The Best Fly Fishing Patterns of all Time

I have had an ongoing debate over the years with my family and friends who are amongst our fellow fly fishers, as to which fly fishing patterns are the best of all time. This discussion when in the company of seasoned anglers and novices alike leads down a long and winding road. It is similar to a discussion of the best band ever in which categories and requirements start to dominate the discussion in place of the true question. What are the best 3 fly fishing patterns ever developed.

I spend most of my time fly fishing on rivers and streams. However, there are many days that I am only able to hit a local pond or small lake so I do fish for cold water and warm water fish every year. This does not include saltwater patterns because I do not do much saltwater fly fishing. Having put my terms to print it is my opinion that the three best fly fishing patterns / flies are:

Adams Dry Fly

Clouser Minnow

Pheasant Tail Nymph

I will not go into detail concerning the specifics of tying these pattern as each of them require a separate page worth of instructions. I will state that there is an underlying similarity between all three fly patterns. The common thread that binds these three flies is that they DO NOT mimic any particular food source. They instead effectively represent almost all of the food available to any species of trout, bass or pan fish you might encounter.

I think that one could have a very successful day, if not an entire season, if the fly boxes carried in your vest were stocked solely with varying sizes and colors of these three patterns.

Let me know your favorite fly patterns and the reason it should have made my short list.

http://dryflywaters.com/

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