Trout fishing in the early season can be extremely productive with the right flies. In many regions, the spring offers unpressured trout, plus an opportunity to fish bigger flies than we might fish later in the year. Today we’ll share our top 10 favorite flies for early-season trout fishing, and what makes them so effective.
This list is composed of flies that work well during pre-runoff or runoff conditions. Think attractor patterns and generalist flies that can widely imitate lots of trout food. For runoff, we’ve selected some heavy patterns that sink quickly to the strike zone. We also included a couple of dry fly patterns for good measure - as certain fisheries can offer epic springtime hatches. Use this list as a general guideline, but tailor it to your fishery as needed.
