
- What is a Rainbow Trout?
- Best flies for trout
- How to fish nymphs
- Top nymphs for rainbow trout
- How to fish dry flies
- Best dry flies for trout
- And much more!
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What Makes a Rainbow?

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Best Flies For Trout
These are the flies that I have found most productive when targeting rainbow trout. I’m going to start with some easy ties that get the goods, and progress to some more technical patterns.
Rainbow Candy
Love them or hate them, these first two flies have worked for me consistently when I suspect rainbows are about. They were also an important tool for me when I was learning to fly fish because they can be fished like live bait. Both of the flies below are subsurface, so you should focus on trying to achieve a drag-free drift across deeper holes where you think trout may be holding. I often find most success when fishing these down a ‘seam,’ or on that edge of where fast water and flat, slower water meet. Often, the current will swirl these flies right into view of actively hunting trout.1. Egg Flies
Rainbow trout are voracious egg-eaters. Whether the eggs are from hognose suckers, carp, or even other trout, they make a protein-rich snack for young and old rainbows alike. Many fly fishing purists may despise the egg fly, but put simply, it works and can turn a bad day of fishing into a good day of catching very quickly. Tungsten beads and lead/non-lead wire can be attached for added depth, but these flies work just as well tied behind an attractor nymph, unweighted.

How to Tie Egg Patterns
2. Squirmy Wormy
Here is another fly that is deadly productive for anything with gills. Another fly that is disdained by the purists but beloved by those of us who desire an encounter with our prey, the Squirmy Worm uses soft plastic to mimic the writhing and thrashing movement of an earthworm. The introduction of soft plastic into this pattern, in my opinion, makes it far more effective than its more homely cousin, the San Juan Worm.
How to Tie the Squirmy Wormy
The Nymphs
The majority of a trout’s diet is made up of nymphs and midges, and I often find that they’ll accept imitations of these water bound insects even when they’ve refused other bugs. When presenting nymphs, you’re looking for a drag-free drift across likely places for a trout to hide. The current is what drags nymphs into their field of vision, so let out some slack and be mindful of any movement of your fly line (or use an indicator). If you notice any pausing or unnatural movement of your chosen sighter, set the hook, because you’re either snagged or have a fish.3. Bead Head Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail
I cannot speak highly enough of this fly. My box always has several variations of this recipe inside, and whether this is fished by itself, on the point, beneath an indicator, or jig fly, this nymph works. It can be tied with no bead and fished unweighted as well, and I have had success doing this on larger mountain streams.
How to Tie A Bead Head Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail
4. Prince Nymph
I had to include another classic pattern that works both on the point and on a tandem rig. The prince nymph has a history that goes back just as far as the soft hackle pheasant tail and has been tied in some form or variation for decades. While it is normally classed as an attractor nymph, there have been days when I was fishing this on the point, and the trout all but ignored my attached emergers and enthusiastically attacked this fly.
How to Tie a Prince Nymph
I love taking classic patterns and adding a modern twist, and with the voluminous amount of dubbing and synthetic material available to the fly tyer nowadays, the possibilities are endless. If you’re looking for something flashier and more complicated than this, I recommend the prince nymph’s wild younger brother – psycho prince nymph.5. Lightning Bug
Here’s a newer pattern that I have used effectively on rainbow trout even into the Winter months. It works equally well as a prospecting pattern in deeper, bigger water. There’s lots of flash and shine to this fly, and I like fishing it on clearer, sunnier days to add to its visibility. It’s fun to tie, and sometimes I will wrap gold tinsel for the body instead of silver for use on cloudier days (I do adhere to that old saying, silver when it’s clear, gold when it’s not).
How to Tie A Lightning Bug
Dry Flies
Nothing beats dry fly eats. When I’m fishing for rainbows, stocked or not, I tend to use a larger dry, This is because I have found that they are a bit less particular about entomology than the brown trout I usually pursue. When fishing for rainbows using a dry fly (or series of dry flies), keep an eye out for foam. This is a signal of well-oxygenated water and often is a prime spot to float your flies. Run your flies through the seams, in deep pools, and behind rocks that provide trout shelter from the current.6. Foam Beetle
This is an essential fly to have because, like most of the flies aforementioned, it serves several purposes. First of all, the use of foam makes this beetle nearly unsinkable. There is no fly floatant needed here, this thing floats like a cork. Because of this, the Beetle 2.0 can be used as both a fly and an indicator for a small nymph (or egg!) tied to the hook bend. Fluorescent foam is tied onto the thorax so that you can easily observe the bug’s movement in faster water.
How to Tie a Foam Beetle
7. Grasshoppers
When Spring fades into hot and humid Summer here in Pennsylvania, the hopper hatch is something that can drive the stocked rainbows nuts. Dave’s Hopper is a workhorse of a pattern combining knotted feather legs and a packed deer hair head. Its natural tan colors in the attached video are a dead ringer for PA summer hoppers, but tying it in olive is always an option.
How to Tie Grasshoppers
8. Parachute Adams
While this fly did take me a while to be able to tie cleanly, I use it all the time. It is impressionistic and sits below the surface film, and can effectively imitate everything from a caddis to a midge when sized down (I’ve seen them on #22 hooks). When I am not sure of what is hatching, this is my go-to fly. The post makes it easier to see in choppy water but it works well in stillwater when sized down to about a 16.
How to Tie A Parachute Adams
9. Black Gnat
If you need something smaller, or can’t determine what the trout are rising to, this black gnat may be exactly what you need to get into rising trout. It works well alone and on the tag end next to a bushier, bigger attractor fly. It imitates a host of insects and is perfect for the pickier holdover rainbows you might encounter alongside their more brutish stocked cousins.
How to Tie a Black Gnat Dry Fly
Conclusion/Reeling it in
I hope that this article has made you take a look at your fly box and make some additions, especially if you’re looking ahead to Spring, stocking season, and new genetics in your favorite waters.
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