Fly Recommendations | Top Stillwater Fly Picks from RIO's Flies Designer

When lake fishing, it’s helpful to know what the fish are feeding on, so I use a throat pump (think small turkey baster) to sample the fish’s esophagus and hopefully see their most recent meal(s). BUT this means I need to catch one or two first. My go-to starter fly is a tequila-colored FAB. I usually fish from a drift boat or a canoe and begin the day paddling a slow zig-zag path around the lake. With my rod secured in a rod holder, I troll this fly on a type 3 or intermediate line with a 9’ leader. During my circuit, I keep a close eye on my Deeper+ sonar for depth readings and fish signatures. Once I land a fish or two, I can sample them and get a better idea of what foods they are eating. If they are eating Daphnia, I keep fishing the tequila FAB or change the color to better match the zooplankton in the sample.

There are so many great leeches to choose from, but this one has brought the most fish to my net and therefore has earned a key place in my fly box. This fly is very sparse, and the only weight is a glass bead so it’s a dream to cast. I fish it on a type 3 line and a 9’ leader. I fan-cast around me in water that is typically 10’ or less in depth. I typically let it sink to about a foot or two so off the bottom and retrieve the fly in medium to quick twitches. This makes the fly undulate up and down slightly which mimics a real leech in motion. The peacock body can look olive, brown or black in the water making it very versatile.

There’s a good chance that chironomids are on the menu since this food makes up a very large portion of a trout’s diet in lakes. During spring, the midge larvae are often smaller, so I have found a #16 hook a better match. Since these bugs are not ready to rise, they don’t have that shiny, trapped gas look. That means I prefer RIO’s Red Assassin, in the brown/copper/ brown colorway.

If the midges are in the pupal stage, where they begin to ascend toward the surface, I go with RIO’s Hangin’ w/my Chromies in brown. I typically cast these two aforementioned chironomid flies downwind and fish them suspended under a bobber and rigged to sit 12” to 18” off the bottom. I cannot stress this enough: these flies needs to be tied on with a non-slip mono loop knot otherwise they won’t wiggle, and the fish want to see the wiggle.

Damsel and dragonfly nymphs are ever-present in lakes, making them another key food source for trout. Since the Red Head Leech could also be mistaken for a damsel, I always carry a dragonfly nymph which is more robust in size. Now, I know a Sili-Leg Stone is not a dragonfly pattern per se, but hear me out: if you trim off the front and rear antennae/tails you are left with this chunky, leggy, brown/olive morsel that looks very much like a dragonfly nymph. I fish this in 10’ or less water, either on a floating line or an intermediate with a 9’ leader. Cast it out, let it sink for a bit, then use a slow hand-twist retrieve. Make sure you have a good grip on your fly rod because when you get an eat on this one, it’s quite a jolt.