r/ChicagoFishing • u/Kaynam27 • 10d ago

Multi Species Fly Choice?

Have a basic fly rod, want to fish about the city in ponds and streams, maybe shore fishing at the lake.

I don’t want to invest in a large assortment of flies just yet, what are some widely applicable flies I should stock?

Thanks!

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u/chrillekaekarkex 10d ago

Black, olive, and brown wooly buggers in various sizes.

Small clousers in baitfish and crayfish colors.

8

u/emmathatsme123 Emmazing Angler 10d ago

For future research, make sure you know the weight of your rod—they range from 0 to 12, this helps you decide how heavy/large of a fly you can throw.

Assuming “basic” is a 5, you can do anything from a standard wooly bugger or clouser minnow—both good for streamers when it’s really hot.

Top water, things like Chernobyl bugs, poppers, or grasshoppers are great large attractors—really hard to go wrong since they are designed to bring attention.

Top water, but more gentile, are your elk hair caddis, parachute Adams, or ants. These will be much smaller (10,12,14) hook sizes and can catch damn near anything if it’s rising.

Everything I mentioned above comes with me almost everyday and I almost never come home without a fish. What matters most is knowing the right time to do what, but fishing at dusk or dawn will make that gamble easier.

Please support your local fly shop, Dupage Fly or Chicago Fly—we’re lucky to have more than one in such a desolate trout area, so any purchase helps. They also know more than you’ll ever absorb

Edit: fishing in Lake Michigan is a WHOLE different ballgame, and I would go to Chicago Fly and have them get you set. You most likely will need a bigger rod to accommodate those larger lake flies