Which flies for PA

Guys I am in the process of tying and filling my box but had a question.  Since there are so many flies to choose from which do you guys tie to fill your PA box ?  I make Pheasant tails, copper johns, hares ears and buggers.  What else are must haves ?  Midges ? Scuds ?  Looking for some help.  Thanks !

How about a pic of that one, son? :)

greenhead, I come at fly fishing from the opposite angle as son, preferring dries, streamers, and wet flies over nymphs.

Like he said, though, your fly selection will depend somewhat on what kinds of streams you're fishing. In any even, a good all purpose dry box will have:

Stimulators, in yellow and/or orange. Size 12-14 is a good range. Early season, fish them on those few days where stonefly adults are buzzing around, in the summer they work as a hopper, and anytime they make a great attractor, as well as a big, visible, buoyant fly to hang a nymph from. They're also good for those really small streams with natives, because the fish aren't that picky, they'll float forever, and you can see and follow them in the most choppy pocket water.

Parachute adams, sizes 12-16. This is the dry to fish before, during, and after nearly any mayfly hatch, if you don't have the proper specific imitation. It can function as an emerger, dun, or spinner, and with a post of white calf body hair, is surprisingly visible. Takes some practice to learn to tie, but is still less fussy than upright, divided wings. I usually tie mine with a tail of moose hair, just as a personal preference.

Griffiths gnat, size 18-22. This covers any fly too small to be imitated by the para-adams, especially midges. This is the fly to use when you see fish rising but cant see any insect that they're rising to. This tie can be tweaked a bit for specific colors. A stream I fish a good bit gets a bunch of tiny light brown midges and micro caddis in late august. I tie a griffiths gnat with brown hackle instead of grizzly and it works well. Ginger may work even better, but I don't have any ginger that small.

Elk hair caddis, size 12-18. This tie is incredibly versatile, and in proper sizes and colors, can match any caddis you'll come across. Drift it, skate it, drown it, or even throw a bit of shot on your tippet and dredge it through some riffles as an egg-layer. This is a classic for a reason. If there are caddis about, and the fish are reacting to them, you can get them on this fly.

2x on small black stone fly nymphs and elk hair caddis. i also am a fan of buggers for most fish in pa.

i do dead drift 'em and for me they drift alone

you could just use live minnows hooked to a nymph... some real action there.  

ORIGINAL: JoeySimms

you could just use live minnows hooked to a nymph... some real action there.  

Technically not fly fishing...

ORIGINAL: luvinbluegills

Cold,

I'm chaining myself to my vise Saturday and making your list!

To get a couple of eachof those patterns in each of those sizes, that's quite a bit of tying! If you accomplish it, though, and throw them in a compartment box, you'll have the right fly for nearly any occasion you might happen upon in a PA freestone. After that, its just replacing lost flies and stocking up on patterns you go through regularly.

Stimmies can be a pain in smaller sizes, but I use so many of them that any time I feel the least bit inclined to tie them, I'll drop whatever I happen to be tying and switch to them and tie till I can't take anymore. I did up a dozen in #14 last week and a few in #16...now I'm on lime trudes.

ORIGINAL: Cold

ORIGINAL: greenhead55

Do you guys dead drift the buggers ?  Also do you tandem your buggers or run them alone ?

Drift, swing, strip. White, black, olive, brown, in that order.

 
olive, white, brown, black in that order!!

Olive, Black, White, Brown, in that order, if you really must know!

Right now my go-to list is pretty simple. #10 Wooly Buggers in Olive and in Black, #10 Zug Bug weighted, #10 olive damsel nymph, #6 white Zonker, #10 notta bugger (1 marabou feather tied on a hook in either white or brown usually), #16 brown/olive hare's ear unweighted, and on the surface stimulators and orange foam beetles.

I carry about a BILLION other dries, nymphs and streamers, but those are the choice when it's absolutely time to catch fish.

ORIGINAL: Cold


Gills,

I tie em almost exclusively with bleached elk hair, for visibility and no other reason (as opposed to any other hollow hair). I used to only tie them in 8 and 10, but tried a few in 14 and it was like night & day. Deer hair should work, but the deer hair you'd use on stimulators is not the same hair you'd use on a BND. Was it body hair or bucktail that he gave you? The dace is a killer pattern, though.

As far as your go to list, it looks pretty good. I'd cross off all the nymphs, and probably the foam beetle, and replace them with a griffiths gnat, para adams, some slip-winged wets, and some hairwing streamers. Maybe a soft hackle or two as well.

Tying the 14s being night and day...do you mean in how the fish responded? After whipping together a dozen 10s last weekend, I'm confident I could do 14s, I just hafta take my time sizing the hackle.

It's all body hair that he gave me. I really didn't want anything because I tie far more than I lose while fishing and always get to the point where I have far more flies than I'll ever use and just like to give them away. He's a good guy who guides Smallies on Erie part time and I just wanted to give him another weapon for the arsenal but when he came out with a garbage bag full of  pieces I gave him the obligatory 2 refusals and then ran the bag to my car! Lol!

By the way, I tried using Caribou once and man, one tight wrap and that stuff flares like exploding fireworks! I like it for small spun bugs that I want to be extra "chewy".

pictures for us rookies would be helpful and enjoyable... you guys willing to post any?

ORIGINAL: Riverbum

pictures for us rookies would be helpful and enjoyable... you guys willing to post any?

Google is your friend. All of the patterns I mentioned are well known patterns, with plenty of pictures, variations, step-by-steps, etc.

Ah I see. I got a stimmy tute over in that section. Other than that, I don't think I've taken photos of any of those flies.

ORIGINAL: doubletaper

ORIGINAL: Cold

ORIGINAL: greenhead55

Do you guys dead drift the buggers ?  Also do you tandem your buggers or run them alone ?

Drift, swing, strip. White, black, olive, brown, in that order.

olive, white, brown, black in that order!!

bLu /thread.