Early Season Big Three
by Matt Chapple

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The opening of trout season in central New York is usually greeted with cold temperatures and high water from spring snow melt or spring showers.  These spring conditions are not ideal for any type of aquatic insect hatch.  Anglers must drift nymphs and streamers along the bottom of the creeks and rivers, get down to where the trout lie.  Knowing that the flies must be drifting near the bottom, the next step is fly selection.

There are three flies every early season fly angler must not arrive on the stream without. 

The first is the Prince Nymph.  This fly has a perfect combination of colors, creating a very attractive and effective pattern. The split goose biot tail resembles the split tail of a stonefly, which are common is many central New York creeks and rivers.   The peacock herl has natural reflective properties, which when under water take on a life of its own making the fly shimmer.  The silver rib suggests the segmented abdomen of both stonefly and mayfly nymphs.  The white goose biot wingcases add excellent contrast against the dark body and provide attractiveness to the pattern.  Brown hackle as a beard gives the appearance of legs and add a little action to the fly.  Lastly a dark red head makes the fly very nice looking and adds to the confidence when fishing.

	Prince Nymph
	Hook: Nymph hook Size 6-14
	Thread: Wine 6/0
	Tail: Split brown goose biots
	Body: Peacock herl
	Rib: Silver Tinsel
	Wing Case: Two white goose biots tied to meet at the end of the body.
	Legs: Collared brown hackle

The second is the timeless Gold-ribbed Hare’s Ear.  The suggestiveness, spiky nature and the lifelike motion of the hare make this fly a must.  Like the Prince Nymph, it is not meant to imitate anything specific, but could represent many different immature aquatic insects.  It could be caddis larvae, various mayfly nymphs, or an early brown stonefly.  One addition to the fly that makes it even better is a peacock herl wing case in place of the feather wingcase.  The peacock herl adds some additional flash beyond the gold rib and makes this fly deadly.  The final touch is again the red thread at the head.  This fly is also very effective in olive too.

	Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear
	Hook: Nymph hook
	Thread: Wine or olive 6/0
	Tail: Hare’s mask fur (olive or natural)
	Abdomen: Hare’s mask fur (olive or natural)
	Rib: Gold wire
	Thorax: Hare’s mask fur (olive or natural) teased out.
	Wing Case: Peacock herl

The third but not least important is one of the all time greatest fish catchers the Woolly Bugger.  This fly is deadly and is easy to tie in a variety of color combinations.  The marabou tail combined with the palmered hackle, provide exceptional action and bring this fly to life.  A few strands of krystal flash in the marabou tail add a little flash as an attractant.  Some effective colors are olive, black, and brown. Grizzly hackle is an effective addition, which adds to the lifelike look of the fly.  This fly is also suggestive and could represent any number of trout food sources.  It could be a small minnow, a large stonefly, or hellgrammite.

	Woolly Bugger
	Hook: Nymph hook
	Thread: Black 6/0
	Tail: Marabou with a few strands krystal flash
	Body: Medium chenille
	Hackle: Palmered the length of the body

Don’t leave home without these in your selection.

These three flies are essential for the early season fly angler in Central New York.