Which Fly For Fishing For Trout?

A Question often asked is of us is "which fly for fishing for trout should I use"? It seems a simple question but there are thousands of flies for fishing we can use.

First thing we must remember if trout are not stupid like humans. We eat strawberries at Christmas when they are not in season, they are specially grown or imported for us. Trout are more simple and natural, they either eat what is in season, i.e. Daddy long Legs are seen commonly in June to September so less likely to provoke bites in the cold February months. Alternatively as trout don't have fingers we can trigger a response with a fly that looks like 'food' with an attractor like a hares ear nymph or lure like snake fly. Retrieved across or under the water these can provoke or stimulate an attack creating a bite.

So consider flies as food, they are either flies in season for example Daddy Long Legs in June to September. A great type of fly for stillwaters is buzzers or chironomids which imitate an emerging midge. Why you ask? simple to be honest midges emerge 365 days per year which is why whenever I am on stillwaters buzzers are tried very early on my leaders.

Here is a selection of flies that hatch and work in May

Hatches
Upwinged Flies Ephemeroptera
Name	Image	Typical Hatch Time	Fly Recommendations
Large Dark Olive (Baetis rhodani) rivers		Morning to early afternoon	Nymph: Wet Fly: Waterhen Spider (14) GRHE (14) Beadhead GRHE (14) Hatching Olive (14) Dry Fly: Large Dark Olive (12) Rough Olive (12) Spinner: Kites Imperial (14)
March Brown (Rithrogena germanica) rivers		Morning to early afternoon	Nymph:  March Brown nymph (12) Wet Fly: March Brown Spider (12) March Brown (12) Dry Fly:  March Brown (14) Spinner: Kites Imperial (14)
Mayfly (Ephemera danica) rivers		Early evening	Nymph:  Walkers Mayfly Nymph (10) Wet Fly: Dry Fly: CJ's Duck's Dun (10) Grey Wulff (10) Spinner: Lunns Spent Gant Mayfly (10) Mayfly Parachute (10)
Iron Blue (Dun) & Little Claret Spinner (Baetis muticus) rivers		Daytime	Nymph:  Snipe & Purple Spider (14) Iron Blue Nymph (12) Pheasant Tail (14) Beadhead Pheasant Tail (14) Pheasant Tail (14) Wet Fly: Snipe & Purple Spider (14) Dry Fly: Iron Blue (14) Spinner: Claret Spinner (14)
Medium Olive (Baetis vernus; Baetis tenax) rivers		Daytime	Nymph:  Pheasant Tail (14) Beadhead Pheasant Tail (14) Wet Fly: Greenwells Spider (14) Greenwell's Glory Wet (14) GRHE (14) Dry Fly: Greenwell's Dry (14) Spinner: Lunn's Particular (14)
Pale Watery (Baetis fuscatus) rivers		Daytime / early evening	Nymph:  Grey Goose (14) Wet Fly: Dry Fly: Ginger Quill (14) Spinner: Lunn's Particular (14)
Caenis (Caenis & Brachycercus species) rivers & lakes		Early morning or evening	Nymph:  Grey Goose (14) Wet Fly: Dry Fly: Last Hope Light (18) Spinner: Barden Spinner (16)
Blue Winged Olive & Sherry Spinner (Ephemerella ignita) rivers		Late evening	Nymph:  Pheasant Tail (14) Beadhead Pheasant Tail (14) GRHE (14) Beadhead GRHE (14) Wet Fly: Pheasant Tail (14) Beadhead Pheasant Tail (14) GRHE (14) Beadhead GRHE Dry Fly:  Blue Winged Olive (14) Spinner: BWO Spinner (14)
Autumn Dun & Great Red Spinner (Ecdyonurus dispar) rivers			Nymph:  March Brown Spider (12) Wet Fly: March Brown Spider (12) Dry Fly:  Pheasant Tail (14) Spinner: Pheasant Tail (14)
Small Dark Olive (Baetis scambus) rivers			Nymph:  GRHE (14) Beadhead GRHE (14) Wet Fly: GRHE (14) Beadhead GRHE (14) Dry Fly:  Greenwell's Glory (14) Spinner: Lunn's Particular (14)
Lake Olives (Cloeon simile) large stillwarters & lakes
Pond Olive (Clieon dipterum) ponds
Sedge Flies Trichoptera
Name	Image	Typical Hatch Time	Fly Recommendations
Grannom (Brachycentrus subnubilus) rivers		Morning or early afternoon	Nymph:  Beadhead Caddis Natural (12) Cove Caddis Nymph (12) Caddis spider (12) Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Grannom Caddis (12 - 14) Silver Sedge (12 - 14) Spinner:
Green Sedge - Sand Fly (Rhyacophila dorsalis) rivers		Daytime	Nymph:  Sandys Rhyac (Rhyacophila) (12) Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Goddard Green Caddis (12 - 14) Elk Hair Caddis Green (12 - 14) Spinner:
Cinnamon Sedge (Limnephilus lunatus) rivers		Daytime early evening	Nymph:  Beadhead Caddis (12) Cove Caddis Nymph (12) Caddis spider (12) Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Natural Caddis (12) Elk Hair Caddis Brown (12) Elk Hair Caddis Tan (12) Spinner:
Welshman's Button (Sericostoma personatum) rivers		Daytime / early evening	Nymph:  Beadhead Caddis Natural (12) Cove Caddis Nymph (12) Caddis spider (12) Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Grannom Caddis (12 - 14) Silver Sedge (12 - 14) Spinner:
Black Sedge (Silo nigricornis) rivers		Afternoons & Early evening	Nymph:  Beadhead Caddis Natural (12) Cove Caddis Nymph (12) Caddis spider (12) Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Grannom Caddis (12 - 14) Silver Sedge (12 - 14) Spinner:
Stoneflies Plecoptera
Name	Image	Typical Hatch Time	Fly Recommendations
Yellow Sally (Large Yellow Sally - Isoperla grammatica & Small Yellow Sally - Chloroperla torrentium) rivers & Lakes		Daytime	Nymph:  Brown Stonefly (10) Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Yellow Stonefly (12) Nymph:  Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Spinner:
Large Stonefly (Perlodes microcephala) rivers		Night / early morning	Nymph:  Brown Stonefly (10) Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Stimulator (12) Nymph:  Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Spinner:
Willow Fly (Euleuctra geniculata) rivers		Daytime	Nymph:  Alder Nymph (10) Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Brown Klinkhammer (12) Nymph:  Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Spinner:
Flat Winged Flies / True Flies Diptera
Name	Image	Typical Hatch Time	Fly Recommendations
Black Gnat (Bibio johannis) rivers & lakes		Daytime	Griffiths Gnat 14 to 20
Hawthorn Fly (Bibio marci) rivers & lakes		Daytime
Buzzers / Chronomidae rivers & lakes			Nymph:  Sandy's Blank Buster Bloodworm fished close to water bottom Blank Buster Buzzers fished ascending through the water Blank Buster Spiders fished close to the surface Blank Buster CDC Emergers  fished on surface as emerger Wet Fly: Blank Buster CDC Emergers  fished on surface as emerger
Large Green Midge (Chironomus plumosus) rivers & lakes		Late evening	Nymph:  Sandy's Blank Buster Bloodworm (12) fished close to water bottom Blank Buster Buzzers (12) fished ascending through the water Blank Buster Spiders (12) fished close to the surface Blank Buster CDC Emergers (12) fished on surface as emerger Wet Fly: Blank Buster CDC Emergers (12) fished on surface as emerger Dry Fly:  Black Magic Green Rib (14) Spinner:
Small Green Midge (Blagdon green midge) (Cendochironms albipennis) lakes		Middle of day for 2 to 3 hours	Buzzer: Sandy's Blank Buster Bloodworm (16) fished close to water bottom Blank Buster Buzzers (16) fished ascending through the water Blank Buster Spiders (16) fished close to the surface Blank Buster CDC Emergers (16) fished on surface as emerger Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Black Magic Green Rib (18) Spinner:
Large Red Midge (Chrironomus plumosus) rivers & lakes		Late afternoon / early evening	Buzzer: Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Black Magic Red Rib (18) Spinner:
Black Midge rivers & lakes		Middle of the day	Buzzer: Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Black Magic (18) Spinner:
Small Brown Midge rivers		11am to 5pm	Buzzer: Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Black Magic (18) Spinner:
Orange-silver (Grey boy) midge rivers & lakes		Late morning and afternoon	Buzzer: Wet Fly: Dry Fly:  Blank Buster Klinkhammer Orange (18) Spinner:
Daddy-long-legs (Tipulidae) rivers & lakes			Buzzer: Wet Fly: Beadhead Daddy long-legs (12) Dry Fly:  Daddy Long Legs Natural (12) Daddy Long Legs CDC (12) Daddy Long Legs Black Body (12) Daddy Long Legs Orange body (12) Daddy Long Legs Yellow Body (12) Spinner:
Damselfly (Zygoptera) lakes		All day	Nymph: Damsel Nymph with Tinsel Tail Damsel living olive nymph Wet Fly: Damsel Crippled Foam Dry Fly:  Damsel Blue (12) Demoisalle Dads Blue (12) Demoisalle Dads Green (12) Spinner:
Miscellaneous
Name	Image	Typical Hatch Time	Fly Recommendations
Ants (Formicidae) rivers & lakes			Black Ant
Corixa (Corixidae) lakes			Corixa - gold silver, plain
PinFry (trout, salmon, roach) river & lakes			Grey Pinfry Green Pinfry
Fry (trout, salmon, roach) river & lakes			Epoxy minnows Muddler Minnows
Water Louse / hoglouse (Asellus aquaticus) river & lakes
Sculpin / Bullhead (Cottus goblo) -  clean fast flowing rivers &  shallow gravel bottom lakes
Shrimp (Gammarus) rivers & lakes			Czech nymphs
Water Snails lakes			Bibio Coch-y-bondhuu Black Beetle
Beetles (Acilius sulcatus) lakes			Black Beetle
Grasshoppers(Caslifera) rivers & lakes			Grasshopper Foam Bristol Hopper Hare's ear and various colour Bristol Hoppers