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

BOX TWO Side One
Most of the flies in this box are for those times when I encounter rising fish. Rows 1 through 4 are Viz-A-Duns, my favorite mayfly dun pattern. The hackle is tied thorax-style, trimmed on the bottom, and the hackle stem is glued into the dubbing with vinyl cement. This protects the fragile hackle stem, even in the smallest sizes. I also cement the base of the Compara-dunstyle wing so that it maintains its shape after many trout.

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This pattern catches fish whether they are feeding on duns, emergers, or cripples, and it serves as a highly visible, buoyant strike indicator that lets you know whether you are getting a good drag-free drift. Even in #24, you can see this fly well. The hackle helps keep the fly floating while it supports an emerger dropper.

Rows 1-2, Baetis Viz-A-Dun (#18-26). Baetis are the most prolific mayfly in the Rockies and can hatch any day from March through November. The heaviest hatches often occur in the spring and fall.

Row 3, Trico Viz-A-Dun (#18-24). Trico duns do not have black bodies like the Trico Viz-A-Duns. They typically have olive or cream-and-olive bodies, and the Baetis Viz-A-Dun is an excellent match for the Trico adult. I use the Trico Viz-A-Dun when trout rise to Trico spinners. In my area, Tricos hatch daily from early July through October. The spinners hit the water mid to late morning and provide most of the Trico fishing.

My standard setup when fishing a Trico spinnerfall is 6X fluorocarbon to the Trico Viz-A-Dun and 6 to 8 inches of 6X fluorocarbon to a Trico Sunken Spinner. One quarter of the fish take the Viz-A-Dun; the rest take the Sunken Spinner. The Viz-A-Dun lets you know whether you are getting a drag-free drift, which is essential with spinners, and acts as a strike indicator.

Row 4, PMD Viz-A-Dun (#16-20). PMDs are the last of the big three mayflies that predictably bring up rising trout in the Rocky Mountain region for an extended period of time. PMDs hatch from late spring through early fall. The best hatches occur in early to mid summer; however, never with the numbers or predictability of Baetis or Tricos. They can hatch at any time of the day from mid morning through evening.

Rows 5-7, Web Wing Caddis (#16-20)-row 5, tan; row 6, brown; row 7, dark dun. These durable, realistic caddis patterns imitate most of the naturals that I see. The wing is Web Wing, a durable material from Hareline that holds its shape and is superglued to the body so that it maintains its realistic profile after repeated hookups. It is a great flatwater pattern and it is also effective when fished in tandem with Mike Lawson's E-Z Caddis. Rows 8-10, Lawson's Spent-winged Caddis, E-Z Caddis, and Yellow Sallies (#16-18). Mike Lawson's Spent-winged Caddis and E-Z Caddis with olive and tan bodies round out my adult caddis patterns. I like to use a Web Wing or Spent-winged Caddis trailed behind an E-Z Caddis indicator. Web Wing Yellow Sallies or yellow Stimulators are good imitations for Yellow Sallies, small stoneflies that can range in color from yellow to lime green depending on where you fish. Often PMDs and Yellow Sallies hatch at the same time. If trout are rising, try an adult PMD and Yellow Sally combo.

BOX TWO Side Two This side holds the emerger, pupa, or spinner stages of the adult stages on the opposite side of the box. The last row holds beetles and ants.

Row 1, Micro Emergers (#20-24). These small, slim emerger patterns represent small Baetis or midge pupae.

Rows 2 and 3, Baetis Barr Emergers (#16-24) in plain, flashback, and beadhead versions. The flashback emerger is my favorite, although fish that see a lot of flies may only be fooled by the plain version. This pattern accounts for more of my fish caught over the past 29 years than any other pattern in my box. In the winter, it is an excellent choice as a small Baetis or midge pupae and is responsible for countless fish on the Frying Pan, Blue, and Colorado rivers. The Barr Emerger is a great bottom fly in a nymph or Hopper-Copper-Dropper setup at any time of the year. [See "Tying the Barr Emerger". The Editor.]

Rows 4-5, PMD Barr Emergers (#16-18), floating and sinking versions. The floating version is tied on a Tiemco 101 light wire, flat hook; the sunk version on a 2488H (heavy wire, curved). This is a must-have pattern for me if there has been PMD or Yellow Sally activity. Most stoneflies crawl onto the bank to hatch, but Yellow Sallies hatch in the river like PMDs.

During a hatch, I hang either the floating or sinking emerger off the bend of the PMD Viz-A-Dun. Sometimes rising fish want a pattern in the film or slightly beneath the surface. I'll switch back and forth depending on what the fish prefer.

Both the floating Baetis and PMD Emergers double as cripples. A great combination to use if there has been PMD or Yellow Sally activity is a #16 red Copper John with a #16 Flashback PMD Barr Emerger hung off the bend.

Row 6, Graphic Caddis Pupa (#14-18). I fish the green pupae in spring and summer and the tan in fall, though there are exceptions. This pattern has been one of my three best producers over the past four years. It has a silver holographic butt that I believe triggers takes. I swing it to rising fish or use it as the bottom fly when nymphing. In my opinion, most caddis pupa patterns are too bulky. Real caddis pupa are sleek with a hump in the rear.

Rows 7-9, Trico, Baetis, and PMD spinners. As with the PMD and Baetis emergers, I carry these tied on heavy- and light-wire hooks for drowned and floating versions. Baetis spinners dive beneath the water to lay their eggs on the bottom of the river. Some end up in the surface film, so I carry a few small olive and rust spinners in #18-22.

For PMD spinnerfalls, I carry both rust and olive versions in #16-18. If trout are rising to PMD spinners, I always fish them in tandem with a #16-18 PMD Viz-A-Dun as an indicator. If there have been regular, heavy spinnerfalls, the PMD Sunken Spinner is a good choice as the bottom fly in a nymph rig.

When fishing Trico spinnerfalls, my first choice is a #18-24 Trico Viz-A-Dun with a #18-24 Trico Sunken Spinner trailed off the bend on 6 to 8 inches of 6X tippet. After the trout quit rising, I fish the heads of runs with a hopper, #18 black Copper John, and a Trico Sunken Spinner to catch trout that have moved up to feed on drowned naturals.

Row 10, beetles and ants. I carry a few beetles and both winged and plain ants. For me, these are necessary patterns. If I have a trout feeding irregularly near the bank, I can catch him on a beetle. If I cannot get a trout to take a fly representing what the fish is actually feeding on, most often I tie on a beetle.