Pattern Database

One of the oldest recorded dry fly patterns, the Blue Dun is a classic Catskill-style imitation for the small blue mayflies — Blue-Winged Olives, Mahogany Duns, and similar species. The dun hackle tips and gray body are timeless.

The parachute style BWO is one of the most important dry flies in a trout angler's box. The flush-floating wing and horizontal hackle present a perfect silhouette for selective fish on flat water.

A generic caddis pupa pattern for the most common species trout encounter. Green imitates the free-living Rhyacophila (green rock worm); tan and olive match spotted sedge and grannom; orange covers October caddis. The partridge collar suggests emerging legs and antennae in any color.

A minimalist CDC dry that relies on the feather's natural oils to float flush in the surface film. No hackle means a perfect flush silhouette on still water — exactly what selective tailwater fish demand during BWO hatches.

A flush-floating CDC caddis dry that lets CDC's natural water resistance do the heavy lifting. Effective on slow water where standard caddis patterns sit too high and create refusals. Tan and gray match Spotted Sedge and similar summer species; olive and green cover Grannom and Green Rock Worm hatches in spring.

A simple, deadly BWO emerger relying on CDC's natural water-shedding oils to float the fly in the film. The trailing Z-Lon shuck suggests a dun that never quite made it out, which is exactly what selective trout want to eat.

Al Caucci and Bob Nastasi's Comparadun concept changed dry-fly design. The fanned deer hair wing sits flush in the film like a natural, and the split tail provides perfect balance without hackle.

The original Hendrickson (Roy Steenrod's tie) imitates the darker female Ephemerella subvaria with its distinctive pinkish-gray body of urine-stained vixen fox fur. The classic Catskill pattern for the first major mayfly hatch of Eastern spring.

The F-Fly was developed in Europe as a highly impressionistic mayfly and midge imitation, designed specifically for pressured trout and technical water. Rather than imitating exact details, the pattern relies on profile, posture, and movement—key triggers that trout respond to when insects are trapped in the surface film. Using only CDC for the wing, the F-Fly excels at riding low, mimicking spent or emerging insects that trout feed on confidently. Its simplicity allows it to match a wide range of small mayflies and midges, making it a favorite on spring creeks, tailwaters, and slow glides. The F-Fly's minimalist design and effectiveness have earned it a permanent place among modern dry-fly staples. This ultra-simple recipe creates a low-riding silhouette with exceptional natural movement—perfect for selective trout feeding in calm, clear water.

Hiram Brobst's classic Pennsylvania caddis dry has a distinctive doubled wing — sparse wood duck flank under, deer hair over — and a palmered body. It imitates the Grannom and Spotted Sedge perfectly during spring caddis hatches.

Hans van Klinken's parachute emerger changed how anglers think about surface presentation. The curved hook suspends the abdomen below the film while the poly post and parachute hackle keep it floating. Deadly during caddis and mayfly emergences.

One of the oldest and most effective wet flies in the American tradition. The peacock herl body, coachman brown hackle, and paired mallard wing suggest caddis and mayfly emergers being swept along in the current.

The Light Cahill is a classic Catskill dry fly imitating the cream and yellow mayflies that blanket streams in late spring and early summer. Its wood duck wing and ginger hackle are unmistakable.

The Light Cahill Spinner represents the final stage in the life cycle of Light Cahill mayflies in genus Maccaffertium (formerly Stenonema), when spent insects return to the water to lay eggs. These spinner falls often occur in the evening and can produce some of the most selective trout feeding of the season. Traditional quill-bodied spinner patterns emphasize slender translucence, outstretched wings, and a low-riding profile — all critical elements when trout are sipping spent mayflies from smooth water. The Light Cahill Quill Spinner excels during late spring and early summer hatches on both freestone rivers and tailwaters. Its understated appearance and classic construction make it a staple pattern whenever trout are feeding confidently in low-light conditions. The traditional material selection creates a slender, translucent body with a soft, spent-wing profile — ideal for spinner falls and selective trout.

Mike Lawson's Loop Wing Emerger features a CDC loop wing that traps air and floats in the film with a naturalistic silhouette. The looped wing suggests a dun wing just emerging from the shuck — irresistible to selective fish.

The classic Catskill March Brown — divided wood duck wings, mixed hackle, and hare's ear body. Theodore Gordon himself fished a version of this during the first great hatch of Eastern spring. A foundational American fly pattern.

The March Brown is a large, sporadic hatch but when it's on, trout eat aggressively. The parachute style is easier to see on riffled freestone water than the traditional Catskill tie.

Caddisflies are among the most important insects in trout streams, often emerging in large numbers and skittering across the surface. Effective caddis patterns focus less on exact imitation and more on profile, buoyancy, and movement—qualities that trigger confident strikes. Snowshoe hare foot hair has long been valued in fly tying for its exceptional flotation and natural translucence, while CDC provides subtle motion and a low-riding footprint on the water. This Olive Snowshoe Caddis combines both materials to create a wing that floats high yet breathes naturally, making it especially effective in riffles, seams, and broken water. The olive coloration allows this pattern to cover a wide range of caddis species, functioning as both a hatch match and a versatile searching dry throughout spring and summer. This natural-material recipe produces a highly buoyant, animated dry fly with a clean caddis silhouette—perfect for fishing active caddis hatches or prospecting broken water.

The Pale Evening Dun imitates the evening-active pale mayflies — sulphurs and PMDs — that hatch in the last hour of light. A cream or pale yellow body and dun wings are essential for the selective fish these hatches produce.

The PMD is one of the most important Western hatches and increasingly common in the East. Its pale yellow-olive body and upright dun wings demand a precise imitation for selective trout on spring creeks and tailwaters.

The parachute variation of the Adams offers better visibility and a flush-floating wing silhouette. A go-to when fish are being selective.

The parachute version of the Hendrickson offers a flush-floating wing silhouette that's deadly during the first major dry fly hatch of the Eastern season. The pinkish-gray body exactly matches the natural.

The Mahogany Dun hatch is a fall sleeper — fish that have seen every fly all summer are suddenly willing to rise again. This parachute version is visible in the low autumn light and sits perfectly in the film.

Sylvester Nemes's soft hackle classic. The sparse partridge collar pulsates in the current suggesting legs or gills — trout can't resist it swung or dead-drifted through runs during caddis and mayfly hatches.

Frank Sawyer's deceptively simple nymph is one of the most effective subsurface patterns ever created. The natural pheasant tail fibers perfectly suggest a range of Eastern mayfly nymphs.

The PMD Biot Nymph is designed to imitate the nymphal stage of Pale Morning Dun (PMD) mayflies, a prolific and important hatch on many Western and Eastern tailwaters. PMD nymphs are slim, active swimmers, and trout often key in on them heavily in the days leading up to—and during—the hatch. Using a goose biot abdomen gives this pattern its defining feature: crisp segmentation and a natural taper that closely matches the real insect. Combined with soft natural materials in the thorax and tail, the PMD Biot Nymph excels at imitating drifting and emerging nymphs in clear, technical water. This style of biot-bodied nymph has become a favorite among anglers who value realism over flash, especially when fishing pressured trout or subtle presentations. This refined material combination creates a slender, segmented profile with lifelike texture—ideal for PMD hatches and selective trout.

Bob Quigley's classic cripple pattern suggests a dun stuck half-in and half-out of its shuck — exactly the vulnerable stage that selective trout target. The Z-Lon trailing shuck and deer hair wing are signature features.

Theodore Gordon's legendary pattern for Epeorus pleuralis — the first quality dry-fly hatch of the year. The stripped peacock quill body perfectly captures the segmented look of the natural.

The Red Quill imitates the male Hendrickson natural — darker and smaller than the female, with a distinctive reddish-brown segmented body made from a stripped hackle quill. A Catskill classic as important as the Hendrickson itself.

The Rusty Spinner imitates the spent female of many important mayfly species — Hendricksons, Sulphurs, and Blue-Winged Olives all produce rusty-bodied spinners. Dead fish on the surface, and trout are absolutely locked on them.

A no-hackle CDC caddis designed for flat tailwater pools where drag and silhouette matter more than floatation. The sparse CDC wing sits naturally in the film while the dubbing body and Z-Lon shuck sell the imitation.

A flush-floating BWO emerger using snowshoe rabbit foot hair for the wing. Snowshoe hair is more water-resistant than most materials — it floats in the film naturally without floatant and creates a perfect silhouette. Exceptional during heavy BWO hatches.

Craig Mathews and John Juracek's Sparkle Dun pairs the Comparadun's fanned deer hair wing with a Z-Lon trailing shuck suggesting an emerging nymph. This combination triggers strikes during the most selective BWO hatches.

The Sparkle Dun tied to match the sulphur hatch. The trailing shuck and upright deer hair wing perfectly suggest a sulphur in the final stages of emergence — exactly what selective evening-rise fish demand.

Gary LaFontaine's Sparkle Pupa was a landmark pattern and the centerpiece of his book on caddis. The Z-Lon trailing shuck and overbody suggest a caddis in the process of emerging — exactly the vulnerable stage trout key on.

The parachute version of the sulphur dun sits flush in the film and is far more visible to the angler than the Catskill tie. Essential during the evening sulphur hatches of May and June.

The Dirty Blonde is a versatile dry fly designed with subtle blonde tones, making it effective for imitating a variety of mayflies and caddisflies. Whether you're fishing a Pale Morning Dun hatch, a Light Cahill emergence, or general tan caddis activity, this pattern's pale yellow body and light ginger hackle give it broad appeal across seasons and water types.

Vince Marinaro's thorax style features a centrally-tied hackle clipped on the bottom that allows the fly to sit flat and natural in the film. For glass-smooth water during BWO hatches, few patterns are more effective.

The thorax style applied to the sulphur hatch. Clipping the bottom hackle fibers lets this fly sit naturally flat in the film during evening sulphur hatches when trout are inspecting every fly that drifts over them.

The Trico spinner fall is one of the most demanding hatches in trout fishing. Thousands of tiny spent spinners on the surface demand a small, accurate imitation. This pattern nails the black body and white spent wings.

Craig Mathews' X-Caddis features a Z-Lon trailing shuck suggesting a caddis in mid-emergence. Trout key on cripples, and this pattern is often more effective than a fully-dressed adult caddis. Tied in tan, olive, or gray to match different caddis species.

A sparse, delicate dry fly imitating the little yellow stonefly (Isoperla spp.). One of the most reliable summer dry-fly hatches on freestone streams.

The parachute version of the Yellow Sally dry sits flush and is far easier to track than the standard low-hackle version. The white poly post provides visibility without changing the silhouette that trout key on during Little Yellow Sally hatches.