I suspect if you’re anything like me, you own a fair few boxes of different flies. Many of them I can’t remember the last time they were used. Admired lovingly, yes, but not actually selected for a fishing trip for years. These days I like to fish light, by that I mean carry the least possible kit. I limit myself to two small fly boxes, with flies carefully selected beforehand to cover most possibilities for wherever I’m going at a particular time.
During a lifetime of fishing I’ve probably amassed over several thousand flies, not including the similar amount I’ve lost. My wife occasionally asks whether I really need that many flies / rods / reels, and of course I answer that I do. The reality, as we all know, is that I don’t (but it’s nice to have options and be fully prepared).
Our Team's Individual Three Best Fishing Flies
I thought it would be interesting to ask the Sportfish team if they could only ever fish with three flies, what would they choose?
All the fishing flies chosen below are available on our website.
DANNY NORTH - General Manager, Sportfish Winforton:
For my river dry fly fishing, it has to be the Gold Ribbed Hares Ear. I have so much confidence in this fly, and very rarely does it get refused. I tend to use it in all sizes, right the way down to an 18 when conditions are testing.
For my stillwater and reservoir trout fishing, then the Silver Mini Minkie takes some beating. I use this either on floating or intermediate lines, and find that fry feeding trout can’t resist it.
My go to salmon fly has to be the Willie Gunn in all its guises, from tubes to doubles, to gold bodies and feelers. They have all worked over the years for me and many of my salmon have fallen to this pattern.
STEVE HUNT - Assistant Manager, Sportfish Winforton:
I’d have to choose a fly each for the 3 different species I usually fish for, so here goes.
For Atlantic salmon I’d go with a Micro Series Willie Gunn tube fly – this fantastic pattern accounted for more salmon to my net than any other, and my biggest ever, a 34lb silver beauty on the Kola peninsula.
For reservoir trout I am no purist and just rely on proven fish catchers. Every time the Balanced Shammy Red Bung Bug will catch you more fish!
Finally for grayling fishing, I’d select a Spanish Bullet French Nymph. Although a sacrificial fly in nymphing parlance, this is my go to point fly. I tie them in various weights but the colour and profile stays the same.
So these would be the 3 patterns I’d select:
JOSH BUNNING - Sales Advisor, Sportfish Winforton:
Throughout the year, I target a variety of fish species, including salmon, trout, grayling, and barbel. This diversity makes selecting just three flies a challenging task.
For my salmon fishing, I would choose the classic Willie Gunn. The River Wye often has a slightly tinted colour, and this fly consistently performs well in those conditions.
When it comes to trout fishing, the Red Holographic Diawl Bach is an essential addition to any stillwater fly box, particularly for the Welsh reservoirs where I fish frequently.
To round out my selection of three flies, I would include a Black Foam Daddy, which is particularly effective for enticing surface feeders.
CHRIS RYAN - Fishing Buyer & Catalogue Manager:
Choosing three flies from my vast collection of thousands accumulated over fifty years is a challenging task. This difficulty is compounded by the variety of fishing styles, species, and locations I try to explore.
For salmon fishing, my current favourite fly is the Mikael Frodin classic Willie Gun tube, tied with a half-turbo cone. This fly has brought me great success, accounting for my last four salmon: three on the River Wye locally last season and a twenty-pounder on the Orkla River in Norway the season before.
When I fish back home in Ireland, there is one fly I always make sure to have on my cast, whether I’m targeting sea trout, brown trout, or even salmon in my favourite small spate rivers: the traditional Black Pennell. This fly has been responsible for catching more than half of all the sea trout and salmon I’ve ever landed on the west coast spate rivers in Ireland.
Living in beautiful mid-Wales, I'm fortunate to have Llyn Clywedog, arguably the UK’s best reservoir, within easy reach. Whether fishing from the bank or a boat, I don’t think I’ve ever spent a day on Llyn Clywedog without a Diawl Bach (Little Devil) on my cast at some point. Over the years, this tiny fly has accounted for thousands of trout for me.
LUCY BOWDEN – Sportfish Marketing Executive:
Most of my trout fishing is done on stillwaters, loughs or lochs and, very much a dry fly girl at heart, I enjoy fishing high up in the water column or on the surface.
Who doesn’t love fishing with a Daddy Long Legs? Fished either as a dry or subsurface fly, if fishing dry I particularly like an Orange Daddy Long Legs as it’s much easier to see than your standard daddy, especially when there’s a little chop on the surface.
With multiple ways to fish it including static, twitched or pulled across the surface I love a Black Popper Hopper, especially the inevitable bow waves of a chasing fish behind it!
A great traditional pattern, the Bibio was my Dad’s favourite fly so it quickly became a family favourite. Fished alone or as part of a team, if all else fails, pop a Bibio on and either figure of eight it or strip it back. The trout love it! Here are my top 3:
JONATHAN RANDALL - Retail Manager, Sportfish Game Fishing Centre:
Buzzers are a must have in your fly box. They represent midge larvae and form up to 80% of a trout’s diet. With so many varieties of midge present in UK stillwaters, having a variety of sizes and colours in your fly box is essential. Spooning a retained trout and placing the contents in a jar of water can reveal the exact colour and size to imitate, hopefully making your fishing session more productive. You can fish buzzers in a wide variety of ways either as a single fly, in a team, as part of a washing line set up or in conjunction with an indicator. Given that midge larvae do not move quickly, buzzers are most effective when fished almost static. If I had to pick just one pattern it would be the Traffic Light Buzzer.
I have always loved boobies and they have always been a stillwater fisherman’s favourite! It doesn’t seem to matter if they are large or small, they are an effective and versatile lure which can be fished using a variety of methods. Traditionally boobies are fished virtually static with a fast-sinking fly line and a short 2-3ft leader, popping them up just above the bottom. The washing line is another great way to fish a booby, by using it as a point fly holding up a team of buzzers either on a floating or intermediate fly line. Another popular method is to use a booby as an indicator with a buzzer suspended underneath. My favourite is the Viva Bristol Crystal Booby.
Finally I’d chose a WAEF (When All Else Fails), a much under-used stalking pattern which can be highly effective, particularly on clear spring fed lakes in the south of England. It is a very simple fly to tie, made with just half a dozen turns of lead wire and a half a dozen strands of beached white deer hair. When stalking the margins the white deer hair acts as a sight indicator allowing you to see it as it passes through the water column. The trick is to cast your WAEF in front of the fish you are trying to catch, and with a little practice you want your fly to perfectly intercept the fishes natural path. If this does not prove successful another tip is to reverse intercept your chosen quarry, as the fish passes you raise the WAEF from the lake bed perfectly in line with the passing fish. If you lose sight of the WAEF do not panic, just keep a close eye on the mouth of the fish…if it opens, strike!
ROBIN ELWES - Sales Advisor & Casting Instructor, Sportfish Game Fishing Centre:
My flies of choice start with the Mayfly. As I do a lot of guiding in the summer on the river Test the Mohican has always been a go to for the hatch. It was originally designed by Oliver Edwards and always sits perfectly in the water.
The Oppo has been my dry fly for river fishing in many locations. As the trout are looking up all they see is a profile of the insect and they tend to be happy to eat it. Also with the coloured tag it makes using it in the evening much easier to see.
The Red Neck Pheasant Tail is an excellent nymph, especially used under an indicator, it just seems to have the right profile to fool most trout and grayling.
SIMON TILBURY - Group Head of Marketing:
Given the fishing I do these days (a fair amount, but the majority on only 2 rivers), it’s actually not a tough decision for me. Just three flies do most of the damage on my little chalkstream home stretch for wild brownies.
The first is a black Klinkhammer, which rarely fails in the warmer months. It can tempt fish even when they’re not rising and I can use it for sight fishing as well as prospecting.
My other two most used home stretch flies are pheasant tail and Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear goldhead nymphs. When sight fishing I try only to use them when the Klink isn’t working, but I also occasionally prospect with them in the deeper places or faster water. If I had to choose between them for my second favourite fly, I’d go for the GRHE, as it’s more indicative of a wider range of insects.
I also have an annual salmon and sea trout trip every October on the river Coquet in Northumberland, so need something to cover that for my final favourite fly. In over 25 years of fishing there, I’ve only really used two patterns, depending on the water colour and height. An Ally Shrimp has accounted for about half my salmon, but it doesn’t quite beat a Silver Stoat’s Tail, which has taken the other half, plus a few sea trout too.
While I’m partial to an Oliver Edwards Mohican mayfly if I manage to fish during mayfly season, based on the fishing I currently do, below are the 3 flies I’d choose:
What are your top fly fishing flies?
We hope you've enjoyed reading about our favourite flies... now we'd like to hear from you! Let us know in the comments below the top 3 flies you would not leave home without.
