Western Fly Guide for Eastern Anglers

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Pack the bulk of your flies in a Plano Box. Photo By: Louis Cahill

I get asked all the time by eastern fly anglers heading out west for the first time, what fly patterns they should stock up on before they leave.

What percentage of dry flies to wet flies they should pack, what sizes, and should they pack streamers? The questions go on and on. I get most of the email inquiries from eastern anglers that are fixing to make their summer trip out west during the peak of the terrestrial season. For those that know me, you know that I’m the type of fly fisherman that carries gear for every situation on the water at all times, for the simply fact that I can’t stand being under prepared on the water. Here’s the truth though, if I’m making a trip out west during the terrestrial season, I usually lighten my load significantly and I only carrying the fly patterns that I think I’ll be fishing the most. If I’m going to be making a trip WY, MT, ID or CO I’m going to pack less nymphs, more dry flies and streamers. Colorado is a little more tricky, in which nymphs can play a larger roll than the other western states I mentioned, but if you travel their during the peak terrestrial season, my packing suggestions should work just fine.

Why do I lighten my load this time of year,  you ask? Because the trout generally are easy to convince to rise to the surface and take a dry fly this time of year, and when they don’t want to rise to the surface, they almost always will devour a streamer. It’s not rocket science, the fish are optimistically looking up since a large portion of their food is found floating on or close to the surface during the summer months.

Let’s say I’m traveling to Jackson, WY in August, which is probably the most popular requested area out west that I receive questions about. Below are the fly patterns I will stock up on.

Dry Fly Box (Go Big, Many of these patterns suck up real estate)

Comments: I always pack a extra plano tackle box to hold all my extra flies. Each evening I will replenish the flies out of this box so I’m stocked up for the next day’s fishing. If I’m not witnessing a hatch or fish taking smaller insects on the water, I generally start first with a big beefy dry fly that floats like a cork. Bigger is usually better this time of year out west. If I only had one dry fly I could take, it would be a Chubby Chernobyl. They grab the attention of fish quickly, and are very good at bringing fish up from the deepest of pools, fast moving water and out from undercut banks. That being said, if the big foam and stacked deer hair isn’t working, don’t be afraid to bench them and tie on a smaller dry fly like a size 12 parachute hopper, 12-14 parachute adams, 12-14 stimulator or a size 14 foam beetle. These have worked wonders for me on some of the smaller tributaries, and they have their place when fish are shying away from big profiled dry flies.

You hear a lot about fishing a hopper/dropper nymph. It works well, but sometimes you can even do better if you opt for tying on a small dry fly or emerger off the back instead. I’ve seen a size 22 bwo emerger off the back of a Chernobyl fool the biggest fish in the river on some of our past trips. Be prepared for PMD and Yellow Sally hatches. And even more importantly, always be ready for spinner falls when your out west. When it happens, trout can become keyed in on them and will ignore all other offerings. Never leave home without a good selection of rusty and trico spinners.

14-10 Parachute Adams
14-10 Orange/Yellow Stimulator
18-12 Tan Elk Hair X-Caddis
14-12 Parachute Purple Haze
16-12 PMD
16-12 Yellow Sally
16-12 Black Ant
16-12 Black Foam Beetle
14-8 Parachute Schroeder’s Hopper (Tan & Olive)
12-6 Rubberleg PMX (Pack in various colors two-tone dubbed body color)
12-4 Foam Chernobyl’s (Pack in a multitude of color combinations)
10-4 Chubby Chernobyl (Favorite colors are Golden Stone & Black Foam Body with Bright Red dubbed body)
14-10 Royal Wulff
8-4 King Kong Hopper
18-14 Brown Rusty Spinner
20-16 Single or Double Trico Spinner
20-16 PMD or Baetis Emerger
 

Nymph Box (One Box is all you need)

Comments:  If you’re fishing in WY and you’re fishing nymphs, be prepared to catch lots of whitefish. There fun, don’t get me wrong, but much of the time they’re going to be the species eating your subsurface flies instead of trout. I find that eastern anglers have a hard time not rigging up a tandem nymph rig, even when their out west and see fish rising. Afterall, it’s the mainstay for consistently catching trout where I’m from. It’s important to understand just because it works where you live, doesn’t mean it’s going to work out west. I suggest you use nymphs as a plan b or c, and opt for dry flies or streamers that will get much more attention from the resident trout. As I said before, the summer is the season for the dry flies out west. Don’t fight it, be confident throwing them, and only tie on nymphs this time of year unless you absolutely need to. You’ve traveled out west to experience the epic dry fly fishing, so stick with fishing them. I pack a selection of nymphs that covers caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies and midges. Don’t get carried away with packing dozens of different patterns in multiple colors, just stick with the basics, that’s all you’ll need. 

18-12 Flashback Pheasant-tail
18-12 Flashback Hares Ear
12-8 Rubberleg Black or Brown Stonefly
16-12 Halfback Nymph
18-12 Soft-Hackles (Brown, Olive, Yellow, Orange)
18-12 Sparkle Caddis Pupa (Tan, Olive)
18-16 Tungsten Rainbow Warrior
22-18 Tungsten Zebra Midge (A few different color combinations)
22-18 Jujubee midge/baetis
12-14 Squirmy Wormy

Streamer Box (pack from mid-size to large) 

Comments: I travel out west to take advantage of the great dry fly fishing, but I also equally travel there for the insane streamer fishing. Quite often during the early morning hours, the dry fly bite will be slow until the sun gets up and the water temperatures begin to rise. I find some of the best streamer fishing is during this time of day. It’s good during the late evening as well, but an angler stands a great chance at hooking up with lots of big fish in the first couple hours of the day if they fish streamers hard. Because I’m going for big fish, I’m not afraid to throw big sized streamers in the 3-5″ range. I prefer articulated streamers for the extra swimming action and movement, but it’s not mandatory. Pack some solid colored streamers with flash, but focus on tying or purchasing two-toned colored streamers when possible. They provide greater contrast and generally do a better job of imitating the true look of forage food. If natural colored streamers like whites and olives aren’t working, be quick to tie on a streamer that is completely different. For instance, super flashy streamers that are loud, can often be the ticket, and have accounted for many trophy catches for Louis and I. Lastly, the wiggle type streamers seem to always work well for us. The alluring wiggle action these streamers make during the retrieve are hard for trout to refuse. Wait for the hook set with them though, quite often the fish will short strike them or ram them and then come back for the real eat. It’s important that you make long casts to the banks and cover lots of water when your streamer fishing. It’s hard work, but it’s the best strategy for staying in the action with streamers. Lastly, don’t be afraid to fish streamers on the smaller tributaries. They work equally well on smaller trout water. 

Sculpzilla (Olive, White)
Variety of Articulated Streamers (Anything similar Kelly Goullup’s streamers, and it always should have rubberlegs, big eyes, and some flash)
Wiggle Minnow (Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Fire Tiger – these are deadly with a heavy split-shot added in front, or thrown on an intermediate fly line)
Extra Flashy Articulated Streamers (sometimes bright will out fish everything else, don’t be afraid to make them loud)

Disclaimer: My fly pattern list is intended to be taken as a guide only. Don’t feel like you have to stock the exact fly patterns I’ve highlighted. With all the fly patterns out there these days, there’s going to be a good dozen or more choices that will work as suitable substitutions. It’s important that you cover your bases and make sure you pack plenty of your go-to patterns so you don’t run out. If you can’t find these patterns at home before you leave for your trip or don’t have the competency to tie them up yourself, just visit one of the local fly shops when you get out there and they’ll have everything you’ll need in stock.

55% Dry Flies, 30% Streamers, 15% Nymphs is probably the % ratio of the types of flies I would pack for a trip to Jackson, WY.

Keep it Reel,
Kent Klewein
Gink & Gasoline
www.ginkandgasoline.com
hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
 
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10 thoughts on “Western Fly Guide for Eastern Anglers

    • Craig,

      Thanks for the recommendations to our followers on this post. The fly pattern list is what I would take, and as I stated there are so many different combinations that you could swap in and out that would work just as well out there.

      The humpy is a great dry fly that has for sure caught it’s fair share of fish in the west. I couldn’t agree with you more.
      Thanks for your comment and supporting Gink & Gasoline.

      Kent

  1. thanks Kent, I’m leaving in a week for a month in Bitterroot Valley. Not sure how much fishing I’ll be allowed to do with the kids and all but I’m going to be about a mile away from the Bitterroot and not far from Rock Creek and plenty of other rivers so I’m sure I’ll finally get to do some. Thanks for the tips, keep them coming.

    • Wow Chris, a month! I just got back from a week on the Bitteroot and in NO way was it long enough so I’m a bit envious. Next year it will be no less than 2 weeks but I’m thinking more like 3. Hope you get to fish more than you’re anticipating. That’s all I did and had a couple of 30+ days. Best of luck!

      Kent, excellent recommendations. Happy fishing!

  2. I would also say to leave the 6x and 7x tippet at home. I work at a lodge/fly shop/outfitting service in central Montana and we get a lot of guys from the east coast, mostly Pennsylvania and Jersey guys. For most of the summer you can get away with 4x and when the fish are getting spooky at the end of July you may have to switch to 5x.

    I’ve also seen guys do really well with patterns from home when things get tough because it’s something the fish here haven’t seen all season.

    • Matt,

      Thanks for the additional packing suggestions and tip on bringing some regional patterns from the east. Good stuff.

      I didn’t touch base on other gear to keep it focused on flies. It already was a pretty long post. Was thinking there may be a follow up post about the rest of the packing list if this post was enjoyed.

      Thanks for your commments. Good ones.

      Kent

  3. Great article Kent. I live in Breckenridge, CO and if you’re fishing anywhere in this state I think it is crucial to bring as many RS2 patterns as you can tie in BWO, PMD, gray, and black. I consistently take fish on this fly in any situation, especially when other patterns don’t seem to be working. It is especially useful on the Blue River, South Platte, Arkansas, and any tailwater. Put this fly as your dropper at the bottom of any nymph rig or hopper/copper/dropper setup. The RS2 is my go-to fly for pressured fish.

  4. I love that you lead with the ole chubby. I just learned and started tying these a couple years ago and the are great. Seem to always be good for a bite when I make it to the mountains out west. I tend to pack light for fishing trips so I do try to figure out my flies ahead of time. Specifically I will always do a little on line real search and call a guide shop with time to tie what I think will be working while I’m out ther. Usually, you can nail down a few for sure that are good bets…in my experience planning much anticipated fly fishing trips as often per year as I can manage! Thanks for this guidance. Good ideas.

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