Box One | Box Two | Box Three | Box Four | Box Five | Graphic Caddis Pupa

The flies in John Barr's boxes catch trout anywhere in the United States and represent most of the food trout feed on. Many of his flies are generic and imitate several insect species, reducing the number of different patterns he carries in his boxes.

You can't carry enough flies to cover every fishing situation you encounter, but most of us fish the same waters year after year and have an idea of the imitations we need to carry. In this article I am going to discuss the core patterns in my box for fishing in the Rockies. I only use some of them for specific situations, but instead of trying to remember to add a particular pattern for a seasonal hatch, I generally carry all my flies. Many of these patterns work equally well for hatches in the East.

I fish for trout primarily in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho from early spring through late fall. When the fishing is good, I go out in the winter. The fish in these areas can be heavily pressured, so many of my patterns are designed to trigger wary fish or look as unobtrusive as the natural and not spook fish.

BOX ONE Side One
Box one is my nymph box and contains all of the flies that I fish subsurface, though not all of them represent a specific immature stage of an aquatic insect. I devote an entire side of this box to various colors of Copper Johns, because they are effective for me wherever I fish. I most often fish them in conjunction with another nymph, either with or without a large dry fly as an indicator. [See "Barr's Hopper-Copper-Dropper." The Editor.]

I carry Copper Johns in #12 to #22 in nine colors-copper, red, chartreuse, green, wine, blue, silver, zebra, and black. For deeper water or fish that need extra attraction, I often use Copper Johns with tungsten beads and rubber legs in olive/black, copper/copper-brown, blue, and red.

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Jumbo Johns include a black with a salmon-colored bead and black legs, a copper/copper-brown with an orange bead and orange legs, and a ginger/black with pumpkin-colored rubber legs-all with hen-back collars.

Copper Johns with rubber legs often come in handy when fish seem to respond to the added action. I like to trail the Jumbo Johns behind a streamer or use them in combination with other nymphs in the spring when the water is high and discolored.

BOX ONE Side Two
Copper Johns are general patterns. The nymphs on this side are designed to imitate specific food items. Row 1, Tung Teaser (#12-18). This is my replacement for the Prince Nymph and is a good all-around pattern with white biot tails, synthetic peacock dubbing, lead underbody, and a tungsten bead. When there isn't significant mayfly or caddis activity, I fish this fly as the second or last fly in a three-nymph setup. When fishing it with a Hopper indicator, I trail it below another nymph. It is a good Green Drake nymph.

Row 2, Net Builder Caddis Larva (#14-16). Caddis are ubiquitous food items for trout in most rivers. I tie this pattern in green/olive, amber, and cream. Though the pattern is called the Net Builder, it also doubles as a free-living caddis larva. I fish this from March through June when our streams have the most caddis activity. The green version of this fly is effective when the various Brachycentrus species start moving-especially during the Mother's Day caddis hatch in April and May.

Row 3, Golden Tungstone (#10-18) in flashback and plain versions. This Golden Stonefly imitation has a tungsten bead and lead underbody, so it gets down in faster, heavier water where stonefly nymphs live. Often I fish stoneflies in the spring when the rivers are slightly discolored; at that time, the flashback version is a good choice. I fish Golden Stones in the late winter and spring before the Salmonflies start hatching (then I use dark stonefly nymphs) and again through the summer.

Row 4, Dark Tungstone (#6-10). I like the flashback version of this fly because I usually fish these patterns in off-colored water when Salmonflies emerge in May and June. When fishing this fly in a multiple-nymph setup, it is my first fly, usually followed by a Copper John and a Baetis emerger, Net Builder, or Graphic Caddis.

Row 5, Cranefly larva (#8-10). Many rivers have abundant populations of cranefly larvae, but because most of them hatch at night, anglers are not aware of them or don't pay much attention to them. Though I only carry this fly in two sizes, naturals can be larger or smaller. Last year, I did not find a bad time to fish cranefly larvae, but this pattern was especially effective in the spring and summer.

Row 6, Aquatic worms (#8-14). Some people think that the only time trout see worms is after heavy rains that wash earthworms into the river. In reality, many rivers have substantial populations of aquatic worms that closely resemble their earthen relatives. Red patterns tied with chenille and wire are my favorite.

Row 7, Eggs (#10-16). If there is any spawning activity, eggs work well throughout the river. Rainbows and cutts spawn in the spring; whitefish and browns in the fall. To imitate whitefish eggs, I use a #18 yellow egg pattern. I do not cast to fish on redds. One of my most effective techniques for sight-fishing is to get above the fish, cast long, pull my line back, and then use the highly visible egg to line my trailing nymph up with the fish. Then I put total slack in my leader and let the nymph dead-drift into the fish's face. I watch for a white mouth or other sudden movement and set the hook. If I do not see a white mouth open, I do not set.

Row 8, Pure Midge Larva (#18-24). In certain fisheries, especially tailwaters, midge larvae are important parts of the trout's diet. My three favorite colors are fluorescent red, blue, and chartreuse. I often fish this as the last fly in a multiple-nymph rig.