The Opportunists: Eggs, Mice, Worms, and Surprises

Trout are not fly fishing purists. They eat what's available.

The Other Menu

Here's a fly fishing truth that took a while to become acceptable in polite company: some of the most effective patterns in existence imitate things that have nothing to do with aquatic insects. A worm. An egg. A mouse. These flies work because trout are opportunists, and when something nutritious arrives on the current, they eat it.

Eggs

During salmon and steelhead spawning runs (on rivers where anadromous fish are present), and during resident trout spawning seasons, eggs are released into the current and swept downstream. Trout position below spawning fish specifically to intercept them.

The ethics: Fishing directly on redds is broadly discouraged and illegal in many jurisdictions. The fish below the redd, intercepting drifting eggs downstream, are fair game. Know the difference.

The flies: Egg patterns range from single-bead imitations to elaborate glo-bug clusters. Colors: salmon pink, orange, chartreuse, and white are the standards. Match what you're finding naturally if you can.

Worms and Annelids

The San Juan Worm is one of the most effective flies ever tied and one of the most mocked by fly fishing traditionalists. It's a piece of chenille tied on a hook. It catches fish consistently, especially after rain, because earthworms are washed into rivers during and after precipitation events.

When worms work: Heavy rain or snowmelt raises water levels and delivers worms into the current. In muddy, high-water conditions when most presentations are difficult, a big pink or red San Juan Worm drifted along the bottom is a legitimate choice.

Mice

Mouse patterns are targeted at large brown trout at night, primarily in late summer and fall. They require darkness, rivers with good bank vegetation, and a certain commitment to the exercise — but they can produce fish that nothing else will touch.

Big foam mouse patterns (size 2-6) are cast tight to the bank after dark and stripped or dead-drifted with a surface wake. The take is extremely aggressive — large brown trout don't sip mice. They crash them.

Terrestrials: Ants, Beetles, and Hoppers

Terrestrial insects fall from streamside vegetation throughout summer and fall. They're not aquatic, but they land on the water regularly enough that trout develop a taste for them.

Hoppers

From July through September, grasshoppers are active in meadows adjacent to rivers. They blow into the water, float clumsily, and are calorie-rich. Hopper patterns fished along grassy banks in summer produce excellent fishing, particularly in the afternoon when hoppers are most active.

Ants and Beetles

More subtle than hoppers but often surprisingly effective, particularly during slow mid-day periods when nothing is hatching. A size 14-18 foam ant or beetle floated through a feeding lane can pick up fish that won't rise to conventional dries.

The Hopper-Dropper Rig

A foam hopper floated as a large, visible indicator with a nymph (hare's ear, copper john, beadhead soft-hackle) trailing below on 18-24 inches of tippet covers both surface and subsurface simultaneously. Fish the banks, cover water, and expect takes on either fly.

Practical Notes

Terrestrials fish best in the afternoon when insects are active and wind can blow them onto the water.

Hopper patterns work best along grassy, undercut banks — not in the middle of the river.

The San Juan Worm is most effective the day of or day after a rain event. Don't be too proud for it.

Egg patterns should be fished very deep and dead-drifted. They're not a stripping fly.