Getting Started in Flyfishing

Parachute Adams

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You are new to flyfishing and the season is approaching. You need to know what dry flies to buy for your fly box, but you don't know an Elk Hair Caddis from an Elephant Ear Catalyst. Here is a list of the top twenty dry flies you need to have to ensure success on the stream this summer.

Parachute Adams
This little gray-bodied fly doesn't look like much. It certainly doesn't have the pizzazz of the Royal Wulff or the high profile of the Stimulator. But if you want to imitate just about any mayfly hatch and have the ideal prospecting fly, you'll need Parachute Adams in sizes from 10 to 20 in your box. The Klinkhammer version is now the hot twist on flies.

Royal Wulff
Looks like candy to you and the trout. This amazing pattern does not imitate any insect but still works like few other dries. Sits up high, works during all kinds of hatches and is a nice choice for the top fly in a dropper rig.

Humpy
Some like these in Royal, some in Yellow, some plain. This classic Western attractor pattern has a place in every fly box. Called Goofus Bugs in some locales—make sure to have four or five of each size before you hit the stream.

Hendrickson
Light Hendrickson and Dark Hendrickson. Better have both. Especially great for Eastern and Midwestern streams.

Light Cahill
A match-the-hatch fly for sure, but also an ideal prospecting fly for flat water like glides and slicks.

Trico
On tailwaters, in any season, Tricos are a must-have. Tiny black flies with tiny white wings. These flies are as difficult to see on the water as the insects themselves.

Sulphur
You can substitute a Pale Morning Dun here also but if you fish a lot in the East, you'll want various Sulphur patterns and sizes.

Western Green Drake
When these sailboats come off, it looks like an armada. Even big fish shoot up from the depths to feast on these calorie-laden insects. I suggest some Wulff patterns and some lighter dressed patterns to take advantage of finicky fish.

Pale Morning Dun
A big player on any American coldwater stream. To differentiate between the Sulphur and the Pale Morning Dun (similar to the untrained eye), go with the slim Comparadun patterns.

Ausable Wulff
An underutilized fly. You can fish it as a prospecting fly, a dropper fly, to match certain mayfly hatches and in a pinch, if the hatch is a less-dressed mayfly, you can trim this one down.