The trout food you've been stepping on Anglers spend hours trying to match the hatch. They obsess over what's on the water, what's in the water, what stage the bug is in. There's hatch calendars, apps, whole books that walk you through the life cycle of a single caddis. But they& Ugly Flies
October Caddis Most people fish October caddis on top. Which is fair, because when the females are down laying eggs, that fishing is a blast. But you're missing the bulk of the eating if you skip the pupa. October caddis don't hatch like most caddisflies. Instead of drifting Ugly Flies • nymphs
What Trout Actually See When Your Fly Drifts Over Them Anglers obsess over flies. Especially dries. Every fiber has to sit right, every hackle has to be perfect. But there's a reason this site is called Ugly Flies: ugly flies catch fish. Some flies catch more anglers than they ever catch fish. So what do trout actually see Ugly Flies
How to Read a Caddis Hatch There are few flies that stir a reaction in trout like a caddis hatch does. Caddis are a significant feed source for trout. From larvae to adult, they supply trout with year round eating. Not seasonal. Year round. But did you know there are over 800 species of caddis in Ugly Flies
Stonefly Nymph Stonefly nymphs are one of the biggest food sources a trout has, and this is my go to way to tie one. It's semi realistic without being fiddly beyond reason, and it fishes as well as it looks. The reason it earns a permanent spot in my box Ugly Flies • nymphs
Tom Thumb The Tom Thumb might be the most forgiving dry fly in your box. It's almost all deer hair, which means you can't really sink it, and there's very little to get wrong. Two or three minutes at the vise once you've got Ugly Flies • dries
