River Pattern Guide

Best Flies for Muskegon River

The Muskegon River is one of Michigan's premier tailwater fisheries, flowing 230 miles from Houghton Lake to Lake Michigan near the city of Muskegon. The stretch most prized by fly anglers runs roughl...

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11 recommended patterns

Nymph

Perdigon

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

Sizes 14–22

Dry Fly

Adams

The original Adams dry fly is the foundation of American mayfly fishing. Its mixed grizzly and brown

Sizes 12–20

Dry Fly

Green Drake

The Green Drake is the biggest mayfly hatch of the year in many western rivers. This large, heavily

Sizes 10–12

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

Emerger

Last Chance Cripple

René Harrop's Last Chance Cripple imitates a mayfly that failed to fully emerge, trapped half-in, ha

Sizes 14–20

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

Terrestrial

Foam Beetle

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

Sizes 12–18

Terrestrial

Parachute Hopper

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

Sizes 8–12

Nymph

Duracell Jig

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

Sizes #12–#16

Nymph

Czech Nymph

The pattern that launched the tight-line nymphing revolution. Developed by Czech competition anglers

Sizes #8–#14

Dry Fly

Blue Dun

One of the oldest and most storied dry fly patterns in the history of fly fishing, dating back centu

Sizes #14–#18