Riley,
I've meant to post on this subject for a long time and just never got back to it. My favorite fly for all time would have to be the venerable Muddler Minnow! I have fished it as a swimming, dredgeing, floating, and waking fly and it rarely fails.
One of the most exciting methods of fishing it for bows on the Kenai is to "wake" it across the surface. I like to cast across and then flip as much line downstream as I can in order to have the current start pulling on the belly of the line. When the tension starts dragging the fly, I just follow the line with the rod tip, lightly bouncing the tip, as all the above drifts. When the Bow hits the fly, it is an awesome explosion! The fly is smallish, #8 or so, and is heavily greased. I suppose that this method creates the illusion of a caddis laying it's eggs on the surface.
This is a very effective method of catching trout in that "harder-to-catch" time period of early July on the Kenai. I would guess that a elk hair or humpy would achieve the same results; however, the action lasts for a short enough time and then the trout go to the bottom. The Muddler works double duty there as well...and no retying is necessary.
This fly has accounted for so many hundreds of fish for me that It ceases to amaze anymore. It gets my vote certainly!
best,
bhtr
