Simple Fly Tying List: Stock Up on These Patterns this Winter
Winter fly tying usually starts with good intentions and ends with a box full of flies you’ll never actually fish. Ask me how I know.
Instead of burning time on patterns that look cool but collect dust, winter is the perfect excuse to stock up on flies you know catch fish. The ones that get lost, chewed up, and immediately retied because they flat out work.
These are easy-to-tie trout and bass patterns worth cranking out now, so when the season rolls around you’re not scrambling at the vise the night before a trip.
Stock Up On These Flies This Winter
Winter is a great time to spin up a bunch of go-to patterns that are effective and easy to tie. For trout, tie Zebra Midges, San Juan Worms, and Pat’s Rubber Legs in a bunch of different sizes, colors, and weights. For bass, tie a variety of Wooly Buggers, Clouser Minnows, and Kreelex flies.
You’ll use a bunch of different flies throughout the season, but a hoard of these classics will give you a great foundation and you’ll never be missing an effective fly to tie on!
Easy to Tie Patterns for Trout
These trout patterns will catch fish anywhere. Depending on where you are, there will likely be some local preferences but having a stash of these classics will give you an excellent foundation to start from.
Another great thing about these flies is that you can tie them in a bunch of different colors and sizes to match your preferences. They’re relatively quick to tie and an afternoon at the vise could give you a season’s worth of flies to choose from.
Crank out a bunch of these in different sizes, colors, and weights to add versatility to your box. Plus, if you’re anything like me you’ll end up losing a bunch along the way. But with plenty to choose from, you’ll never be on the water shorthanded.
Zebra Midge
The Zebra Midge is a staple in fly boxes everywhere for good reason. While it’s the size of a grain of rice and looks like nothing in particular, it flat out works. When looking at this fly, I find myself thinking “how would a fish even see this, and why would it bite it?”
But there’s no arguing with the results. Zebra Midges are meant to mimic midge nymphs, which are present in nearly every body of water. They’re also around nearly all year round, making them a great option to throw any time.
You can churn these out at the vise in a variety of different colors, weights, and sizes. I like to be sure that my box is full of a bunch of size 16-20 black Zebra Midges with a few reds mixed in the bunch.
San Juan Worm
Purists will scoff at this one, shaking their tweed hats at the sky, groaning that this “isn’t fly fishing!” While the San Juan Worm may get some waders in a bunch, it’s undeniably effective and easy to tie.
While it doesn’t mimic a fly or insect, the San Juan Worm resembles aquatic worms that are present in most bodies of water and offer a high-protein snack for trout. You don’t have to worry about hatches or life cycles with this fly, if it’s in the water you’ll be ready to rock.
Tie some chenille on a hook in a worm-y looking color and you’re ready to catch fish. The San Juan Worm is arguably the simplest and easiest fly to tie and filling your box with a variety of colors of this fly will put you in a great position to catch fish all year round.
The combination of effectiveness and ease of tying makes the San Juan Worm an easy choice to stock up on while it’s too cold to fish.
Pat’s Rubber Legs
Pat’s Rubber Legs is another foundational pattern that imitates a variety of larger subsurface bugs.
Primarily used for mimic stonefly nymphs, Pat’s Rubber Legs can also resemble hellgramites or even leeches. The dancing legs entice hungry trout to take a bite, no matter what they think it might be.
The versatility of Pat’s Rubber Legs and the ease of tying is a prime reason to stock up on them while you can. Spin some up in black and brown and you’ll be ready to rock for when the trout are feeding on larger bugs near the bottom of the river or stream.
I also like to tie these on the heavy side. If there’s a fly that I know will reach the bottom, it’s a heavily weighted Pat’s Rubber Legs. Use this as your point fly (the first fly in a double-nymph rig) with another nymph trailing behind it. This way, you’ll be sure to be in the strike zone no matter what depth of water you’re fishing.
Easy to Tie Patterns for Bass
There are hundreds of effective bass patterns out there, and I love experimenting with new flies. That said, there are a handful of bass patterns I simply can’t be without.
These flies are effective, easy to tie, and versatile enough to fish just about anywhere. I may rotate in new patterns throughout the season, but these are always in my box. Using the winter months to restock them gives me the confidence to hit any body of water when spring rolls around.
Tie these in a variety of colors, weights, and sizes, and you’ll be ready to fish all season long.
Wooly Bugger
Yep, you knew this was comin’!
Tying up a bunch of buggers in a variety of colors, sizes, and weights will put you in a prime position to hook into bass (and trout…or anything) all year long. You simply can never have enough Wooly Buggers in your box.
For me, primary colors to spin up are olive, black, and brown. I’ll also tie up some in white to imitate baitfish. My go-to sizes for bass are 2-8, adding weight as necessary to drag along the bottom.
Clouser Minnow
The Clouser Minnow is another staple in every bass fly box out there, and they deserve to be constantly stocked. Talk to smallmouth anglers out there and many would say that their favorite fly is a Clouser Minnow.
Also known as “the Wooly Bugger of baitfish patterns” (just kidding, it’s not- I just made that up), a classic Clouser looks like a baitfish- but not one specific type. It’s more of a generalist pattern that mimics a wide variety of small fish that bass prey upon. Whatever they think it is, bass think it’s food and willingly chase down Clousers when they’re in the mood.
You can tie them in any color you’d like, my go-to combo is chartreuse over white. One thing to keep in mind when spinning this up: nearly every living baitfish has a light belly. So whatever colors you choose, just make sure the lighter color is on the bottom for some added realism.
Kreelex
The Kreelex is a flashy baitfish pattern that demands attention from bass. The materials shine and glimmer through the water, especially on sunny days, and can trigger aggressive reaction strikes. With all that flash, they offer a contrasting profile compared to your other flies. There are times when bass want something that gets their attention and the Kreelex is a great option to do so.
Similar to the Wooly Bugger and Clouser Minnow, you can tie the Kreelex in a variety of weights, colors, and sizes. I like mine in the 4-8 range in green over white. Mix the weights up with either lead dumbbell eyes or beadchain eyes and you’ll be able to fish any part of the water column.
Conclusion
There will always be new patterns, new materials, and new “must-have” flies floating around the internet. And don’t get me wrong — experimenting is part of the fun. But when it comes time to actually catch fish, confidence matters more than creativity.
Stocking up on these flies during the winter means fewer late-night tying sessions before a trip and fewer moments on the water wishing you had “just one more.” You’ll lose some. Fish will destroy others. And that’s exactly the point.
Tie them heavy. Tie them often. And when spring rolls around, you’ll spend less time worrying about what fly to tie on — and more time wondering why you didn’t tie even more Wooly Buggers.
Hello Rex,
Great email, I do enjoy your posts. I do have a quick question. I’m making the attempt at tying and after looking/watching you tube videos and keying in on the fly of choice, wooly bugger, my question is simple. What are the common bead size/weights used for the varying depths? I just need some sort of starting point. As a reference, most of my wooly bugger use will probably be on the Dupage or similar type of river. Thanks and look forward to your reply.
Al
Hi Al!
Thank you so much for your kind words and support!
As far as bead sizes/weights, I like to go on the heavier side of things. Here’s what I like (especially on the Dupage)
Coneheads: Size Medium. Great all-around weight/size that that allows you to fish all columns of the water. To get it into those deep holes on the Dupage, you’ll have to let it sink a little bit more. Or if you’re targeting the deeper holes (4+ feet of water), bump it up to size Large.
Cyclops/Slotted Beads: Size 5/32″. Another great all-around option that gets Wooly Buggers where they need to be. Bump these up to size 3/16″ for the deep stuff, or go with Tungsten, it’s more expensive but its a much denser/heavier material.
So in general, if you’re at a fly shop or online, find whatever “medium” size they have in your style of choice. That’s most versatile option. Pass on the really light stuff (just tie them unweighted) and maybe get a bag of the “large” sizes for the deeper holes.
And one last note: If you’re tying larger Wooly Buggers (sizes 2 or 4), either go unweighted or size large or 3/16″. Those bigger flies need a little more weight to get them down but are very fishable without any weight for the really shallow water.
Hope this helps!
Thanks, this helps and give me a great starting point.
Thanks, this helps and give me a great starting point.