Spring fly fishing offers wonderful catches for fly anglers to catch trout coming out of their winter lethargicness. As the water begins to warm all sorts of aquatic insects begin to hatch, and with it, a rush of fish activity. It can be hard to select out of the hundreds of patterns available commercially the seasoned flies that truly do work above all else.
Everyone has there favorite fly patterns and here are 15 that we rely on to constantly catch fish for us.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 1 adams parachute fly, mayfly pattern for trout, adams parachute fly for sale, parachute dry fly, adams dry fly, adams fly pattern for sale, adams trout fly, trout flies, fly fishing flies, dry flies](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/unset-chaser-30.png)
Adams Parachute
Adams Parachute is one of the most versatile dry fly patterns available. Its muted colors and silhouette allow it to imitate a vast variety of insects such as caddis, mayflies, midges, and even some stoneflies. All of this makes it such a great fly to have for spring.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 2 blue winged olive parachute fly, fly fishing flies, dry flies, bwo parachute fly, baetis parachute, trout flies, blue wing olive flies for trout, fly fishiing flies for trout](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/unset-chaser-33.png)
Blue-Winged Olive Parachute
Blue-Winged Olives are a staple diet for trout in the spring. Nearly every day in the mid-afternoon you will see scattered to full-blown BWO hatches. We prefer the parachute style of the blue-winged olive because it can imitate emergers, duns, and spinners.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 3 Elk Hair Caddis e1526272187630 The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Elk_Hair_Caddis-e1526272187630.jpg)
Elk Hair Caddis
Elk Hair fly patterns imitate the bread and butter of a trout’s diet, caddis. As one of the greatest patterns ever created, even the most selective trout can’t resist. Overall, its insect profile and ability to float high gives the Elk Hair fly credibility as a go-to pattern for nearly every serious angler.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 4 BWO Thorax Dun The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/BWO-Thorax-Dun.png)
BWO Thorax Dun
The hallmark of early season hatches is the BWO. Some guides even say winter isn’t over until they see their first solid BWO hatch. This Blue-Winged Olive pattern sits lower in the surface film to imitate a freshly hatched mayfly waiting for its wings to dry before taking flight.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 5 Squirmy Wormy Flies Pink The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Squirmy-Wormy-Flies-Pink.png)
Squirmy Wormy
Many say that using Squirmy Wormies is cheating, but aquatic worms are totally natural and are a select part of a trout’s diet. Squirmy Wormies offer the best of both worlds, they get down and know how to wiggle. Many anglers use this fly as their first and last resort. Add it as a dropper or your lead fly.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 6 midge larva, emerger fly pattern, mayfly emerger fly, fly fishing flies, trout flies, wd40 emerger fly, bwo emerger flies, wd 40 bwo emerger, olive wd40 fly](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/unset-chaser-39.png)
WD40
The WD40 Emerger mimics helpless emerging insects leaving their shucks. Trout find it an easy meal to pick up and eat these stranded treats. We place this unweighted nymph close to the top of our nymphing rigs so that they stay in the upper water columns. Couple this with the Blue Winged Olive Parachute and Blue Winged Olive for a macho selection.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 7 european nymph fly pattern, euro nymph fly, fly fishing nymph flies, nymph flies for trout, tungsten bead head nymph, baetis nymph pattern, tungsten baetis nymph fly pattern](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Copy-of-Copy-of-Sunset-6.png)
Tungsten Missile Nymph
This flashy blue-winged olive baetis nymph pattern is one of our absolute favorites. Deep pools with fast currents require nymphs like this one with a slim profile and a heavy bead to dive fast to the bottom. Fish tend to hang close to the bottom because of the slow current that is found there. So, we use the Tungsten Missile nymph to penetrate these feeding zones quickly and provide an excellent presentation.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 8 Flashback Hares Ear The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Flashback-Hares-Ear.png)
Flashback Hare’s Ear Nymph
Hare’s Ear Nymphs are just as effective in stillwater as they are in streams and rivers. Their dull colors and general buggy appearance makes it easy to imitate mayfly nymphs, caddis pupae, midge larvae, etc.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 9 Mercury Baetis The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Mercury-Baetis.png)
Mercury Baetis
Mercury Baetis nymphs are a light pattern used to drift near the surface when trout are ignoring dry flies and are focusing on emerging nymphs just below. The sparkle bead adds just enough flash and imitates the gases that build up within the emerging nymphs’ shucks, which helps them ascend to the surface.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 10 Dusty%E2%80%99s olive pearl Hackle 14607 The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Dusty%E2%80%99s-olive-pearl-Hackle_14607.jpg)
Dusty’s Olive Pearl Soft Hackle
We love to include this olive pattern into our nymphing rigs on days when blue-winged olives duns are apparent on the surface. Trout will often ignore these freshly hatched BWO duns on top and target the freely drifting nymphs below.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 11 midge flies, bead head zebra midge, bh zebra midge, fly fishing flies, winter trout flies, midge flies for trout, midge larva fly pattern, euro nymphing flies, transparent background, zebra midge fly sizes, zebra midge colors](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/unset-chaser-37.png)
Zebra Midge
A large portion of a trout’s diet is always going to consist of midge larva, which makes Zebra Midges a must. Fish this high in the water column or near the bottom of your multi-fly rig. We typically have this pattern in the middle right above a big and heavy stonefly pattern.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 12 Rubber Legs Golden The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Rubber-Legs-Golden.png)
Pat’s Rubber Legs
Countless times it has proven in streams with large populations of stoneflies the Pat’s Rubber Legs nymph is an irresistible pattern to trout. This stonefly pattern does have a tough time diving down to the bottom because of its large profile, so we like to add some extra weight to our line with split shot or heavily weighted nymphs.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 13 conehead woolly bugger The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/conehead_woolly_bugger.jpg)
Conehead Woolly Bugger
When the rain comes or the snow melts, and trout streams are gushing with more water than they can handle, throw this streamer with confidence. During high water conditions, trout will push towards the banks, so an effective technique can be fishing the conehead bugger from the middle of the river back towards the shore.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 14 WhiteTan Lunchable The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/WhiteTan_Lunchable.png)
Lunchable Minnow
The Lunchable minnow imitates all sorts of minnows and baitfish that you may find in the water, which makes it a fantastic and effective fly pattern to have. This is one pattern that will not disappoint. The Lunchable streamer is great for spring runoff and is perfect for bouncing around large boulders and tight spaces fish congregate.
![The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish 15 Shafers Ellas Black Beast The 15 Best Trout Flies For Spring Fly Fishing That Actually Catch Fish](https://theflycrate.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Shafers_Ellas_Black_Beast.png)
Shafer’s Ella’s Beast
“This fly can mimic leeches and small bait fish. This is a big fish fly. Some of the biggest fish we have stuck over the years have been on this fly! I will fish this on a streamer rig, usually a two streamer rig. I love fishing this one under an indicator as a point fly or as the bottom fly in a three fly rig. This is another great swinging fly when placed under the indicator. I’ll also add some strips with a pause for some outstanding takes. Ella’s Beast also does very well in still waters.” ~ Joe Shafer