
Mike’s Top Ten Flies For Everywhere
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It’s amazing how much things have changed over the years. When we first opened our shop in 1977 we stocked about 3 dozen patterns in a variety of colors and sizes. The cost was about a dollar each. Now we stock 10 times that amount and they cost $3.00 each. Why are they so expensive you say? First off they aren’t manufactured, they are tied, one fly at a time, by someone sitting at a vise, the same as they did 200 years ago. Secondly, why does everything else cost so much? For example, in 1980, a Hardy Princess fly reel retailed for $90. Today, the exact same reel retails for $499. A premium fly line was under $20. Today the same line costs over a hundred. A good pair of wading shoes was $60. Today you’ll pay 4 or 5 times that. Stuff costs so much now that you need to know what you need so you don’t waste money. You can easily roll out a couple of Franklins when you settle your bill. Flies have kept pace with everything else but they are the most important part of your equipment. You can’t fly fish without a fly.
In 1999 I published my first book with Gary LaFontaine, Fly Fishing the Henry’s Fork. We listed a pretty good arsenal of working fly patterns, but we specified our 12 favorites specifically for the Henry’s Fork. In Spring Creeks, published in 2003, I listed a little over 3 dozen dries, wets, nymphs, midges and streamers to encompass all of the flies you might need to fish spring creeks and tailwaters throughout the world. In Fly Fishing Guide to the Henry’s Fork, published in 2012, I listed my 12 favorite flies called “The Deadly Dozen.” All of these recommendations are for very specific waters. I’ve never listed general trout flies that can be used with any method on any water throughout the world.
How about my favorite 10 flies that I would never be without, no matter where I fish for trout? Some would argue that only 10 flies would be too limiting. I have always believed that presenting the fly properly is far more important than the fly pattern. A great example of that is the Jackson Hole One Fly. Only one fly for the entire day? Now that’s limiting. I have fished in it a number of times, and I have been part of the winning team 4 different years. I’m not mentioning this to brag about winning. My point is that every year 160 anglers fish the same river for 2 days limited to only one fly. Most of them aren’t using the same fly. Each day they must start out the day relying totally on their ability to present the fly. Very few One Fly contestants lose because they were using the wrong fly.I’m not advocating you limit yourself to only 10 flies. Like everyone else who has fished as long as me, I have dozens if not hundreds of different patterns. However, if I had to limit my fishing to only 10 flies I honestly believe I could catch fish no matter where. Here are my ten, they are not ranked. They have a specific use and situation.
Renegade
If you asked my two sons, Shaun and Chris, if they were limited to a single fly, no matter where they fish, it would be a Renegade. They got that from me when they first started out. They would have ditched it long ago if it didn’t work. We like the Renegade because of its versatility. It can be fished as a wet fly, dry fly or used as a dropper with another fly. If used in the proper size it can be effective when trout are selectively feeding on a Trico hatch as well as used as a large attractor dry fly. One of my favorite ways to fish it is to use it as a dropper with a soft hackle as a wet fly. It has definitely stood the test of time.