3 Flies for the Week: July 30
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Time to read 3 min
The summer heat is on and it can be an absolute burden right now to fish some of the lower elevation rivers. To escape the heat and the crowds, we’ve been getting away to some high elevation creeks and alpine lakes. These fish love to eat since they’re under the ice for a large portion of the year, so you can get away with throwing some bigger, more exotic flies that our more pressured fish are less willing to eat. This week’s flies are going to focus around terrestrial patterns. Before we talk about the flies, I'd like to say that the fish at Deckers, Cheesman, the Eagle, Blue, and so on, are still willing to eat these offerings, but they will be much more careful while eating them. So be ready to set the hook quickly! They can feel that hook when they bite it, I experienced this myself this past week when I missed numerous fish to a slow hookset on some picky eaters. Anyways, let’s get to 3 Flies for the Week: July 30
The Flies:
#1: Foam PMX - Black sz10
This is one of the less talked about flies in our terrestrial bins, but not for any particular reason. In fact, I believe this is one of the best terrestrial patterns available on the market for many reasons. For one, it has a body composed of foam which allows for superior durability and floatation. Secondly, the parachute post creates an extremely easy to see target when the fly is floating down the river, and it isn’t overbearing with poly that may cause the fly to sit sideways like the chubby is well known for. This fly’s underside is also incredibly realistic, pair that with the easy to see silhouette thanks to the black coloration, and you have a large terrestrial pattern that trout are confident in eating!
#2: Parachute Ant - Black sz18
On the opposite side of the spectrum lies the parachute ant. Yes, this is much smaller than the vast majority of the terrestrial patterns we generally recommend. But there’s a time and place when the ant is the only thing that will fool fish. Whether this is a flying ant or terrestrial ant, this fly picks up fish left and right. I particularly like this fly when fishing smaller creeks where fish are relatively spooky to other fly presentations and/or your presence. Additionally, I love this fly when fishing at alpine lakes because ants are everywhere at the high elevation and the fish know it! Plus, although it does look exactly like an ant, the fish will certainly eat it as a midge adult.
#3: Hi-Vis Micro Chubby - Beetle sz14
Okay, what kind of terrestrial list would this be without some form of chubby on it?! This fly is barely 21 years old and yet it’s aged like fine wine. An absolute classic fly that was invented in 2003 needs no introduction today, so I won’t talk about it too much. That said, I will talk about its micro cousin. The Hi-Vis Micro Chubby is an amazing fly for when you’re fishing creeks, alpine lakes, or smaller freestone rivers. The wonderful thing about this version is that it’s still built with foam and poly, so this fly can float! Keep in mind that its smaller size will prohibit the size of dropper you put off of it. Ideally, I’d like to put every single version of this fly on the list, but that would be counterintuitive to the whole idea of 3 Flies for the Week. All jokes aside, I highly recommend fishing this fly in all sizes and colors, it works outstandingly!
Xavier Puls
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to Xavier on email at xavier@goldenflyshop.com, or call the shop at 303-330-1292. Thank you!
Best of luck on the water this week and we hope our 3 Flies for the Week: July 30 catch a fish or two for ya. All three flies are available on our website and in the shop.