Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Orvis Promo flys

I just bought a couple of the Orvis Promo Fly packs (heckuva bargain ) that are advertised on a banner here and am wondering if anyone has experience with these or similar patterns and could give some suggestions for any/all the patterns. I'm new to fly fishing and figured they'd be good practice flys at a minimum but they look well made and I'm hoping to get some good use out of them!

Here's a pic from the Orvis site.....

From the pic, they look to be a well rounded selection. Over the last 30+ years, I have tied and or used everyone of those except the Club Sandwich. I'm just not into foam flies but I have seen folks use them very effectively. If you are going to tie your own, that selection would also serve as a good set of models.
Either way, looks good.

Tie on that adams parachute with the copper john as a dropper and hold on ...... (with some tippet tie onto the hook bend of the adams, about 14" length of tippet, and tie on the copper john)

The elkwing and stimulater drys are awesome also ....

Like Troutfly I have tied all but the clubhouse,can't get into foam flies.The Stimulator is one of my faves for fishing cutthroats on the eastern slopes creeks and streams here.I tie it with rubber legs and get more strikes on those.

I'm hoping to just fish and not tie my own. I've heard that if you teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime but if you teach him how to tie a fly, he'll need a second job to support his habit....

You heard right!!

You're asking the impossible with your original question. Join a club, take a magazine or two, borrow some library books, go see if some old geezers are hanging around the local lakes or streams and won't mind giving you the benefit of their wisdom, ...

Yup you heard right!!!!! As stated above, join a club, read, buy videos etc. It is loads of fun, don't try to save any coin by tying your own, just ain't happening. I've been tying since 74 and have the piles of materials to prove it lol. Just placing yet another order to WW Doak in New Brunswick cause I don't have what I need, go figure.
Back to the Orvis flies, good selection to get ya started, Orvis has a good name.

That is a great selection of flies and shoudl be able to catch fish just about anywhere in the country. As for how to fish them, get this video! It is a great teacher on how to fish different types of flies. I have it and I love it.

http://www.amazon.com/Successful-Fi...&s=dvd&qid=1177743366&sr=8-8

Nebraska;

Try that uglyazz Club Sandwich Hopper in a local farm pond a little later this summer, or a on a lazy stretch of river during the same time period, and a little near to the bank.

Drop it down with a splat... like a real hopper just fell in or overshot on a winged/flying landing... lay there for a few seconds... and then start twitch/swimming it back toward the bank.

Make sure the tippet is heavy and that you hang on... you'll need both.

Thanks VA...being new, that's exactly what I was looking for!

I've never heard of that and again - great stuff!!

BTW - I do think I'm going to order a DVD or two so thanks for the recommendation. I'll give it a try....

There's another one featured for casting (don't recall the title) that got really good reviews so I might just have to try both!

Thanks again...

Well...?

Looks to me like they will all have their place.

Your Adams Dry is a go to Mayfly imitation. The Adams parachute is the same. Light wings for imitating spinners and dark for duns.

The Blue Wing Olive is probably the most common May fly here.

The Royal Wulff is a locater fly. Fish riffles and trout will see it better on a quick pass than a drab fly.

The Elk Wing Caddis is a super common caddis pattern.

All these guys float and you fish them when you see fish taking flys on top.

When fish aren't sipping flys but look like they are taking them just below, you can strip in any of them and fish will take them.

If the hatch isn't going on, you can fish the nymphs and streamers.

The Hare's Ear and Prince nymphs are the most common nymph patterns around. You can fish them on a dry line or a wet. When May flys aren't hatching, fish nymphs.

You can fish the Muddlers and Wooly Buggers any time.

I'll give you a typical day on the river. I get to the river at 6:00 in the morning and paddle down into the entrance of a big pond. I get in the channels and cast wooly buggers on a wet line and strip them back slow. Around 8:00, I start to see spinners (spent Mayflys from the day before). I start paddling upstream. A good 30 minutes up stream and I start to see fish rise. I go to a #12 Blue Wing Olive and cast to rising fish as I float down river. I get out a big #12 light dun too and watch the drift to see what's floating by. Some times, a Hendrickson hatch will go on and I'll need a little Red Quill to throw. Your Adams "sort of" looks like all of these flys so you can toss it all day. You might not get as many fish, but it will fool some. When I get back down to the pond, I'll anchor up and watch the drift. Some times the duns will float into the pond and the fish will pick on them. If not, it's back to streamers. Black and olive Wooly Buggers.