River Pattern Guide

Best Flies for Blackfoot River

Norman Maclean made the Blackfoot River immortal. In A River Runs Through It, his semi-autobiographical novella (and the Robert Redford film it inspired), Maclean captured the essence of this beautifu...

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12 recommended patterns

Nymph

Copper John

John Barr's heavy metal attractor — built to sink and designed to shine.

Sizes 12–18

Dry Fly

Stimulator

The attractor dry fly that mimics everything big on the surface.

Sizes 8–14

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

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

Wet Fly

Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail

A marriage of the Pheasant Tail Nymph and soft hackle tradition, this pattern fishes brilliantly on

Sizes 14–18

Terrestrial

Dave's Hopper

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

Sizes 6–12

Dry Fly

Rusty Spinner

A spent-wing spinner pattern that imitates the final stage of the mayfly lifecycle when egg-laying f

Sizes #14–#20