Your Go-to favorite fly of all time and then some ?

Fishidiot,

how do you tie your helgrammites? I figure a black or brown bugger does the job but I've been looking for a more realistic pattern. Back in the day I never left a stream with a live helgrammite in my box. If there's a better bait for stream smallies I've yet to find it.
 
OK, not to be a smart a$$, but which fish species is the target? I figure you're asking about trout flies, but it really does depend. It also depends to some extent on fresh or salt water.

Fresh water: Wooly Bugger by a mile (caught trout, bass, all panfish, pickerel on a #8 black bugger). Vary the size/color/material and it can imitate darn near anything in fresh water!

Saltwater: Hmmm... I like fishing Gartside Gurglers 'casue I'm a topwater fool (caught stripers, fat alberts, baracuda, snook, sail cats, redfish, sea trout, jacks), but I think Clouser Deep Minnow gets the nod for all-conditions performance. Vary the hook size, eye weight and color to suit conditions.

YMMV...

- Mike
 
I dunno. I think the idea is to pick just one fly, regardless of species.

I think an interesting question is what you would pick for fresh AND salt water?

I have never fly fished the salt, amazingly, so I didn't consider it. If I had to, I'd probably say a clouser.
 
I think if I had to pick one fly and fish it for any situation for the rest of my life it would be a clouser minnow. Just about any species of fish I might be chasing will eat a baitfish and clousers tied in varying shades and colors would pretty much run the gamut as far as baitfish are concerned. It's a 'goto' fly for many different species of fish and is a super easy tie. It's got my vote.
 
Bam,
Here's a link to a discussion of helgrammite flies from earlier this year and you can see my preferred version. Frankly, you would likely do as well with a plain ole Wooly Bugger tied with dumbell eyes. There's a popular fly called a Holshag Hackle Fly which is basically a WB with dumbell and some rubber legs.
Nevertheless, I like my flies fairly realistic and this version of helgrammite just slays the smallies (even if I say so myself 🙂 ).

http://www.paflyfish.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7614&forum=5
 

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have not been fly fishing that long yet but the fly I have the most confidence in and my favorie fly to tie is the hares ear in 12 14 16 weighted
 
Dry: #18 tan Elk Hair Caddis

#20 PMD parachute emerger
A strong second, and recently catch more fish with it

Nymph: East...... Green Caddis Puppae
West..... Prince (hands down)
 
Well everyone was directed tward trout in the first 20 posts. I Know i should have been more specific. Sorry i'll try to do better next time.
 
A Wooly Bugger for Trout, Smallies, Largemouth, Pike, Walleye, Carp, Pickeral, Sunnies, Suckers, Rock Bass, Crappies, Chubs, Muskie, Fallfish, Stripers, Gar, Eels, Perch......

Didja ketch a deer yea-who?
 
fresh water- hares ear and a clouser minnow
Salt water- clouser and a bobs banger
 
yea-who,

Sorry, didn't mean to corrupt your thread. I spent 8 years in Columbia, SC and there's very little propper trout fishing down there (at least to my PA way of thinking). So, I spent the time fishing warmwater and saltwater species. My folks are in Naples, FL so I spend time there fishing salt. Also, my grandfather and dad were hardcore night bass fishermen.

What I'm saying is fly rods are a great tool for caching EVERYTHING, not just trout.

JayL,

You're right: one fly, no hedging. I'd have to lean towards the bugger in all its incarnations including come head and with dumbell eyes. We all know the many permutations for fresh water. Tie the body out of Ice Chenille and you're rockin' a great little minnow or shrimp imitation. LOTS of versitility!
 
La Fontaines caddis emerger and pupa's...I carry the original antrons for his patterns..
 
No Deer.... By the way i hate game lands. There was a buck i had pegged for three years, trail cam photos and all. i let him walk twice with the bow this year. he wood have been a good one next year.................but someone shot him with the rifle. For the first time in club history no one got a deer. My father told us he's gotta go next year and show us how to do it.....LoL............i haven't had a doe lisense in 5 years maybe i'll get one, so the street doesn't starve next year.
 
size 4 flashabou -black
Pa flymph
midges -letort ant various colors in 22-works well in the west also.
 
Dave I love that fly but you need a better camera to show the true beauty of that fly :-D
 
Hellgramites are the bomb , but how do you immitate that dive? When i used them for bait they had a distict wiggle/dive that is when the blast would come. I have a bunch of latex material left over from old prosthesis i'm gonna experiment on that.
 
awesome helgrammite fish, looks like a quick tie 😉

If you can find some long marabou, splitting it into three sections and braiding it off the back of the hook gives a similar effect. No way you're getting all those legs in there though.
 
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