Of all the styles of fly fishing, proficiently and productively presenting a dry fly to trout and salmon is by far the most satisfying. It is also the most challenging, since during low, warm water conditions, fish are selective and very spooky. Poor casting or incorrect fly selection will generally yield frustration and an empty creel.

Devout dry-fly enthusiasts are a unique lot, and when not floating a fly along a pristine pool, they spend a good deal of time thinking about fishing and flies. Being a charter member of this crop of casters, I can vouch that dry-fly patterns are always fodder for daydreams, nightmares and many heated discussions.

Many dry-fly anglers tie their own patterns, not only because it’s less expensive, but usually a more durable fly is produced. I’ve seen commercially produced flies literally torn to shreds after catching only a half dozen feisty fish. If it happens that pattern and size is the only one working, and there’s no duplicate in the box, the outing goes downhill in a hurry. Fly-tying fishermen always keep well stocked tackle boxes of standard productive patterns and sizes.

Without fail, each and every fly tier has either created a fly or altered a standard pattern in hopes of coming up with a feathered masterpiece no finned creature can resist. The search for the Holy Grail of fur, feather and tinsel has been ongoing for centuries and will continue far beyond our lifetimes. Immortality for an angler is a consistently dependable fly pattern that carries his name and ideas to a new generation of sportsmen.

Over the years quite a few timeless dry flies have been born at hands and tying vises of a number of visionaries. No matter what state an angler visits, small creeks or raging rivers, backwoods ponds or urban lakes, trout and salmon regularly respond to certain dry flies. Size, color, and body style all combine to entice a feeding fish to ignore real insects and slurp down a well- presented imitation. I’m no entomologist, nor am I one to net subsurface or floating bugs on a waterway and try to match the hatch, yet I regularly take top water trout with 12 particular dry-fly patterns.

Over the years my dependable dozen have worked on waterways in Maine, Quebec, New Brunswick, Connecticut, Alaska, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Montana. I have no doubt that these patterns will work in any state on trout and salmon, day or night, moving water or still. Some size of one of these dry flies will reward any angler practical enough to carry a full complement in their fly box.

Old school

Half of the dry flies among my dependable dozen are of the old school, tried and true variety, in fact they each have more than a century of proven reliability. And believe me when I tell you that for serious fly casters, it’s always a matter of what have you done for me lately. Any fly that doesn’t produce action regularly is often retired to an old fly box or discarded completely.

Created in the late 1800s by the father of American dry-fly fishing, Theodore Gordon, the quill Gordon remains a true trout taker more than 100 years later, Quill Gordons are sort of a generic Mayfly representative, and often attractive to larger fish. For whatever reason, even when a Mayfly hatch isn’t in progress, this high floating pattern is very dependable.

Another Mayfly imitation is the light Cahill, created by fishing railroad man Dan Cahill of Port Jervis, N.Y., in 1880. Modern patterns are much lighter colored than the originals. Cahill hatches are prominent events on many waterways across the U.S. and this fly will produce action all summer long.

While the light Cahill is tied in no less than 10 versions, there is a dark Cahill as well, tied in dry and wet fly patterns, both of which are beneficial to have on hand. Light Cahills are a great fly for neophyte dry flyers since they are so visible on the water and easy to follow during a drift. No fly box is complete without a complement of Cahill sizes, light and dark.

Imitating no real insect, the royal coachman serves very effectively as an attractor and locator of trout and salmon. Created in the mid-1800s, this vividly hued pattern is perhaps the most recognized and well known dry fly in the world. Another easy-to-spot fly during a float, this offering is a wonder for taking brookies and rainbows from brooks and small streams.

As a youngster, not even a teenager, learning to fish a dry fly at my Dad’s side, my most frequent offering was a mosquito. A good looking imitation that resembles several different types of insects that fall into the water, it resembles a caddis adult more than a mayfly.

The mosquito pattern is very old, actually coming to the colonies with the English settlers, some of who were anglers. Its realistic appearance is derived from the salt and pepper effect of the grizzly body, wing and hackle material that offer a natural effect.

My final old school pattern is truly aged. Believe it or not, grasshopper flies were recorded in literature as early as 1653. In that year in a tome called the “Complete Angler” by Walton, the grasshopper was noted as one of the 12 flies that all anglers should have in their kits. Apparently my top 12 list is far from novel!

Literally dozens of ‘hopper patterns are recorded and more are created each year. Yellow, orange, and green bodies with a red tail, brown hackle, and lacquered, downswept turkey feather wings are regional favorites. Don’t let size throw you, real grasshoppers are fairly large and trout devour them with no trouble.

The new breed

If you call the early 1900s recent, the second half dozen dependable dries are the new breed. In 1922, the Adams with its brown and grizzly coloration, that works like a magnet on trout then and now, was born. Tied in several styles; spent wing, down wing, parachute, hair wing and reversed, representing many types of May flies, the Adams may just be the finest dry fly ever created. During a spinner fall, when the water surface is littered with dying mayflies, a spent wing Adams will be literally torn to pieces as fish after fish eats it.

A truly American dry fly, the Hendrickson emerged from Liberty, N.Y., in 1915. It’s a great pattern for use during the first hatches of spring. The Hendrickson is an imitation of a Mayfly emerger. This is an excellent fly for coaxing large trout and salmon to strike a surface pattern in June and early July, and unlike some dry flies this one works great during mid-day hatches.

Slim Jims in gray, brown, red and green are also top producers. Gray seems to be the most dependable. World famous angler Lee Wulff worked up a series of high floating, hair wing dry flies in 1929. As many as 20 versions of the colorful, bulky bodied Wulffs, with their distinctive upright wings are available. Larger versions are quiet effective on Atlantic salmon and light colored patterns are very productive for night fishing large trout.

Blue duns imitate a variety of dark Mayfly duns and are most effective in smaller sizes. These work best when fully dry and high floating, and produce consistently for me season after season. Over the last decade, one fly in particular has proven itself worthy of a spot among my deadly dozen, knocking the black gnat from the list. A Caddis imitation, the Henryville special is equally effective fished dry or just under the surface as a “wet-dry.” I prefer a dubbed olive body, and tented wings, mainly because the trout do too.

Oh, what the heck, for a bakers dozen, have at least one of the many green drake patterns: emerger, full floating, or crippled dun will all work at one time or another. If possible have sizes, in all flies ranging from size 14 to size 18. Once in a great while a size 20 or 22 is needed, but I usually can’t see well enough to tie them on so it’s not worth the frustration!

Novice or pro, dry-fly enthusiasts will find one of my dependable dozen will be on the menu of local trout and salmon most of the time. By the way, just because these are my favorite dry flies, don’t think for a moment I don’t have twice as many other patterns for back up, just in case. Being fickle, as anglers often are with rods, favorite fishing holes and flies, next year my top 12 may just have one or two new additions.

During dry fly season, variety in a well stocked fly box is the key to happiness and success.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com