Flies For a Beginner

[yummysmokedham]

I bought my first fly rod this weekend and went down to Roaring River and had a blast on monday. I am wondering what flies and colors I should get to start out my fly tackle. I bought some olive, white, and chartrouse wolly boogers and some green ants on monday and had pretty good luck. I will be mostly fishing on Taneycomo, Roaring River, Bennett Springs, and Capps Creek. Thanks in advacne.

[motroutbum]

Phesant tails, Princes, copper johns, san juan worms, zebra midges (all different colors). All of these flies in sizes 14-20 will cover just about all of your fishing situations. thats as far as nymphs go. as far as dries, some nice big chernobyl hoppers will work. black/brown, yellow/brown, green/brown, black/red. for other dry flies, the best bet is to see what is going on when you get to your destination and buy when you get there. I almost forgot scuds, sizes 14-20 also, in olive, brown, green, gray.

[Terry Beeson]

Well let's see now....

Wooly buggers (14-8) - Olive, black, white, ginger

Leech patterns (12-8) - black, purple, olive

**Pine Squirrel Sculpins (10-8) - (of course) Olive, black, gray

*Crackle backs (14-??) - Red/ginger, green/grizzly, gold/grizzly, yellow/grizzly

Scuds (18-14) - Gray, tan, olive (this includes "trout crack")

Midges (22-16) - a thousand different configurations

Soft hackles (16-12) - Red butt, green butt, orange, and yellow

** = My "go to" Taney fly.

* = My "go to if PSSs are not working" fly for Taney.

That about rounds my fly boxes out for those waters...

[Danoinark]

Gotta agree with all of them...Dano

[Kansas Fly Fisher]

Can't go wrong with any of the above. I'd add an Elk Hair Caddis #16 and 14 to round out the box. I also like the #18 or 16 Renegade and the #18 Griffith Gnat.

John

[DeepDiver75]

One pattern not mentioned is the egg pattern. If you will be fishing the parks much some type of egg pattern is a must and every once in a while it will save a bad day just about anywhere. I only fish the micro eggs that are unweighted but there are numerous types that will be effective. Stick with the natural egg colors such as light orange or pink.

[Flyfisher for men]

I'll add the gold ribbed hare's ear. One of the best ever.

The advice you're getting is very good, and from people who know those places well.

Here's a website for you that will be a treasure trove for learning flyfishing: www.flyanglersonline.com/

They have some great articles. For good flies, click on "Flyfishing basics" on the left side of the screen, then "Flyfishing 101". Scroll down and you'll see several things like "10 best dry flies," "10 best nymphs." There are also links for streamers and wet flies.

I think a good strategy is to build up a small arsenal of flies that have worked in many places over and over; those pages will guide you well. The people in the flyshop will know what is working locally--and they could well be the flies you already have. If not, you can get them at the shop.

A lot of those flies will work on other species, too, especially bass and bluegills. It's a good idea to get a handful of poppers for them and keep them with your trout gear. If you find yourself near bluegill and bass water, you'll be fully loaded for them as well. They also give you something very offbeat to present to trout when nothing else is working.

[Greg]

Terry already mentioned them but I'll second the mohair leech. It's a great pattern and when I started back into fly fishing 5 or 6 years ago it's about all I used for a while. It's hard to fish it wrong. But they are a little hard to find.

Greg

[ToPwAt'R GuY]

I'd like to add the zug bug in all different sizes. They have been producing very well for me lately.

[drew03cmc]

If bluegill fishing, I throw san juan worms or black water spiders in a #12-14. If trout fishing, I have my best luck on gray scuds, griffiths gnats (smaller the better), as well as #16 Adams and olive #10 BH Buggers. The real question here is not about flies first, it is about your fly gear. What do you use....an 000-15 wt? Then we can talk about flies, leaders, tippet, etc... But you will become an addict like I did. Good luck, tight lines, and kissin fishes.