Fly ID Help

majorbotts

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I'm new (1 month) into fly fishing and have a fly assortment suggested by a couple of local shops to get me started... Unfortunately, I didn't write down the names of the flies and where they should be used. Can any of you help sort me out? - #6 is a bee, and #8 is a foam ant.

Some are supposed to be good for Tennessee's Caney Fork, Harpeth, Duck and Buffalo (Bass and Sun Fish) and some for Trout on the Hiwassee and Ocoee...

Thanks!

MB
 

bigjim5589

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1 looks like a caddis dry fly, but hard to tell the exact pattern.
2 looks like a Royal Wulff, but tied with green or chartreuse floss body.
3 not sure, I've seen this one but don't recall what it is!
4 another Wulff, tied with yellow wings, Maybe a Harry Murray's Mr Rapidan.
5 Golden Stone Nymph
7 a popper
9 don't know
10 a Stimulator, yellow
11, hard to tell
12 Olive bead head woolly bugger
13 Montana Stone
14, Clousers, perhaps Foxee Red pattern
 
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famill00

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#2 is what Jim Casada calls the "Yellarhammer", which in fact is a variation of the Royal Wulff. In his latest book he discusses the deadliness of this fly in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

-Forrest
 

peregrines

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Hey MB, it looks like you got great advice and have some classic trout patterns there-- including some that are southeastern classics.

Not sure of exact names of all the patterns, but even the ones with a ? are similar enough to other patterns that are pretty close in terms of how they look, and how you might fish them.


1. Elk Hair Caddis (?) This is dry fly that imitates adult caddis, which may be emerging in the afternoons all summer long, and is an excellent choice anytime, even if you don't see any on the water. Effective in many different water types especially riffles or just below them and small mountain streams. This is a basic trout fly that should be in everyone’s box.

2. Tennessee Wulff (also called a Royal Wulff Lime I think)- Another Tennessee classic, a heavily hackled hairwing Wulff type fly of some sort is another basic “must have” trout pattern. With it’s heavy hackle and stiff tail this fly will float well in fast water and with it’s white wings it will be easy to see. This dry fly is an attractor pattern good for streams with a lot of riffles, runs and other fast water, brook trout in small mountain streams and it will also be fun to throw for panfish in any kind of water.

3. Yellerhammer – Another classic Tennessee pattern, this is tied as a dry fly but you can also fish it just under the surface a s a wet fly.

4. Rapidan (another Wulff type dry fly) This a another classic SE dry fly pattern good for many different types of water, but especially fast streches where the yellow wings make it easy to see.

5. Stonefly nymph- This is a well tied golden stonefly nymph. Bounce it along the bottom in riffles

6. Looks like a wasp imitation? Would be a good choice for panfish

7. Popper for bass and bluegill- a blast to fish in still or slow moving water, during summer when temps are high, this would be a good choice for late in the day early evening. Twitch it then let it sit for awhile --- blurp pause pause blurp pause pause pause pause pause blurp pause blurp etc.

8. Foam ant- a great summer time pattern for trout-- cast along banks near/under vegetation. Also great for bluegill.

9. With its rubber legs, this looks like a good wet fly to fish under the surface for for bluegill, let it fall in the water column then twitch and let fall. You could also add split shot to your leader and tumble this along the bottom in fast sections of in trout streams.

10. Stimulator (dry fly) imitates an adult stonefly, a great dry for fast water streams and a good attractor pattern. You could also use this as a grasshopper pattern and cast it near banks if you see a lot of hoppers in around- you can twitch it on the surface in slow water to imtate a struggling insect. In addition to trout, you might also try this in streams for smallmouth.

11. "Crackleback type dry fly" -usually a true Crackleback, (classic pattern found in the SE and midwest) doesn't have a tail, but this pattern is similar enough to fish the same way. With it's "palmered" stiff hackle (wrapped in open loops down the hook shank) this is a dry fly but can be fished as a wet fly too. Cast upstream and let it float down on the current, until it starts to drag. If nothing has whacked it let it hang in the current for a seconds or two then give it a little tug to get it under the surface and retrieve it in short twitches.

12. Bead Head Woolly Bugger- a great all around fly for trout and bass that looks like a lot of different things-- big nymphs, minnows, leeches, crayfish, damsel/dragon larva, hellgrammites etc. Cast out and retrieve in short twitches in pools, deep water, drop back along overhanging banks or down into current seams in streams or rivers. This is also a good fly for high water becase of rain runoff or water releases from dam controlled rivers. In Lakes and ponds, cast out and "count down" --- one Hippopotamus, two hippop[otamus etc before retrieving until you find the depth that fish are holding or start to hit the bottom.

13. Montana nymph- originally tied to imitate a stonefly nymph for trout, but it’s also a good buggy looking pattern for panfish.

14. “Foxee Clouser” type streamer. The heavy lead dumbbell eyes will sink the flip the hook so it rides hook point up. The rising and falling motion of this fly when retrieved make it an excellent choice to hop along the bottom. This pattern does an excellent job of imitating bottom dwelling baitfish and crayfish for all kinds of gamefish, and can be particularly effective for smallmouth.


Good luck and keep asking questions!
 

stimulator2

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1) Elk Hair Caddis

2) Tennessee Wulff

3) Pale Yellow Palmer- this is not Yallerhammer its not yellow enough or tied
out of the right materails i have tied Yallerhammers
and they are illegal to have because its tie out of a
yellowhammer woodpecker and some wlidlife rangers
can tell the difference in the fake and the orginals.

4) Mr. Rapadain

5) a Goldenstone pattern

6) Bee

7) Popper

8) Ant

9) another Goldenstone pattern

10) Yellow Stiumlator

11) Looks like a HorseHair Nymph

12) Beadhead Olive Wooly Bugger

13) Montana Stone

14) Clouser
 

peregrines

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Stimulator2-

Good call, I stand corrected, it's a Yellow Palmer- another traditional SE fly pattern,

You're right the original materials (woodpecker feathers) are illegal now of course. I've saw some similar looking "Yellerhammer" type dries years ago when I was in Gatlinburg tied with yellow dyed Grizzly, but it had a darker body--
 
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