River Pattern Guide

Best Flies for Watauga River

The Watauga River tailwater in northeastern Tennessee consistently earns a place among the finest trout fisheries in the entire eastern United States — many local anglers and visiting fly fishers beli...

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11 recommended patterns

Midge

Zebra Midge

Small fly, big results — the tailwater secret weapon.

Sizes 16–26

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

Flashback Hare's Ear

The Flashback variant adds a strip of pearl tinsel over the wing case of the classic Hare's Ear, pro

Sizes 12–18

Nymph

Quasimodo Pheasant Tail

A Czech-style Pheasant Tail variation tied on a curved scud hook with a pronounced hump-back profile

Sizes 12–18

Nymph

Sexy Walt's Worm

A modernized version of Walt's Worm with a UV dubbing body and a glass bead for subtle weight and tr

Sizes 12–16

Nymph

Scud

The Scud imitates Gammarus and Hyalella amphipods — crustaceans that thrive in weed beds on tailwate

Sizes 12–18

Emerger

Barr's Emerger

John Barr's BWO emerger is the definitive trailing-shuck pattern for imitating Blue-Winged Olives tr

Sizes 18–22

Emerger

Sparkle Pupa

Gary LaFontaine's Sparkle Pupa uses Antron yarn to trap air bubbles around the body, imitating the g

Sizes 12–16

Nymph

Surveyor

A modern Euro nymphing staple that blends the best elements of the Pheasant Tail and Frenchie into o

Sizes #14–#18

Nymph

CDC Pheasant Tail

A refined variation of the Pheasant Tail Nymph that replaces the wing case with a CDC feather puff f

Sizes #16–#20

Nymph

Czech Nymph

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

Sizes #8–#14