Understanding trout flies and entomology can seem quite intimidating to a beginning fly fisherman. But it doesn’t have to be this way if you can become familiar with insects and their life cycle in the water. It’s really quite simple.

In fact, with a little education and practice learning about the different types of insects and terrestrials that your trout fishing flies are trying to mimic, you will increase your chances of success, as well as the amount of money you have in your wallet.

As a beginner or if you’re fishing uncharted waters, it’s easy to walk into a local fly shop and spend a ton of cash on hot trout flies that are “guaranteed” to be successful. But if you learn the basics, you can spend more time on the water and less time spending money at the store.

mayflies

These small insects hatch at the bottom of streams and rivers and are a constant food source for all species of trout. Their imitations are a mainstay in many successful anglers fly boxes.

nymphs

When mayfly eggs hatch, these tiny insects remain underwater as nymphs. They will spend the next few months to a year shedding their skin and lining several times.

emerging

The first stage of a mayfly’s adulthood when the nymph sheds her casing and reveals her wings so she can fly.

spinners and dunes

This stage of the insect’s life is when the mayfly straightens its wings above the surface of the water to dry.

caddy flies

These little insects resemble moths when they have reached adulthood.

stone flies

These flies vary in size throughout the country. Where I live in the west, these bugs can turn into monsters. Fishing for the hatching of a stone fly or salmon fly is extremely popular in late spring or early summer because the size of these flies makes them very easy to spot in the water. The aggressive nature of the trout during these hatches makes the fight exciting for many anglers.

In addition to natural bait consisting of small fish and live insects and flies, a well-made replica fly can bring you wonderful trout. Many anglers take pride in learning to tie their own flies and pass on those skills, as well as those flies, to subsequent generations. You can take fly tying lessons or teach yourself through videos, books, or with special fly tying kits available for purchase.

When in doubt: look around you

To use trout fishing flies most effectively, you must know the type of trout you are fishing for and be familiar with their feeding habits. With that information in mind, take a look at the area you’ll be fishing. If you see particular types of flies and bugs buzzing around the creek bank, you can bet those will be very successful baits for you to mimic. You may get more trout hits early in the morning or late at night. You will have to experiment in a variety of ways to see what works for you.

You will usually find a wide variety of trout fishing flies available at tackle stores near good trout fishing spots. Try to go fishing during times when flies are hatching around the waters. The trout are on high alert during this time, so you may take more hits. Try to tie or use a fly that more closely resembles the flies in the area where the fish are biting. Also take into account the size of your fly and hook. Color counts as much as the quality of your tie. You don’t want your fly to come undone and look like a mess. Trout can be very finicky and you need to trick them into thinking your bait is real.

Trout Fly Presentation

Your trout fishing flies will be even more useful when you practice your casting. A great cast will do a fly for a trout or wherever you think a trout might lurk without much splashing or disturbance in the water. Remember, the idea is to convince the trout that their bait is a real fly that has very conveniently landed or been dropped into the water. If you are careless with your cast or pull on the line and reel in too fast or not fast enough, the trout will swim past your line.

Practice makes perfect

In the end, don’t be afraid to try all these types of trout flies when you’re fishing. Even nymphing and subsurface fishing is an important part of a successful angler’s arsenal. In fact, most of the food sources for most trout come from underground insects. So, don’t be afraid to throw in a nymph rig every now and then! It all comes down to practicing and mimicking the different life cycles of an insect to be successful at catching trout.