What Flies Should I Use? A Beginner’s Guide to Choosing the Right Fly

If you’re new to fly fishing, choosing the right fly might feel like cracking a secret code. Trout eat insects with names like Blue-Winged Olive, Pale Morning Dun, and Zebra Midge. Bass eat streamers, poppers, frogs, and things that look like they crawled out of a swamp. And there are thousands of patterns to pick from.

Here’s the good news:
You don’t need to know everything. You just need a simple system.

This guide breaks down the best flies for beginners — by species, season, and fly type — so you can hit the water confident instead of confused.

The Three Types of Flies You Need to Know

Every fly belongs to one of these categories:

1. Dry Flies

• Flies that float on the surface. Used when fish are rising or feeding on top.

2. Nymphs

• Flies that sink and imitate immature insects underwater. These catch trout all year long.  These can be unweighted or weighted with brass or tungsten beads.

3. Streamers

• Bigger flies that imitate baitfish, leeches, sculpins, or crayfish. Great for big, aggressive fish.

If you can identify which of these three categories you need, you're already halfway to choosing the right fly.

Best Flies for Trout (Broken Down by Season)

Trout diets change throughout the year, but the patterns below are beginner-proof, easy to fish, and consistently productive.

Spring Trout Flies

Spring is insect season — the water warms, bugs hatch, and trout feed aggressively.

Top Spring Dry Flies

• Parachute Adams – Mayfly imitation that mimics several varieties of mayflies
• Blue-Winged Olive (BWO) – a major early-season hatch, a subspecies of mayfly
• Elk Hair Caddis – excellent in riffly water from spring through the fall

Top Spring Nymphs

• Pheasant Tail Nymph – imitates mayflies everywhere
• Hare’s Ear Nymph – a messy, buggy must-have
• Zebra Midge – early spring trout candy

Top Spring Streamers

• Woolly Bugger (black or olive)
• Sculpin patterns

Summer Trout Flies

Summer brings low water, picky trout, and lots of terrestrial insects.

Top Summer Dry Flies

• Elk Hair Caddis
• Stimulator or similar Stonefly pattern
• Hopper patterns
• Ant patterns

Top Summer Nymphs

• Prince Nymph
• Pheasant Tail (Pale morning dun mayfly nymphs)
• Copper John
• Caddis pupae

Top Summer Streamers

• Most anglers fish streamers in the fall or spring when fish are eating fewer insects.

Fall Trout Flies

Fall means pre-winter feeding, streamer season, and aggressive fish.

Top Fall Dry Flies

• October Caddis
• Blue Wing Olive
• Stimulator

Top Fall Nymphs

• Egg patterns
• Caddis nymphs
• Perdigon nymphs

Top Fall Streamers

• Fall is the time to fish streamer patterns, especially big streamers.
• Dolly Llamas
• Articulated Dungeons

Winter Trout Flies

Winter trout are simple creatures: they eat midges, worms, and whatever drifts slowly in front of their nose.

Top Winter Dry Flies

(Used rarely but still happen during midge hatches)

• Griffith’s Gnat
• Tiny Parachute Midges

Top Winter Nymphs

• Zebra Midge (black, red, olive)
• San Juan Worm
• Rainbow Warrior
• Small Stonefly nymphs

Top Winter Streamers

• Small leeches
• Micro buggers

Top 10 Must-Have Trout Flies for Beginners

If you only carried ten flies, these would catch trout almost anywhere:

1. Elk Hair Caddis
2. Parachute Adams
3. Griffith’s Gnat
4. Pheasant Tail Nymph
5. Hare’s Ear Nymph
6. Zebra Midge
7. Prince Nymph
8. San Juan Worm
9. Woolly Bugger (black/olive)
10. Copper John

These are the foundation of almost every beginner fly box.

Best Flies for Bass

Bass care less about realism and more about movement, noise, and attitude.

Top Bass Streamers

• Woolly Bugger (large)
• Clouser Minnow
• Gamechangers
• Crawfish patterns

Top Surface Bass Flies

• Bass poppers
• Frog patterns
• Dahlberg Diver

Top Bass Subsurface Flies

• Swimming leeches
• Baitfish imitations

Bass aren’t picky — they want something that looks alive and worth chasing.

How to Choose the Right Fly (Without Overthinking It)

When in doubt, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Are fish feeding on top or underneath?

• Rising → dry fly
• Not rising → nymph or streamer

2. What season is it?

Match the seasonal lists above.

3. What’s the water type?

• Fast water → bigger dries and nymphs
• Slow water → small dries and midges
• Deep pools → nymphs and streamers
• Low light → streamers

If you can answer those three questions, you can choose a fly 90% of the time.

Final Thoughts

Choosing flies doesn’t have to be intimidating. Start with a simple set of proven patterns, learn which flies work in each season, and match your fly type (dry, nymph, or streamer) to how the fish are feeding.

As you gain experience, you’ll learn the local hatches, refine your fly selection, and build confidence — but in the beginning, these basics will catch fish anywhere.