The Fly & the Season

Pheasant Tail Nymph

NymphSizes 14–20Brown/copper

The most useful mayfly nymph imitation ever tied. It looks like a Baetis nymph, a PMD nymph, a small stonefly nymph, or just a bug. Bead-head version sinks faster — your default Arkansas nymph nine months of the year.

Fish it Anywhere, anytime. Use as your point or dropper fly in any nymph rig.

Hare's Ear Nymph

NymphSizes 12–18Natural/olive

The other essential generalist. Buggy, scruffy, and broadly imitative — caddis pupae, mayflies, scuds, you name it. Fish a Hare's Ear and a Pheasant Tail together and you have most of subsurface life covered.

Fish it As a dropper below a stonefly or attractor nymph. Olive in spring; natural the rest of the year.

Zebra Midge

NymphSizes 18–22Black/silver, red/silver

A thread body with wire ribbing and a bead head. Looks like nothing in particular and everything in general. Midges hatch year-round on the Arkansas and are the dominant food source from October through April.

Fish it Trailed 12–18" behind a Pheasant Tail. Always. Winter especially.

Copper John

NymphSizes 14–18Copper, red, chartreuse

John Barr's heavy attractor nymph — the wire body sinks fast and the flash gets attention. Excellent point fly to deliver a smaller dropper to fish.

Fish it Big water, fast water, off-color water. Red is shockingly good in winter on the Ark.

RS2

EmergerSizes 18–22Gray, olive, black

A Rim Chung pattern — sparse, simple, devastating. Imitates an emerging mayfly or midge stuck in the surface film. The Colorado tailwater fly. Carries you through BWO hatches start to finish.

Fish it 18" below a small dry during BWO hatches, or as a midge trailer in winter.

Pat's Rubber Legs

Stonefly nymphSizes 6–12Coffee/black, brown, olive

The big-meal stonefly nymph for the Arkansas. Stoneflies live in the river for two to three years, so this fly is "in season" every day of the calendar. The wiggly rubber legs are the secret.

Fish it As your anchor fly in any deep-water nymph rig, year-round. Especially deadly during runoff and early summer.

Parachute Adams

DrySizes 12–22Gray/grizzle

If a trout is rising and you don't know what to throw, throw this. The parachute post sits the body flush in the film like a real mayfly. Larger sizes imitate March browns and PMDs; smaller sizes work for BWOs.

Fish it Any mayfly hatch, any time. The best searching dry fly in trout fishing.

Elk Hair Caddis

DrySizes 12–18Tan, olive, gray

The other essential dry. Floats high, takes abuse, and imitates the thousands of caddis on the Arkansas from late April through September. The "tent wing" shape is unmistakable on the water.

Fish it Caddis hatches (most days April–September). Twitch it occasionally — caddis move on the surface.

Chubby Chernobyl

Foam dry / indicatorSizes 8–14Tan, royal, gold

A foam attractor — sloppy imitation of a stonefly, hopper, or large terrestrial. Floats forever, holds a heavy dropper, and gets eaten on its own. Your essential dry-dropper top fly from mid-June through September.

Fish it Top fly in any dry-dropper rig. Sizes 8–10 in summer (stones, hoppers); 12–14 in shoulder seasons.

Blue Wing Olive (Comparadun / Sparkle Dun)

DrySizes 18–22Olive/dun

A specific mayfly imitation for the Arkansas's two biggest dry-fly windows: spring BWOs (March–May) and fall BWOs (Sept–Oct). Slim olive body, dun wing. Fish are extremely selective during these hatches.

Fish it Overcast days during BWO hatches — the bigger the BWO event, the more important matching size becomes.

Foam Hopper (Morrish, Fat Albert, etc.)

Terrestrial drySizes 8–14Tan, yellow, pink

Late summer fish in central Colorado are obsessed with grasshoppers blown off banks by afternoon wind. The Arkansas runs through grass-lined canyon and meadow water that produces blanket hopper conditions July–September.

Fish it July through first frost. Cast tight to grassy banks. Pink belly versions are unreasonably effective.

Woolly Bugger

StreamerSizes 6–12Olive, black, brown

The streamer. Imitates a leech, sculpin, baitfish, or large nymph depending on size and color. When fish aren't eating bugs — high water, dirty water, cold water, lake fishing — they will often eat this.

Fish it Strip across current, swing through tailouts. Essential for off-color or pre-runoff conditions. Bigger sizes in lakes.

Zebra Midge

Sizes 20–22Black/silver primary

The bread and butter. Run two midges or a midge below a small Pheasant Tail.

Red Midge Larva (Blood Midge / Brassie)

Sizes 18–22Red/copper

Red is the winter color. Trout key on bloodworms (chironomid larvae) in slow water. A Red Copper John in #16-18 fills the same role at depth.

Pat's Rubber Legs (Coffee/Black)

Sizes 8–10Stonefly nymph

Winter is when stonefly nymphs are most active in their migration toward the banks for spring emergence. Heavy stonefly + small midge dropper = the canonical Arkansas winter rig.

BWO Comparadun / Sparkle Dun

Sizes 18–20Olive

Spring BWOs run slightly larger than fall (#18-20 vs. #20-22). Overcast, snowy, rainy days produce the heaviest hatches. Look for the bugs on the water before you tie one on.

RS2 (Olive or Gray)

Sizes 18–22Olive/gray

Mandatory BWO emerger. Fish it as a dropper below a BWO dry, or 18" under your indicator during a hatch when fish are eating in the film but you can't see the takes.

Soft Hackle Caddis Pupa / Bird's Nest

Sizes 14–18Olive, tan

During the Brachycentrus (Mother's Day) caddis hatch, fish are usually keyed on emerging pupae before they're eating adults. A soft hackle fished on the swing or dead drift is often more productive than a dry.

Elk Hair Caddis (Dark, #14-16)

Sizes 14–16Brown/dark

When the Mother's Day caddis hatch is on — and it is one of the great fly fishing events in the West — fish a dark-bodied EHC. Twitch it. Real caddis don't sit still.

Pat's Rubber Legs (Golden / Brown)

Sizes 6–10Golden, tan, brown

Golden stoneflies are migrating to the banks. A big golden Pat's, drifted along the seam between fast water and bank-side soft water, is the highest-percentage fly during runoff.

Stimulator (Yellow / Orange)

DrySizes 8–14Yellow, orange

The classic adult stonefly dry — also doubles as a hopper later. The big yellow body sits high on choppy water. Fish along the bank with a dropper if you want a deeper presentation.

Woolly Bugger / Sculpzilla

Sizes 4–8Olive, brown, black

When water's high and dirty, a streamer cut hard against the bank often outproduces everything else. Trout displaced from their usual lies will smash a big fly.

PMD Comparadun / Sparkle Dun

Sizes 16–18Pale yellow/orange

Pale Morning Duns hatch on the Arkansas roughly mid-July through early September. Mornings to early afternoons, especially in slower water. Spent-wing rusty spinners produce in the evening.

Yellow Sally / Hippie Stomper

Sizes 14–16Yellow with red/pink butt

A small yellow stonefly, very productive June through early August. The pink-butt is the trigger — every effective Yellow Sally imitation has a red, pink, or orange butt segment. Hippie Stompers fill this role beautifully.

Hopper (Morrish, Chubby, Fat Albert)

Sizes 8–12Tan, pink belly, gold

When afternoon wind picks up — every summer afternoon in the upper Ark valley — start fishing hoppers along grassy banks. The Hopper-Copper-Dropper rig (hopper, then a Copper John, then a midge or small mayfly) is canonical summer water.

Tan/Olive Elk Hair Caddis

Sizes 14–18Tan, olive

Summer caddis are smaller and lighter than spring Brachycentrus. Evenings, especially on warm overcast days, can produce blanket caddis events. A twitch or skate on the dead drift triggers strikes.

Trico Spinner / Spent

Sizes 20–24Black/white

Tricos hatch on the Arkansas late July to mid-September, mostly in the slower middle sections from Buena Vista down. The spinner fall happens early morning — 7-9am — and produces extraordinary technical dry fly fishing in slick water.

BWO Sparkle Dun (smaller)

Sizes 20–22Olive

Fall BWOs are noticeably smaller than spring's. Cool, overcast days are best. The hatch usually fires mid-afternoon and lasts an hour or two. Match the size before you change the pattern.

RS2 (Gray, Black)

Sizes 20–22Gray, black

As fall BWOs progress, fish increasingly eat emergers. A small RS2 dropped 12-15" off your BWO dry is the highest-percentage rig of the hatch.

Articulated Streamer / Big Bugger

Sizes 2–8Brown, olive, sculpin, peanut envy

Pre-spawn brown trout in October are aggressive and territorial. Strip big streamers through deep buckets and along banks. Browns will follow and slam them. Brown-and-yellow or sculpin tones are the canonical color story.

Parachute Ant / Flying Ant

Sizes 14–20Black, cinnamon

The single most overlooked fly for alpine lake fishing. Wind blows ants onto lake surfaces constantly. Fish a black parachute ant when nothing else is happening and you'll be shocked. Use cinnamon/red ants in late summer.

Hippie Stomper / Mini Chubby

Sizes 12–16Black, purple, pink, tan

Multi-use foam attractor. Looks like a beetle, an ant, or a small hopper. Fish dead-drift or with the occasional twitch to break the surface. The single best searching dry on alpine lakes.

Griffith's Gnat

Sizes 18–22Peacock/grizzle

Imitates a midge cluster. When alpine fish are sipping tiny stuff in calm water, this is your fly. Hard to see — pair it with a Hippie Stomper as a sighter.

Balanced Leech / Mini Bugger

Sizes 10–14Olive, black, brown

Leeches are major lake food. A balanced leech under an indicator, fished motionless with the occasional twitch, is one of the most effective alpine lake rigs. Olive in clear water, black on overcast days.

Chironomid (Snowcone, Ice Cream Cone)

Sizes 14–18Black, red, olive, all with white head

Lake midges are different from river midges — bigger, often longer, and fish key on them heavily. A chironomid suspended under an indicator at the right depth (often 8-12 feet) is the deadly stillwater rig. Twitch occasionally.

Hot Spot Beetle / Foam Beetle

Sizes 12–14Black with red/orange hot spot

According to most Wind River guides, the single most productive fly in the range. The "plop" gets attention; the bright hot spot triggers strikes. Cutthroats and goldens crush this.

Mini Chubby (Pink / Gold)

Sizes 14–16Pink, gold, tan for goldens

Wind River cutthroats reportedly favor brighter colors — pink and orange and gold. Bring a half-dozen of each in size 14-16. Floats like cork, holds a dropper, gets eaten on its own.

Sparkle Minnow / Small Streamer

Sizes 6–10Brown, olive, tan

Big brookies and lake trout in the Winds will smash a stripped streamer. Especially productive around inlets and outlets of lakes. A medium-sink line or VersiLeader is worth carrying if you have room.

Elk Hair Caddis (Tan / Olive)

Sizes 14–18Tan, olive

For the small creeks that connect Wind River lakes, a high-floating EHC is often the only fly you need. Brookies and small cutts in pocket water will eat almost any well-presented dry.