Great Searching Patterns

Hi Everyone. This is my first post, and I wanted to introduce myself. I am from southeastern PA, so my main interest is warm water fishing. I have FF?d off and on over the last 35 years, and about 5 years ago came back to it for good. I have a really nice small stream/creek that is only 5 minutes from the house, so that is my home water. Smallies, rock bass, crappie and panfish are the fish of the day, and over the last few years the fishing has gotten progressively better. Some time ago I read a great article by Dave Hughes in the Winter 2004 Fly fishing & Tying Journal. In it he discusses the need for a variety of ?Searching? patterns that can be used to see where the fish are and what they are eating. Without ever totally realizing why, I saw that I had been using a lot of these patterns. Even though the article was trout oriented, my experience is that the patterns I like will work equally well in warm water. This may have been discussed here before, but here is my question to the members, what do you consider the great searching patterns, be it dry, wet, nymph, etc? These are the patterns that you don?t leave home without, and are your ?go to? stuff. Two I would like to put on the table are the Clouser Nymph, and Peter Frailey?s Baby Bugger. Both can be used to imitate many things, and both are killer patterns. What do you guys like?

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Bob

As you can see by my user name, I'm from SE PA. Searching patterns, I'm more of a dry fly person, so my tendancy is to though out some sort of a floating pattern for both trout and warm water.
For trout I like a CDC and Elk, around here a size 14, gray body and light tan wings or a pattern I've dubbed the Wissahickon Midge. Both of these pattern will move trout and sunfish, to at least take a look at them.
If nothing is seems to be happening, I'll usually tie on a size 14 to 18, Bead head, soft hackle PT Nymph.
Warm water: I usually don't start fishing specifically for bass and panfish until late May. The last couple of years a size 4 Sneaky Pete style slider, in fluorescent yellow, has been a good searching pattern for me. If it's slow then I'll tie on either a Green Weenie or a black flymph as a dropper.
A lot of the streams around here are pretty clear and when I'm sight fishing. One pattern that will move trout is a bait fish imitation tied out of Mirror Image or Fuzzy Fiber with a silicone head. Once I see where the trout are holding I'll switch to a nymph or a dry. I tie them 1 1/2 to 3 inches long. This is also my main subsurface pattern for smallies, greenies and sunfish.

Trout: an Olive Conehead Combo (see Fly of the Week Archives - another gem from Peter Frailey) with a Sparkle Caddis pupa as a trailer fly. Since the Conehead Combo is a heavy fly, if the water is shallow or slow moving I use a Woodduck Heron streamer.

Warmwater: small balsa wood popper that I tie on a size 14 Mustad 94831 hook.

Smallmouth Bass: deer hair pencil popper tied on a 4XL straight eye streamer hook.

Alberto

Look in the panfish archives for Ricks Favorite Bluegill Flies or Crappie flies.
Around part 305 I think.

Rick

Welcome aboard.

For the type of fishing you're doing, I would not leave the house without several black mohair leeches (black maribou tail with black mohair leech yarn body) tied on size 10 and 12 hooks. Also, I would have several softhackels tied in various color combinations for bream and small Polar Fiber streamers in chartruese over white tied on size six to ten hooks. With these flies, I think you will be able to catch plenty of fish and have loads of fun.

Jim Smith

What's the name of the creek? I am from SC pa. You know there is alot of excellent trout streams in PA. I'd say white/ chart clouser, clouser crayfish, black/olive wooly bugger. Ever consider fishing for trout?