EmergerintermediateRocky Mountain West
$3.50
CDC -- cul de canard -- comes from the oil gland area of a duck, and it floats without chemical assistance because evolution is a better engineer than any fly tier. This emerger hangs in the surface film like a mayfly stuck between one life and the next, and trout eat it because vulnerability is apparently delicious. It is the most elegant solution to the selective trout problem, provided you do not apply floatant and ruin the natural oils. Which you will do once, and only once.
Henry's Fork
ID · Spring Creek
Missouri River
MT · Tailwater
Frying Pan River
CO · Tailwater
Map unavailable. Locations for CDC Emerger: Henry's Fork, ID; Missouri River, MT; Frying Pan River, CO
species science
Trout don't see the world the way we do. They perceive ultraviolet light, detect motion through contrast rather than color, and see a dramatically different fly at ten feet of depth than at two. Once you understand their four-cone visual system, you'll never choose a fly the same way again.
hatch guide
Mayflies are the foundation of trout-stream entomology. This guide covers every major hatch — BWOs, PMDs, Green Drakes, Sulphurs, Tricos, and Hendricksons — with the biology, timing, and fly selections you need to fish them effectively across the country.
hatch guide
Caddisflies outnumber mayflies on most trout streams, yet they receive a fraction of the attention. From the explosive Mother's Day caddis hatch to the giant October caddis of the Pacific Northwest, understanding Trichoptera transforms your fishing from spring through fall.
hatch guide
When every other hatch has shut down, midges keep trout feeding. From winter tailwaters to high-altitude stillwaters, Chironomidae are the most abundant insects in freshwater ecosystems. Learning to fish these tiny patterns unlocks twelve months of dry-fly and nymphing opportunities.
hatch guide
Trout eat more insects during emergence than at any other stage. Emerger patterns — flies that imitate the critical moment when a nymph transforms into an adult in the surface film — are the most consistently effective dry flies in fly fishing. Here is the science and the technique behind fishing the in-between.
technique
Most anglers open their fly box and stare at it like a menu in a foreign language. But fly selection isn't mystical — it's a decision tree. Start with what the fish are eating, narrow by presentation depth, match the profile and size, and you'll arrive at the right fly in under sixty seconds. Here's the system.
technique
Ninety percent of a trout's diet is consumed subsurface. Yet ninety percent of the magazine covers show a dry fly floating on calm water. The decision between nymphing and dry-fly fishing isn't about preference — it's about reading the situation and making the choice that puts your fly where the fish are actually feeding.
EmergerintermediateRocky Mountain West
#12 - #18
Gary LaFontaine's caddis emerger. Antron sparkle yarn creates a bubble effect mimicking the gas sheath of an emerging caddis pupa.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
EmergeradvancedRocky Mountain West
#14 - #22
A hybrid emerger-dun pattern with CDC wings and a trailing nymphal shuck. Sits half-in, half-out of the surface film.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
EmergerintermediateRocky Mountain West
#16 - #22
John Barr's Blue Wing Olive emerger. Tungsten bead, trailing shuck, CDC wing. Designed for the transition zone between nymph and dun.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout
EmergerintermediateRocky Mountain West
#18 - #24
Rim Chung's minimalist emerger. CDC or beaver fur wing, thread body. Imitates emerging Baetis and midges in the surface film.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout
Dry FlybeginnerRocky Mountain West
#12 - #22
Tied by Andy Carlson
The universal dry fly. Grizzly hackle, white post, dubbed body. If you cannot identify the hatch, tie on an Adams.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brook Trout · Mountain Whitefish
Dry FlybeginnerRocky Mountain West
#12 - #18
Tied by Chris Krueger
Al Troth's iconic caddis imitation. Elk hair wing, palmered hackle. Floats like a cork in fast water.
Rainbow Trout · Brown Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brook Trout