Ryan Brennecke / The BulletinFluttering Salmonfly, courtesy Fin & Fire.

Some years one or two patterns seem to work better than all the others. But there’s no way to tell what is going to work the best from the tying desk. Plan to be ready with a selection of bugs to draw from. A few years ago, the Rogue Stone was in vogue. This Fluttering Salmonfly is reminiscent of that standby. Tie it on when the fish are keying on bugs moving on top of water.

Watch the shoreside foliage for clues. Use a salmonfly pattern when there are a lot of salmonflies in the grass. When there is an abundance of golden stones, break off and tie up again. Plan to fish these big bugs close to the bank and under the willows.

Tie this pattern with orange thread on a No. 4-6 long dry-fly hook. For the body, use 3 millimeter black closed cell foam segmented with thread. For the fluttering wings, use dyed olive mallard flank feathers. For the wing, use natural brown moose hair enhanced with a few strands of Krystal Flash. Finish with gray rubber legs and dyed black bull elk hair.

—Gary Lewis, for The Bulletin