Yeager's 409

If you walk into a shop in July and ask what to tie on when the grass gets tall and the water drops, the 409 Yeager is one of the first flies I'll put in your hand. Jason Yeager, a signature tyer for Umpqua Feather Merchants, designed it. Umpqua calls it a stonefly, hopper, and attractor pattern that rides high and stays floating. It's a foam body over a dubbed underbody, with grizzly hackle, an elk hair wing, and fine rubber legs that give it life on the water.

Here's how to fish it. This isn't a match-the-hatch fly. It looks like a big, easy meal, which could be a hopper, a stonefly adult, or a beetle, depending on the trout's point of view. Fish it from summer into early fall, tight to grassy banks, undercut edges, and pocket water. Start with a dead drift, and if the fish are ignoring it, add a small twitch near cover. The foam also carries weight well, so it makes a good top fly in a dry-dropper rig, where you get a visible indicator that can also catch a fish.

Curated by the IdentaFly fly fishing team.

Be sure to carry both colors - purple & yellow - since yellow tends to read as a stonefly or hopper and purple as something a little different for pressured fish.