What emergers do you actually fish with. There are so many flies out there but it seems like most people use about twenty basic fly patterns. I am wondering if there is a basic emerger pattern that is a standard. What pattern is your go to pattern.
I have been using the Barr emerger pattern because i like effective simple, fast tying.
You’ll like the simplicity of an Adams soft hackle in a 10 or 12 for many of your waters…Beartrack comes to mind…also an ‘all hackle’…simpler still, just make 4 to 6 turns of grizzly at mid shank on the nymph hook of your choice. Both will float if you want them too and on North Fork Boise the ‘all hackle’ could do no wrong.
That said, i also like an Rs2 and a Quigleys Cripple. Those will come up in google easily if you need patterns i’m sure.
Start of a good thread deepcreek !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I have a good bit of success (for a guy who has only been trout fishing a couple of years) with a pattern called a “Timberline Emerger” fished under a dry fly when fish are rising. I have never run across anyone else using it so the success may be in it not being something they have seen a thousand times.
The Quigley Cripple is high on my list of emerger patterns.
But a step or two up, at the very top of the list, is a soft hackled pheasant tail. The version I use is tied very much like a pheasant tail nymph for the tail, body, and ribbing. Then wrap the thorax with peacock herl and add a soft hackle of partridge, hen, or starling. ( I think hen has worked best for me. )
Fished as a trailing fly behind another nymph, as a dropper off dry, or swung down and across, this fly has consistently taken trouts on big rivers for browns and cutts, on smaller rivers for bows, and small streams for bows and brookies.
South Fork of the Snake
John
Besides swinging a soft hackle in the early season, I might fish some type of klinhkamer knock off if mayflies are out or an emergent sparkle pupa behind an EHC if caddis are buzzing around.
Wow, that’s like asking what dry fly do you use. Emerger patterns are most successful when they are used for a specific hatch. You would use a caddis emerger pattern when caddis are hatching, a mayfly emerger pattern when mayflies are hatching, etc.
To be more specific, you would use an emerger pattern that, from our perspective, looks like the emerger of the specific species of caddis that is emerging. Likewise, you would use a mayfly emerger pattern that best imitates, from our perspective, the mayfly that is currently hatching.
While there are some generic emerger patterns, when fishing emergers I try to use a specific pattern to imitate the insect that is hatching.
The Chronicler
Here are two of my favorites, but I’ll also use one of Craig Matthews’ Sparkle Duns on tough fish.
KG’s Halfback Foamback Emerger - I tie this to match the hatch for BWO’s to PMD’s as well as others:
KG’s Fullback Foamback Emerger - this seems to work better for smaller bugs, i.e.: midges, Beatis mayflies, etc.:
Sub-surface on the swing would be a soft-hackle Pheasant-tail.
Kelly.
Neil -
Your point is well taken. Perhaps I should qualify my earlier post by pointing out that most of my emerger fishing has been for baetis hatches, so I chose to post the soft hackle pheasant tail**.
Several others that have fished well for me are a simple midge pupa emerger similar to a zebra midge but in olive dun with a red rib and a tuft of white CDC out over the eye, Lawson’s Half Back Emerger for PMDs, the LaFontaine sparkle caddis emerger for you know what, and Harrops’s Henry’s Fork Caddis which is a very low riding pattern which I think gets taken as much as an emerger / cripple as it does for an adult caddis.
Scott Sanchez’ PFD ( personal floatation device ) pattern has also been a good one adapted to a huge midge that I ran into on Fall River in Idaho and a large Western Green Drake hatch on an eastern Idaho cutthroat stream.
John
** Besides, I alway liked that particular picture of a s.h.p.t.
I’ve had good luck with the Iris Caddis.
Regards,
Scott
I have had pretty good luck with “floating” various nymphs. My favorite is to goop up a brassie so it rides just under the surface. I have done the same with b.h. pheasant tails and zebra midges. This tactic works really well under a dry fly separated by about 18" of tippet.
mgliss
http://www.danica.com/flytier/hweilenmann/partridge_olive_emerger.htm
This fly by Hans Weilenmann has been one of the best producers for my son, son-in-law and myself. I tie a smaller size 14-18 variation using dun colored hen hackle when the BWO are about. It’s murder. If I can find partridge hackle small enough, I stick to the original recipe, but the variation works very well.
Another good one is a Leisenring Spider.
http://www.danica.com/flytier/mlibertone/leisenring_spider.htm
The pattern originally came from Vern Hidy’s book The Sports Illustrated Book Of Wet Fly Fishing. I’ve fished this fly a lot over the years, and it has been a constant producer.
Mark
The LTD. You can find it in the Winter edition of Flytyer;)
I just began tying the Barr Emerger for the fall Baetis hatch and it’s been tremendous. Just change the materials for other hatches like, sulfurs, tricos, cahills, etc. As he says in his book, “Barr Flies”, this pattern in smaller sizes can also be used as a midge emerger. I don’t know John Barr–just bought his book. I’m going to try some of these other emergers you all have posted because there’s more than one way to skin a cat, although I’ve never actually skinned a cat.
I had great success out West trailing a BWO dun with a size 18 or 20 PT Wet just like JohnScott suggested.
Bruce
The ‘emerger’ I use is a soft hackle.
Even soft hackles have differing varieties. Some may not even consider this an emerger.
Here’s what it looks like:
My personal version: No need for a weight.
