River Pattern Guide

Best Flies for Hat Creek

Hat Creek's "Flyfisher's Paradise" section is exactly what the name promises — one of the most storied and productive stretch of spring creek water in the American West. The 3.2-mile wild trout sectio...

View full river guide →

11 recommended patterns

Hare's Ear Nymph fly pattern
Nymph

Hare's Ear Nymph

Buggy, messy, and irresistible to every trout in the river.

Sizes 10–18

Copper John fly pattern
Nymph

Copper John

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

Sizes 12–18

Blue-Winged Olive Comparadun fly pattern
Dry Fly

Blue-Winged Olive Comparadun

The Comparadun's deer hair fan wing sits flush in the film, presenting a realistic mayfly silhouette

Sizes 16–22

Pale Morning Dun fly pattern
Dry Fly

Pale Morning Dun

The PMD pattern imitates one of the West's most important hatches — Ephemerella infrequens and E. in

Sizes 14–18

Rainbow Warrior fly pattern
Nymph

Rainbow Warrior

Lance Egan's Rainbow Warrior is a flashy midge/mayfly crossover pattern with a pearl Mylar body, red

Sizes 16–22

Twenty Incher fly pattern
Nymph

Twenty Incher

The Twenty Incher is a large, heavily weighted stonefly nymph with rubber legs and a chenille body.

Sizes 4–8

BWO Loop Wing Emerger fly pattern
Emerger

BWO Loop Wing Emerger

A CDC loop wing emerger specifically tied to match Blue-Winged Olives. The looped CDC creates a visi

Sizes 18–22

Quigley Cripple fly pattern
Emerger

Quigley Cripple

Bob Quigley's Cripple is a hybrid emerger with a nymph body below the film and a hackle-tip wing abo

Sizes 14–20

Duracell Jig fly pattern
Nymph

Duracell Jig

A hot-spotted attractor nymph that has dominated European fly fishing competitions for over a decade

Sizes #12–#16

Film Critic fly pattern
Emerger

Film Critic

A low-profile emerger that sits right in the surface film, imitating a mayfly struggling to break fr

Sizes #16–#22

Starling and Herl fly pattern
Wet Fly

Starling and Herl

A classic North Country spider pattern consisting of nothing more than peacock herl and a starling h

Sizes #12–#16