Start Fly Fishing – Fly Selection

One of the most frequently asked questions I hear when coaching novice fly fishers is “what fly do I use? There are so many”. My reply is what I say to you now, there are indeed hundreds of thousands of fly patterns available, however you can catch all year round with a few general patterns fished well.

So what are these magic flies? Here’s my list: –

• Tadpole style lures in black, white, orange, olive, yellow and red, sizes 8-10 (Standard and bead head variant in photo)
• Pheasant tail nymph size 10-18 (Standard and bead head variant in photo)
• Hares ear nymph size 10-18 (Standard and bead head variant in photo)
• Diawl bach nymph size 10-16
• Midge pupa in black, olive, red size 10-18
• Shuttlecock in black, tan, olive and grey, size 12-20
• F fly in black, tan, olive and gray, size 12-20
• G&H Sedge size 10-14
• Daddy long legs (crane fly) size 10-14
• Parachute adams size 12-20

The above fly selection will cover ninety percent of days for the novice fly fisher, meaning you spend more time fishing a fly than scratching your head while looking blankly at a huge selection of flies.

If you’re still struggling to catch, why not book some fly fishing lessons? We would love to help you!