Egg Pattern Flies

If you fish for trout or steelhead in any part of the world whatsoever, it is essential that you carry an egg fly pattern in your box! Every trout and steelhead that exists in this world eats egg pattern flies. Eggs in general are a very high protein food source for these fish and are often times the only thing that they will eat. That is why our beadhead glo bug eggs in pink/flame are so popular.

An egg fly, like the name states, is tied specifically to represent a fish egg, unlike many dry flies where they typically imitate an insect. They are tied out of egg fly yarn and can usually be found in a multitude of colors, such as the Beadead Glo Bug fly in light roe/flame. There can be hundreds of different egg fly colors, but among the popular ones are baby pink, burnt orange, cerise, chartreuse, cotton candy, egg, light blue, light roe, Oregon cheese, peachy king, white, and yellow. An egg fly can also be created by tying a multitude of colors onto one hook. Something like our clown egg fly. They will often times be tied on a specific egg fly hook, which is made from hardened and high tempered carbon steel. The hook will also have a wide gap with a short shank, a straight eye, and be a heavy gauge wire.

Fishing with an egg pattern fly can sometimes be like cheating. Since these fish are programmed to eat eggs, it is often considered by some fly fisherman to be unethical to fish with one. Egg pattern flies are like crack to fish. They just can’t refuse them. Often times when there are many natural insects hatching and laying on the water, fish become really specific to the fly offering they are looking for. If your wet fly doesn’t perfectly match the hatch, fish will often refuse it, leaving fly anglers to be highly frustrated and not catching fish. However, fishing with egg pattern flies bypasses this, and therefore, the cheating stereotype can kick in.

One popular way anglers choose to fish these flies, is to fish them in a tandem fly set up. They will start by tying on one of these egg pattern flies directly to the leader, then attach a foot-long piece of tippet material to the bend of the hook using an improved clinch knot, then tie a small fly fishing nymph on the end of that piece of tippet. The bright egg pattern fly acts as an attractor and draws in the attention of the fish, while the nymph pattern gives them a second choice of dining options, in case they refuse the first.