Adirondack Fly Selection: Best of the Classic Patterns – Nymphs

Next up in our review of the best classic patterns for the Adirondacks of Northern New York – Nymphs.

Nymphs:

BH Hare’s Ear

This is the #1 nymph in the east folks — a fly so common that if you simply say “bead head” everyone get’s a mental picture identical to the fly shown above. A classic, and just a killer fly pattern. Early, middle, late season — it’s all good.  Tie it on a curves caddis hook and use a dropper system, you’ve doubled your chances at catching double the trout as well.

Zug Bug

Like I said earlier in my search pattern post, my favorite classic nymph is the Zug Bug.It immitates so many different kinds of aquatic life, from caddis, mayflies, to stoneflies — it would be a good idea to come to the Adirondacks with several sizes and weights stocked.  Emerging insects of all sorts will be covered with this pattern, and if trout are ever so finicky you have no idea what might trigger a strike — do yourself a favor and throw on a zugger.  My father and I have been on the river a few times when everyone else reporting to the fly shops was getting skunked, and we killed it using BH Zug Bugs.  Sometimes, you just have to give em exactly what they want — and often the Zug Bug is the remedy.

Prince

Similar to the pattern above is the Prince nymph – a real go-to pattern in fast riffles when caddis and stoneflies are present.  My first ever really large trout was caught on a Prince in the WB Ausable no-kill section, in a very fast section of pocket water.  The trout darted out from its respite area in a back eddy along a rocky embankment, inhaled this fly, and kept on going downstream with it before I could do anything but hang on for dear life.  I ended up losing that fish, but the Prince has been a mainstay in my box ever since when I fish the rivers of the ADKs.

Montana Stonefly Nymph

Another great stone fly imitation, and in the Adirondacks the stone flies can get huge — with this pattern a size 8 or 10 will do, but sometimes the bigger the better with this pattern.  I’ve caught large trout on size 6 and even size 4 Montana nymphs, particularly on the Saranac river where stone fly hatches are to biblical proportions each year, the size of these insects seems to increase every season as well.  Huge trout love huge stone flies — the yellow or chartreuse trigger on this pattern will serve you well and stand out when it comes slowly drifting through the pocket.  Huge trout often can’t resist this easy and fulfilling meal.  Sometimes even just hanging this pattern in the pocket from an upstream position will entice a vicious strike… try it sometime if you’re fairly certain a trout should be holding in a given stretch and the usual technique for whatever reason isn’t getting it done.

Tight Lines!

[images via dreamdriftflies.com]