River Pattern Guide

Best Flies for Delaware River East Branch

The East Branch of the Delaware River is one of the great hidden gems of Catskill fly fishing — a superb wild brown trout tailwater that receives a fraction of the pressure of its famous sister stream...

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11 recommended patterns

Nymph

Frenchie

The Euro nymphing gateway drug.

Sizes 12–20

Dry Fly

X-Caddis

Craig Mathews' X-Caddis omits the hackle of an Elk Hair Caddis, creating a lower-riding fly that han

Sizes 14–18

Dry Fly

Sulphur Dun

The Sulphur Dun imitates Ephemerella dorothea and E. invaria, the signature evening hatch on eastern

Sizes 14–18

Nymph

Iron Lotus

A modern Czech nymph with a woven body, tungsten bead, and hot spot collar. Built for heavy Euro nym

Sizes 12–16

Nymph

Walt's Worm

Walt Young's deceptively simple nymph uses hare's ear dubbing on a curved hook to imitate caddis lar

Sizes 12–16

Nymph

Lightning Bug

The Lightning Bug is a flashy attractor nymph with a pearl tinsel body and tungsten bead that catche

Sizes 14–18

Nymph

Micro Mayfly

A tiny, sparse nymph tied on a barbless jig hook that imitates the smallest mayfly nymphs in the dri

Sizes 18–24

Nymph

Partridge and Orange

The Partridge and Orange is a traditional soft-hackle wet fly dating back centuries on English river

Sizes 12–16

Emerger

Snowshoe Emerger

The Snowshoe Emerger uses snowshoe rabbit foot hair as a wing material, providing exceptional floata

Sizes 16–22

Wet Fly

March Brown Wet

The wet fly version of the March Brown is a classic swing pattern for early season fishing. Its mott

Sizes 12–14

Wet Fly

Partridge and Green

The green silk-bodied companion to the Partridge and Orange, this soft hackle wet fly imitates emerg

Sizes 12–16