River Pattern Guide

Best Flies for Big Wood River

The Big Wood River is Sun Valley's secret weapon — a 10-month-a-year trout fishery flowing through the heart of Idaho's most glamorous resort community that most visitors walk past without realizing i...

View full river guide →

12 recommended patterns

Dry Fly

Royal Wulff

The king of attractor dry flies — regal and irresistible.

Sizes 10–16

Emerger

CDC Emerger

Nature's floatant meets the most critical feeding window.

Sizes 16–22

Nymph

Deep Sparrow Nymph

A heavy tungsten jig nymph with a dubbed body and CDC collar that imitates a range of small mayfly n

Sizes 14–18

Nymph

Jig Pheasant Tail

The jig-hook version of the Pheasant Tail Nymph rides point-up to reduce snags and fishes perfectly

Sizes 14–20

Nymph

Mop Fly

The Mop Fly — made from a strip of chenille mop material on a jig hook — is the most controversial a

Sizes 10–14

Nymph

Polish Woven Nymph

The Polish Woven Nymph features a two-tone woven body that creates a durable, segmented abdomen rese

Sizes 10–16

Emerger

Spotlight Emerger

A modern emerger pattern with a bright foam post for visibility and a sparse body that hangs in the

Sizes 14–18

Nymph

Tungsten Torpedo

A heavy, streamlined Euro nymph with a smooth thread body under UV resin and a large tungsten bead.

Sizes 10–14

Wet Fly

Leadwing Coachman

The Leadwing Coachman is a traditional wet fly with a peacock herl body and dark slate wings that ha

Sizes 12–16

Terrestrial

Dave's Hopper

Dave Whitlock's Hopper is the original modern grasshopper imitation, featuring a spun deer hair head

Sizes 6–12

Nymph

CDC Pheasant Tail

A refined variation of the Pheasant Tail Nymph that replaces the wing case with a CDC feather puff f

Sizes #16–#20

Dry Fly

Comparadun

Developed by Al Caucci and Bob Nastasi, the Comparadun revolutionized dry fly design with its fan-sh

Sizes #12–#20