Types of Flies

Dry flies are what most people think of when they talk about fly fishing. These are patterns that are designed to mimic a fully developed adult fly. They are generally meant to float on the surface of the water.

Dry fly fishing is arguably one of the most exciting types of fly fishing. This is because you can actually see the fish rising to the surface to “sip” the fly.

Wet fly patterns are flies that are meant to sit below the surface of the water. Technically a nymph can be considered a wet fly because it’s fished below the surface. But most of the time when people talk about wet flies, they mean a specific style meant to imitate a small fish. 

This style of flies was historically used in the early days of fly fishing for trout and salmon. Instead of casting upstream, anglers typically let these flies “swing” downstream through the current. They are then retrieved upstream to mimic small baitfish.

Nymph patterns are meant to represent the larva and pupa stages of various different types of aquatic insects. Most patterns are composed of various colored threads and materials tied around a hook. 

Sometimes they will have legs or the initial signs of emerging wings. But for the most part they will look like a very small larva or some kind.

These flies sometimes have weighted materials tied into the pattern to allow them to sink deep into the water column. While others are meant to sit just below the surface film.

Because nymphs are designed to be presented below the surface, it’s not obvious when a fish eats the nymph. For this reason, nymphs are usually fished under some sort of strike indicator. A strike indicator can be anything from a ball that resembles a bobber, to a piece of yarn tied to your line.

Emergers are a type of fly pattern that are generally grouped with nymphs. They are actually somewhere between a nymph and a dry fly.

These flies mimic the stage when an aquatic insect begins to emerge from the pupa casing to eventually emerge as an adult fly. The emerger patterns usually have some sort of indication of emerging wings.

Emergers usually don’t have weight added and are presented in the surface film or just below the surface.

Dry flies, nymphs, and emergers cover the various stages in the life cycle of aquatic insects. However terrestrials refers to patterns that mimic insects that live on land, but often find themselves floating in the water.

These include bugs like grasshoppers, beetles, ants, crickets, and even cicadas. Fishing with terrestrials can be very exciting because it usually means fish are rising to eat.

Some terrestrials like grasshoppers and cicadas are larger and meatier than small dry flies. So they’re more likely to entice a larger fish who normally wouldn’t go out of its way for smaller meals.

Streamers are larger patterns that are generally meant to imitate any sort of swimming fish or small animal. They are usually tied with large feathers, animal hair, and even synthetic materials like tinsel and flash. 

Streamers can range in size from 1.5 inch wooly buggers, to 14 inch fish patterns meant to draw in large predator fish. Because streamers are so much larger, anglers generally use higher weight rods, reels, and fly line.

One streamer that is gaining popularity is a pattern that imitates a mouse swimming across the water. These can be very effective when targeting large trout, especially at night.

While streamers can be drifted like other fly patterns, they are usually actively retrieved by stripping line and adding various twitches to make the pattern appear more lifelike. Some anglers find this method more appealing because there’s more physical action involved.

Poppers are very similar to poppers used by spin fishermen. They’re meant to mimic frogs, or wounded baitfish. They attract attention when the angler jerks the line to pop along the surface of the water. 

These patterns usually float, so it can be very exciting when fish rise to the surface to eat a popper. These are very effective with bluegill, largemouth, and smallmouth bass.

While eggs are not an insect, they can still be a part of a trout’s diet that they key in on naturally. Trout will often eat eggs flowing downstream – especially during spawning season.

These patterns are usually made with small balls of yarn in yellow, orange, pink, and red colors. Some patterns mimic a bunch of eggs stuck together. And the egg sucking leech mimics, you guessed it, a leech eating an egg.