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Flies for Stillwater Fly Fishing

Flies for Stillwater Bliss

by Anna on the Fly • August 03, 2023 in Fly Fishing Tips and Techniques, Anna's Fly of the Week

@anna_on_the_fly is on the water constantly. She is constantly trying new things -- new flies, new techniques, and new gear. We are grateful that she's an Ambassador for DiscountFlies. And, we're grateful that she shares her knowledge and adventures with us here in the "Fly of the Week" (or month during the "off" season) Column.

Aug 3, 2023

Spring rolled in and stayed for a while here in the West, but I sure am loving the green landscape and healthy, fat, fish! More than that I am loving fishing the Stillwater fisheries and reservoirs, they are on fire right now! With the cool summer temperatures this year, the fish haven’t been forced to move to the depths of the middle of the lake yet and trout are still cruising the shallows even in the metro lakes and reservoirs. Up at higher elevation, like Alpine Lakes, is where the real fun is though – these trout are definitely acting like their winter was 2 months longer than usual and it’s only increased the aggressiveness of their eats! With that said I am sure some people feel Stillwater can be intimidating or “boring bobber watching” but it doesn’t have to be, so with that said I want to provide you with some of my favorite techniques and flies I’ve found that make the long hikes worth it and get more fish in the net! There are so many ways to fish Stillwater, the most used techniques are dry/droppers, nymphing, streamers and stripping micro streamers and leeches under an indicator. I love all of these techniques but I am going to get into a streamer article later so I will focus on dry/droppers/nymphing and stripping smaller bugs and bait fish under an indicator but let’s start with my all-time favorite fly fishing technique hopper droppers and dry droppers! Pretty much from June to October I am always throwing a dry or hopper dropper rig, the reason for that is because trout aren’t holding deep, they are higher in the water column, and they are LOOKING UP! They know that Damsels, Grasshoppers, Caddis and a plethora of other insects are hatching and rising to the surface so why not get a chance at a good dry eat! Generally, I use the hopper/dry dropper technique on smaller bodies of water like Alpine lakes and smaller ponds.

For the dropper technique I start off tying on either an Amy’s Ant, Hippie Stomper, Parachute Madam X, or Chubby Chernobyl – but best believe if I see any signs of adult damsels then I use a Blue Damsel Adult fly, Discount Flies makes my favorite variation by far and If you haven’t witnessed a Cutthroat leaping out of the water to aggressive hammer a damsel, then I suggest you put that on the top of your list for summer!! I digress, so after choosing my dry I tie on an olive Damsel Nymph, Guide’s Choice Hare’s Ears or a Debutante Soft Hackle as my second fly because having an “emerging nymph”, like a hackle fly in the middle column has been the best success for me, even when nymphing Stillwater. From there I tie on my last fly which is almost always a Chironomid (Crystal or Jumbo Juju), or an Ice Cream Cone or for some places even a zebra midge or larger disco midge. This selection/set-up offers hungry trout all stages of the bug’s life cycles, and they are all very “buggy” flies, imitating a wide range of different aquatic insects. Leading into that, every lake has different aquatic insects and different techniques work better depending on the type of lake you are fishing so if I am on a big lake or reservoir or on a belly boat then a dry/hopper dropper isn’t the best, I would rather go with a nymph set up but I use the same flies as the dropper rig I described above only I would use a balanced leech or scud as the point fly on a nymph rig since I don’t have a dry/hopper on. Hoppers and dries are generally found more in the shallows and by the banks but that’s not to say I haven’t caught trout on a hopper on the middle of a lake it just isn’t as likely to happen as on the banks.

A person standing in a body of water Description automatically generated

For larger bodies of water my favorite technique, aside from streamers, is a combination of both streamers and nymphing – I like to strip micro streamers and nymphs under and indicator. For that I like to use a Thin Mint or Wolly Bugger trailed by a leech or balanced leech then drop that to a Damsel Nymph or hackled fly, CDC is the best (if you’ve read my previous posts you know why)! From there I tie it up just like a normal nymph rig but instead of leaving the flies out to bob around under the indicator, I slooooooowwwly retrieve the flies, sometimes throwing a twitch or jerk. This is especially good in areas where you see a lot of vegetation or weeds, because there are fishing cruising in there and once they see that slight movement they will dart to the fly. I love watching a fish spot a fly and dart as far as 10-15 feet sometimes to go hammer it! It’s also a rush to see them run up on your fly just to get a refusal haha! This is great not only for trout but for bass fishing as well, the takes/eats are lighter than standard streamers so having an indicator helps ensure you don’t miss any bites. I have used this technique a lot and it makes Stillwater fishing a lot more fun because I am moving and adjusting vs. standing; and if I haven’t convinced you yet trust me it’s a blast watching fish in shallow water chase that fly down!

The flies I mentioned in this post are my go-to’s and I rarely need anything else because these cover most insects as well as their different life cycles, plus you can be confident in your bugs and not waste time changing them a lot throughout the day allowing you to spend more time fishing! The trout in lakes are generally less picky the more important thing is depth - finding where fish hold at that particular body of water is key. I know it can be intimidating walking up to a body of water and deciding where to start fishing but there are a few essential things you can look for as you start to learn how to read a lake. The first thing I look for are shelves and drop offs, fish LOVE having the safety and protection that the deeper drop offs provide so they are holding and cruising right where the drop off occurs, this is always a great starting place. The fish that are in the shallows actually are usually coming up from the drop off, they go into the shallower water to eat and back down into the drop-off, and they are doing this all day, up and down, so keep your eye out for change in water color since the deeper the water the darker the color, that’ll let you know there is a shelf or drop off there. Another thing to look for is vegetation or any structure, we know insects need vegetation to grow right so weeds, sunken trees etc. are great places to find fish hiding out, especially if the water is shallower. You’d be surprised how a fish will come from seemingly nowhere to hammer your fly but it’s because they are tucked away in that sunken tree or hanging in the tall grass. Aside from that any type of bay, inlet or outlet is always a great starting point as well – bays offer calm, relaxing water where fish cruise and are best from before sun up until about mid-day and again at dusk. Inlets and outlets provide running water fresh water and they also bring tasty bugs down with them as the water knocks them off rocks and other substrate.

There is something so rewarding and special about Stillwater fishing and usually if it’s a hike, even a mile you can be pretty sure you won’t run into many anglers so it’s a great way to get away from the crowds, tubers, kayakers etc. that are on the rivers. I hope these flies and techniques help make your next trip or first trip Stillwater fishing a successful day! Happy fishing friends!!

Go-to flies for Stillwater fishing, here are some links to my favorites:

Amy's Ant – Red

https://www.discountflies.com/product/D-AMYANR.html

Chubby Chernobyl – Peacock

https://www.discountflies.com/product/D-CHUBCPE.html

Hippie Stomper – Purple

https://www.discountflies.com/product/D-HSTPR.html

Parachute Madam X – Royal

https://www.discountflies.com/product/D-PMXR.html

Damsel Adult – Hackle

https://www.discountflies.com/product/D-DAHC.html

Damsel Nymph Olive