I know it depends: depends on insect activity, type of water, time of year, etc., etc., etc. However, if you had to fish an unfamiliar stream for a day and could only use one fly, what would it be???
peacock soft hackle
Adams Parachute
Considering I never of heard of this fly about 7 years ago, (yea silly me) and I prefer dries most times; my confidence in it all year long, (that’s key) on any stream, under any conditions easily makes it my 1st and only choice:
Beadhead Prince Nymph
Rubber legged, bead head pheasant tail nymph - #14 (or #16)
Assuming you are fishing for trout I would use a Montana Stone Fly. Here is a link: http://www.riverbum.com/Montana-Nymph/
Tim
Hares ear soft hackle
CDC and Elk.
Regards,
Scott
I must say, in my opinion, these are very good choices…
Baillie’s Black Spider in size 14. It has been a go to fly for me in many situations when the trout seemed to have lock jaw. That simple wee fly opened the jaws and got their appetites going. Thank you Mr. James Baillie. (and Donald Nicolson for telling me about this fine wee flee.)
its hard to go wrong with…
a #10 or#12 woolly bugger.
… fall through spring, a Griffith Gnat, which can be fished dry or wet.
… summer through fall, an FEB Hopper, which can do double duty as a Golden Stone or October Caddis.
John
Madam-X in size 14 Black, or maybe Green, or maybe Green wing with Deer hair body…I can’t decide on the color, but size and pattern is easy!
A size #6 “Big Ugly” Rubberlegs stonefly in a gold and rust variegated chenille with gold rubber legs.
Kelly.
Bead head pheasant tail. Almost always gets some action on the water.
Peacock Elk Hair Caddis. Just because I’m thinking about tying some up.
I’m glad we’ve all come to a consensus on which fly to use.
Best thing I’ve found for a surefire fishgetter is two chicken feathers wrapped onto a quarter stick of Dupont. (Looks kinda like a big tubefly) Use your 14 wt. and open up the loop.
Lew,
I must admit that I’ve been tempted to use Dupont Lures (or lies) at times but managed to refrain myself. I did manage to take a canoe full of fish using 6 fragmentation grenades tossed into a large lake. Do those count as Dupont flies?
REE
Since nobody has mentioned leeches…i’ll say black marabou leeches, size 10 to 4 on longshank nymph hooks, no added weight.
Panman makes a great case for the Montana nymph though and i go to that a lot when the leech doesn’t do the trick.
Both flies are very easy to tye as a bonus.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
ptn soft hackle #16