River Pattern Guide

Best Flies for Methow River

Tucked into the rain shadow of the North Cascades, the Methow River winds through one of Washington State's most spectacular and sun-drenched mountain valleys. The Methow Valley — with its sagebrush f...

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11 recommended patterns

Perdigon fly pattern
Nymph

Perdigon

The fast-sinking competition nymph that changed Euro nymphing forever.

Sizes 14–22

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

Henry's Fork Hopper fly pattern
Dry Fly

Henry's Fork Hopper

Mike Lawson's Henry's Fork Hopper is the standard foam-body grasshopper pattern for slick water. Unl

Sizes 8–12

Olive Thorax Dun fly pattern
Dry Fly

Olive Thorax Dun

Vince Marinaro's Thorax Dun design places the hackle at the center of the body rather than the head,

Sizes 16–20

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

Muddler Minnow fly pattern
Streamer

Muddler Minnow

Don Gapen's Muddler Minnow is one of fly fishing's most versatile patterns. Its spun deer hair head

Sizes 4–10

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

Chernobyl Ant fly pattern
Terrestrial

Chernobyl Ant

The Chernobyl Ant is an oversized foam terrestrial pattern with rubber legs that creates a massive d

Sizes 6–12

Foam Beetle fly pattern
Terrestrial

Foam Beetle

The Foam Beetle is a simple but devastatingly effective terrestrial pattern. A piece of black foam f

Sizes 12–18

Parachute Hopper fly pattern
Terrestrial

Parachute Hopper

A foam-bodied grasshopper with a parachute post that provides visibility in choppy water and doubles

Sizes 8–12

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