The Modern Muddler

Bailes' Modern Muddler Minnow Variant - Fly of the Month

Brandon Bailes
This fly is one I’ve been using on smallmouth and trout in smaller water. The bend in the hook and head profile creates an erratic swimming action that attracts fish in all water conditions. Although the fly really shines when you are fishing low or smaller waters where fish can spook easy, as this fly lands softly but has a lot of movement once it gets subsurface unlike many small streamers that are just profile-oriented and don’t have as much swimming action.
The Modern Muddler

Bailes' Modern Muddler Minnow Variant - Fly of the Month

Brandon Bailes
This fly is one I’ve been using on smallmouth and trout in smaller water. The bend in the hook and head profile creates an erratic swimming action that attracts fish in all water conditions. Although the fly really shines when you are fishing low or smaller waters where fish can spook easy, as this fly lands softly but has a lot of movement once it gets subsurface unlike many small streamers that are just profile-oriented and don’t have as much swimming action.
Gold Bead Possie Nymph

Gold Bead Possie Nymph - Fly of the Month

Matt O'Neal
Picture this. It’s a sunny spring morning, you’re on your favorite river, and you walk up to a run that looks perfect for drifting your favorite nymph. Maybe some nondescript, semi-fuzzy bug. And maybe it’s a fast chute that you need something with some weight to punch through the current and get closer to the bottom.
Contraband Crabs

Chicone's Contraband Crab Fly

Drew Chicone
The original Contraband Crab was a confluence of several of my favorite permit patterns: Bauer Crab, Scotch-Brite Crab, and McFly Crab. My goal was to incorporate all my favorite attributes or "abilities" and overcome each pattern's shortcomings. After several years of "test and tweak," the outcome proved productive all over the planet. But, targeting Sheepshead or "Prison Permit," a notoriously picky fish with human-like teeth, required some rethinking and adjustments to my old stand-by.  It took some time, but with the help of my good friend Captain Codty Pierce, we managed to crack the code for consistently catching these crustacean-crunching convicts!
Local Silver Doctor

Local Silver Doctor - Fly of the Month

Matt O'Neal
Many tiers will be familiar with the Silver Doctor, a classic salmon pattern that can trace its roots back to the mid-1800s. A beautiful, old school pattern with 24 distinct materials that few of us will have ever attempted to tie. That’s likely the case today and interestingly enough, was also the case back in the early 1900s.
Golden Demon Fly

Golden Demon Steelhead Fly - Fly of the Month

Matt O'Neal
Have you ever wondered why so many winter steelhead patterns feature orange or red components? One common theory is that during these fall and winter runs, the fish are conditioned to feed on the eggs, which almost always feature some shade of red/orange or even pinks.
Bead Head Yellow Soft Hackle Caddis Pupa

Bead Head Yellow Soft Hackle Caddis Pupa - Fly of the Month

Matt O'Neal
Over the last few seasons, this month’s pattern has become one of my go-to nymphs for fall trout here in the mid-Atlantic. There is no exciting history on this thing. Ray Bergman or Polly Rosborough didn’t fish it. It doesn’t have a catchy name. And I don’t claim this as one of my original patterns as it’s a conglomeration of enough other bead head, caddis pupa type nymphs that I would feel a bit guilty trying to convince anyone that I invented it.
holy grail caddis pupa

Holy Grail Caddis Pupa

Matt O'Neal
This month’s pattern is one of the more recent to come along and as tied here, it could be considered a general attractor nymph as much as a caddis pupa. With a full collar hackle of natural partridge, it’s almost remeniscent of an old North Country Spider.
Old Grey Mare fly

Old Grey Mare Wet Fly Pattern - Fly of the Month

Matt O'Neal
by Matt O'Neal of Savage Flies: Find him on his YouTube channel at Savage Flies ...
Mega Beetle

Scott Sanchez's Mega Beetle Fly Pattern - Fly of the Month

Matt O'Neal
Well it is officially terrestrial season. I was out mowing a field this past weekend-- Grasshoppers and crickets were all over the place. But this is not going to be another hopper pattern. I'm sure I’ll tie plenty more this summer but right now I've got plenty in my box. I'm going to tie a beetle pattern for you this month. But oddly enough, it's about as big as a hopper.
Burr's Bright

Burr's Bright Fly - Fly of the Month

Matt O'Neal
Now I’ve got an interesting dry fly for you today, that you probably won't find in a lot of books out there. I came across it recently when flipping through Kenneth Bay's 1979 American Fly Tier's Handbook.
mk sulphur emerger

MK Sulphur Emerger - Fly of the Month

Mary Kuss
This tactical pattern is most useful in flat, slow-moving water where trout get a long look at the fly before making an eat-or-don’t-eat decision. It suggests a “stuck-in-the-shuck” dun, and can work well when targeting rising trout that have refused more conventional patterns.
rio grande king fly

Rio Grande King Fly - Fly of the Month

Matt O'Neal
by Matt O'Neal of Savage Flies: Find him on his YouTube channel at Savage Flies  This month’s pattern is a d...
Rusty Rat salmon fly

Fly of the Month - Rusty Rat Salmon Fly Pattern

Matt O'Neal
by Matt O'Neal of Savage Flies: Find him on his YouTube channel at Savage Flies  Now there’s been a bit of c...