Purple Haze

Purple haze flies are dry flies that are very similar to the adams fly, the main difference being the body or thorax of the purple haze fly pattern being that it is a purple color thus giving the fly its name. The purple haze dry fly was developed in Montana to fish the many creeks and rivers they have. Thanks to its high success rate it has been tried, tested, and prevailed in many other locations as well. The purple haze dry fly pattern can be fished two main ways successfully, the single dry and the double dry. As the name suggests when fishing a single dry rig, you are in fact only using one purple haze trout fly, this is the most common and simple way to fish this pattern and is sure to reward you with great hits and a pleasant uplifting high. The other way that you can fish purple haze flies is with a double dry rig, with this setup you can run the purple haze fly pattern as the larger point fly or as the smaller trailing fly in the back. The ability to be able to present two different size purple haze flies or two different patterns is often key when trying to find out what those fish are keyed in on. The small purple haze works great behind a large attractor pattern such as a hopper or stimulator fly. The fish are drawn in by the bigger presentation and if they are a little skittish or don't want to commit to the larger attractor pattern then you have small purple haze flies running follow up. This combo can often be a killer for pulling big fish from their hiding holes and then hitting them with the irresistible purple.

 Final Purple Haze Fly Pattern Technique

The last technique or way purple haze flies can be fished is as a light dry dropper rig. While not the customary dry used for a dropper, the purple haze fly pattern in the bigger sizes can float some of the smaller nymph fly and emerger fly patterns that aren't extremely heavy.

 Best Purple Haze Dry Fly Combo

A great combo is the purple haze with a small zebra midge underneath, being able to cover two columns of the water lets an angler effectively present their flies to twice as many potential fish. The other great thing about this setup is that purple haze flies are much more likely to be eaten and also has a higher hookup ratio than a typical hopper or other terrestrial flies. While most of the time we don't remember much out of a purple haze… This fly pattern is one to hold on to, it will be sure to catch the fish's attention and is the perfect alternative when the fish are a little spooky or burnt out on other dry patterns. Just don't get smoked by a big one!