind a main fly. So one day we decided to give it a shot. Guess what. We caught the majority of our fish on the trailing egg pattern. Eggs patterns just flat work. That’s all there is to it. Now the reason I included the bead is because the bead works great as an egg pattern, and is a lot cheaper. Plus with a bead, you use a stinger hook, which for me has proven to be very effective on a number of flies. Now I know there are a lot of fly fisherman out there who look down on guys who fish beads and egg patterns, saying that it’s cheating, and that we might as well be using bait. But there’s no scent involved, just a hard plastic bead, soft plastic, ball of chenille or some synthetic hair. It looks like an egg, which is a favorite food of many fish, but the caddis is also a favorite food of many fish, namely the trout, and those guys don’t seem to have a problem with fishing that pattern. I think those guys are just mad that we catch more fish than they do. The old purists don’t like it when some young kid with new school attitude comes out and out-fishes them. Aside from it being very effective, that’s one of the main reasons I love egg patterns and beads.

3- The Elk Hair Caddis- This pattern has become the most used of all dry flies. You can walk into most fly shops and find that this is what they have the most of. The reasons for this being such a popular pattern are that trout LOVE them, and you can fish caddis patterns for most of the year, if not all year. Even if there aren’t caddis’ hatching, you can usually entice a trout into rising to one. If I can’t figure out what to use, or there aren’t fish actively feeding, this is my go-to dry fly.

4- The Parachute Adams- Like the caddis, there’s not much that needs to be said as to why this is one of my favorites, and also one of the favorites of probably all fly fisherman. This pattern can be used for most of the year to get trout to rise, and nothing beats catching fish on the surface.

5- The Stone/Salmon fly (Dry) – This is one of those flies that is among my favorites for reasons other than being really effective for most of the year. In fact, there are only a few months of the year when these flies are super effective (the time of year varies from place to place). This is actually my all time favorite fly to fish, and the only reason it’s #5 is because of the fact that I’m very limited on when I can use it. These flies are usually big, they only hatch when the weather warms up, they need clean water, and fish know when it’s time to start targeting these bugs. So when I’m fishing these flies, it means I’m watching fish take big dries off the surface, the weather is probably really nice, I’m on a beautiful stream, and the fish are hungry for them. Need I say more?

6- The Stimulator- Just like the caddis and parachute Adams, the stimulator is a near year-round dry fly that can get trout to rise. But, unlike the caddis and the parachute, this fly can be used as an attractor pattern, and also to imitate multiple species of aquatic adult insects. The stimulator, in the proper color, can be used to imitate the different stonefly species, the various caddis patterns (usually the October caddis), and even the famed Hexagenia Limbata.

7- The Beaded Stonefly Nymph- The stonefly is the only pattern that made my list both as a dry and as a nymph. The reason for this is fish love big protein packed food, and on rivers where stones hatch, their nymphs are in the water all year long because these bugs stay in nymph form for anywhere from one to four years, depending on species. I prefer beaded patterns because it is known that 90% of a fish’s food is taken under water, and beaded patterns just work better for getting down in the water column.

8- The Scud- I like the scud because they can be fished in a wide variety of places and with a number of different presentations. For me, they have worked best in clear streams under an indicator, but they also work well in still waters. Trout like scuds because they are an easy food source. They don’t move much, but rather just float along, and are available most of the year. Fish typically don’t have to work much to eat scuds, open their mouths and move a little up or down.

9- The Crayfish (aka Crawfish, Crawdad) – This pattern made my list because these crustaceans can be found just about everywhere you find trout. Like I said before, fish like big protein packed meals, and these clawed critters definitely offer that. Another reason I like fishing crayfish patterns is that the strikes are usually a bit more intense. Crayfish are usually fished by stripping, to make it look like it’s in a hurry to get away from something or to get somewhere else. When fish see this and decide it would make a good meal, they turn and chase it down, making for a more violent strike, more predatory. To me the predatory aspect makes fishing these more fun.

10- The San Juan Worm- We all know fish love worms. And we all love to catch fish. Pretty simple. The San Juan Worm was created to mimic the worms of the San Juan River below Navajo Dam in New Mexico, but the pattern works anywhere aquatic worms are found. Some people say that guys who fish the San Juan Worm are just “glorified bait fisherman”. To me this doesn’t make any sense. Like the bead and egg patterns, yeah it looks like a natural food source, but so does a size 4 Rogue Stone. Guys who only fish dry flies fish hopper patterns during summer, they fish caddis patterns all year, midges, BWO’s, and don’t all of those imitate a natural food source? Yes. So what’s the difference? If it catches fish, I’ll fish it. And the San Juan Worm catches fish, lots of them.

I know there are guys who may read this that aren’t going to like me, but I don’t care. Using these flies will catch you fish. And isn’t that one of the main points of fishing? Someone once said that a fisherman is someone who goes fishing no matter what. To expand on that, to me, a fisherman is someone who goes fishing no matter what, and does his best to succeed at the game. The purist guys out there say that fishing beads, egg patterns and San Juan’s is like fishing bait, but those guys fish dries that look just like the bugs that inhabit the rivers and their banks. Before I wrote this I did some research, and looked at peoples lists of favorite flies, and not one out of the hundred or so I saw, included the egg pattern or bead. And only one included the San Juan Worm. So hopefully by reading what’s on my list, you’ll try some of the flies that are different from other lists. If you do, you may get some dirty looks from the purists, but you’ll also out fish most of them. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to make it a competition by catching more fish; I’m just out there trying to succeed at the game. And to succeed is to enjoy one’s self. Doesn’t catching fish add to the enjoyment?

Good luck and good fishing,

FANW Fly Fishing Editor, Cody Lindberg aka Troutbum89

Many kinds of ‘spinners’ are used effectively for catching different kinds of fish, but the ‘safety pin’ Spinnerbait is one of the best lures ever invented for catching Largemouth Bass. Even Smallmouth Bass fall prey to this amazing bait. While the Spinnerbait is really only a bent wire with blade(s) on one side and jig head, hook and skirt on the other, it does not take much experimenting to realize that the reasons for the lure’s effectiveness are many:

1- By varying retrieve speed, a fisherman can cover the entire water column from top to bottom.

2- The ‘hidden’ hook means spinnerbaits can be deliberately ‘knocked’ into cover, which attracts Bass.

3- The bait can resemble a baitfish, an insect, a bird, a bat, a crawdad and other prey Bass like.

4- In heavier weights it casts like a bullet, giving the shore-bound fisherman a new reach to fish-holding areas and offering the boat fisherman a long-distance search weapon.

5- Blade sizes and shapes can be varied for specific conditions.

6- Skirt sizes, materials and colors can be varied for specific conditions.

7- A hard strike on the bait’s large hook usually means a caught fish.

8- The weighted head can have different shapes, colors and eyes.

9- Spinnerbaits can be dropped, jigged, pumped, hopped, retrieved straight or even trolled.

10- Addition of a ‘grub’ or other trailer can slow the fall rate and change the look and feel fish perceive.

I can think of no other bait that offers so many advantages.

Up here in the North country it can be difficult to find a Spinnerbait weighing more than ½ ounce. Wholesale Sports in Vancouver does have some baits weighing in at ¾ ounce and that is my preferred weight. Unfortunately some manufacturers seem to imagine that a ‘heavy’ Spinnerbait must either be a bottom-dragging bait or a night-fishing option, so often they only have one blade which is usually a ‘thumper’ Colorado-style blade.

I prefer a heavy, twin-blade Spinnerbait. I like the long castability of the heavier bait, I can feel it’s progress through the water, I can feel the blades turning, I can sense how high or low it is in the water column, I can tell what type of cover the bait is contacting, I can even detect a following Bass when the rear blade first ‘tickles’ his nose and this prepares me for the hookset, though often fish crash the Spinnerbait like a freight train with no warning at all. I have had the rod nearly yanked from my hands on Spinnerbait strikes.

After ‘discovering’ the Spinnerbait (I think I saw Bill Dance using them), I first used ½ ounce spinnerbaits and caught fish on them but I soon realized that they were not quite heavy enough for my purposes. Not satisfied with baits I could find in stores or online, I began building my own. Adding up the cost and time spent, I don’t think I am saving any money, but I am creating a bait that does exactly what I want it to. It’s not difficult and I enjoy using free time in the off-season building baits and thinking about what is to come in the Spring.

Choosing skirt and head colors will be up to you, as will your blade shapes, sizes and colors. I believe contrasts can be important. For instance, a different color skirt than grub trailer can be a fish-getter. Also, I prefer a very small Colorado blade in front, with a large willow leaf blade in the rear, again in contrasting colors. I think brass, copper or gold in front and nickel in the back is the best combination. I believe that this combination can look like feeding activity and stimulate fish to strike. Remember that baitfish grow throughout the season. I increase blade sizes as the Summer wears on in order to match the feed Bass are eating.

If you decide to build some of your own baits, here is what you will need:

-Spinnerbait heads and wires. You can really start from scratch and mold lead heads onto wires and hooks or like me, you can simply order pre-painted wire heads in the weight you want. The ones I prefer are not only painted, but they have eyes painted on as well. I prefer ‘open-eye’ Spinnerbaits. They have a bent wire line tie, as opposed to a twisted wire loop tie. I believe that open-eye baits allow the entire wire to ‘pulse’, giving more action to the head and skirt on one side and to the blades on the other.

-Metal or glass beads, plastic spacers, high-quality ball-bearing swivels, wire clevises, blades, skirts- and some kind of wire-bending tool. I simply use my Leatherman Charge tool. It is titanium tough, but the nose on the plier comes down to a fine point, allowing me to make a nice, small loop at the blade end of the wire. Larger loops or twist ties will gather moss or weeds which then foul in the blade, stopping their action. You can obtain all these components from stores, catalogues and online sources such as Jann’s Netcraft or Barlow’s Tackle.

Assembling the pieces can be tedious, and it requires concentration and attention to detail. You don’t want to end up with a bait that is missing a component. But the finished product is a satisfying sight to behold. Just imagine the odd looks you can get from friends and family as they watch you madly assembling and playing with your beautiful lures. I’ve even had ladies hold them up to their ears like jewelry!

The best part? There is nothing quite like the feeling of a jarring, yanking strike on a Spinnerbait that you put together yourself! You have just fooled a fish with a bait of your own creation.

Now that’s real Bass fishing!

Well another September is coming, with its cooling temperatures and shorter days. Bass will go into their weight-gaining feeding frenzies and it will be more comfortable daytime fishing. Take some Spinnerbaits with you, present them in various ways and be prepared to haul in a monster Bass. I often make many, many casts before nailing a good, heavy fish. That’s Spinnerbait fishing.

We’ll discuss another kind of bait next month: The Crankbait. Until then, keep your line tight, your dry side up and your wet side down.

Best of luck from your fanatical Bassmaster friend,

Bob Larimer