Here’s the link to their list. What do you think?
Nice reference…thanks…it will be interesting to see the discussions.
BTW I would like to download them as a pdf file but can only do it one at a time…tedious…is there a way to do all 25 at once?
I was a bit surprised to see the Clouser listed as #1 (assuming that they’re in some sort of order) and was surprised to see the Pheasant Tail nymph not in there (though I don’t know what I’d take out to fit it in) – perhaps in place of the RS-2.
pesant tail nymph & san juan worm should be in there… I know…SJW is not the purist fly, but if they include egg pattten then SJW should be there also.
I think this calls for a 25 greatest flies swap…that would be cool! (i’ll take the egg pattern8-):D)
Brannon
I suppose there are lures that work better in one part of the country vs another. But I too, would not place the clouser on top. Certainly the gold ribbed hare’s ear should be much higher.
Dale
(but thanks for the reference, I’ll keep it on file!)
IMO, they are missing the PTN, and zebra midge. Maybe some sort of scud. The list might be more useful if you picked a species that it applies to, because bass flies and trout flies are different things altogether. I could get by without a few that they had on the list.
Personally, I think they did an excellent job in selecting only 25 flies.
They covered the gamut of flies for all freshwater fishes.
My only suggestion would be that they include at least one fly for the salt.
A lot of fun to make a list before looking at theirs and then compare the two.
The RS2 is a new one on me, but I’m ordering a few today. Just ugly enough to be most effective!! 
Bob
Don’t forget, the deceiver and clouser are very popular saltwater flies as well…
An interesting observation: Most of the flies in this list are the same flies named whenever somebody here posts a “What are your 5 favorite” question. Maybe F&S reads FAOL?
I might have selected a different fly here and there, yet what I liked most was the fairness between cold and warmwater selections. Lots of you opted for the PTN. For me the Wiggle Bug, plus perhaps a Zoo Cougar. I just think one of Jack Gartside’s and Kelly Galloup’s flies should have been included somewhere. Everything is subjective. I can live with that. JGW
I seems this is not Field & Stream’s voted on list but one man’s opinion…IMHO a good one…
In case you didn’t note this…
"
Additional Info
No one fly catches all the fish all the time. That?s a fact of flyfishing, and it?s why there are thousands of different patterns. Fish, ever whimsical, sometimes refuse to eat on Friday the fly they ate on Tuesday. Fishermen, ever inventive, constantly create new patterns to compensate. Despite this, some standard patterns have evolved. Tested by time, water, and fish, these are the flies that work more often than not. Most are trout flies because the majority of flyfishermen target trout. That?s why my top 20 list leans in that direction. Compiling a top-flies list invites argument, I know. Meet me at fieldandstream.com to join the fray. -- John Merwin"
“from johnmerwin wrote 3 days 8 hours ago
buck hunter 17:
That’s a perfectly reasonable question. “Best” is always a matter of opinion, of course. In my case, based on experience. I got my first fly rod 58 years ago this month and have been waving one around ever since…”
its a good list but should have included the pheasant tail nymph
the rs2 has been around for about +/- 20 years and has proven its fish catching ability
I find it very interesting that 4 of the top 5 flies are streamer patterns. That is certainly something to take into consideration when visiting a new body of water, me thinks…
That is a good list! Here are a couple of additions:
http://www.danica.com/flytier/jwoolacott/black_stonefly_nymph.jpg (Image)
http://cmcflyfish.org/images/large/kaufmann_scud_lg.jpg
Doug
I’m wondering if any where it says his order is top to bottom…???
I’m suspecting it’s hard enough to pick top 25 let alone 25 top to bottom…and he has stated his trout bias…
Hi,
I was surprised not to see the pheasant tailed nymph, but also surpised that Greenwell’s Glory was not listed. Still, a good list that would do one well.
- Jeff
I think that’s a pretty good list of flies, with a few glaring omissions, but surely they are not listed in order. 8T 
What the heck is a Greenwell’s Glory? I think people have to have heard of it too, adding notoriety, not just fishing capability.
It’s one of the most famous flies in the English speaking world, outside of the US.
In many ways, I’ve always had a hard time when anybody makes a list of
“the best " X " of all time.” What they really mean is “my favorite " X " at the moment.”
I’m not saying that the choices he made weren’t good ones, just that they’re really only the 25 best flies he (they?) could think of, given that they take the greatest number of species of fish in the greatest number of American (fresh) waters in the early 21st century. With those criteria, it’s not a bad list.
Like any such list, it’s just a starting point for discussion. It’s certainly not the same list I’d come up with, but there are reasonable justifications for the inclusion of every fly in the list.
I really don’t understand the exclusion of the pheasant tail nymph; it’s both hugely popular and a great fish catcher.
One could also argue that he mixed generic types of flies (e.g. Clouser Minnows) with specific patterns (e.g. Adams). If you’re going to include “Clouser Minnow” as a pattern, you might just well include “bead head nymph” as a pattern.
My own list would have started “Partridge & Orange”, repeated about 20 times, with “Chartreuse Sparkle Grub” thrown in toward the end for when I wanted to fish for warmwater species.
They’re missing it if soft hackles and midges aren’t on the list!