Top 5 Essential Flies for Fly Fishing the Smith River in Bassett, VA

Here are the top 5 most essential flies I would not leave home without when preparing to fish the Smith River in Bassett, Virginia. In this article I will be breaking down the 5 most used flies in my box and how I fish them, as well as the situations that may promote one over the other. This list is pertaining and geared more toward the subsurface approach of fly fishing with nymphs and the mention of streamers and their role in our box while being available in our arsenal of resources. The flies I have selected are more based on types of flies and their profile of what they are looking to imitate and the diversity of options it can promote.

Specific patterns and variations can be tailored to the season or water type we are fishing. I have several forms of these patterns developed and utilized into the arsenal of my fly boxes. It's never bad to have potential options if one variation is not producing the yield we anticipated. I will mention the variations associated with each style and format but would recommend not getting too caught up in specifics but rather the profile and more so of how we are fishing it or where we are fishing those associated flies. The list of flies developed were thought out through an approach of what flies I would want to make sure I have in my box if I were coming out to fish the Smith with a mindset of a year round approach, sure certain flies could produce better in certain times of the year but within a general set of what to have and what to tie on these would most definitely be a top 5 list of flies to have when fishing the Smith River in Bassett, Virginia.

The first fly on my top 5 list would be one of the most versatile and infamous platforms available to fly fisherman, and that is the Midge. Midges are found in our system year round and at no shortage! Therefore our trout are highly accustomed to midges being a vast component of their diet. These midges what they lack in their size is often made up for in their abundance of availability.  It is no surprise that these trout get highly keyed in on these midges due to their availability and consistency year round in our system. I like to replicate this food source through a variety of variations, but your common zebra Midge can be a top selected choice to get the job done. I know there are countless variations that can do the same job but something as simple as the infamous zebra Midge consisting of thread and wire has been a staple and caught numerous fish for myself and clients on our trips.

You can always experiment with colors and hot spots but one rule of thumb that I have found in practice that has yielded the best results, is finding the thinnest and smallest midge you can, this in my opinion best replicates the natural form of the Fly. These midges are tiny so if a trout sees something thick and fat, it may not check the boxes that they are looking for, thus factoring into a refusal of your fly.  It took a while for me to gain confidence with the small aspects these flies can promote, throwing on down into that size 20 or 22 range and even catching fish in moderate current. Thinking to myself how are these fish able to see this fly.  I had a small revelation when learning to tie this fly and experimenting with different variations of a midge and I tied up some of the smaller ones at the time in that size 20 range I had already rigged them up on a double nymph rig and was going to take them out to the Smith River and give them a test run. When I got there the water was much more stained than I had anticipated, and I immediately lost confidence thinking a small fly would not get the job done. However, I had already spent the time tying these flies on, I certainly wasn't going to not fish them. I trudged on out into that water and immediately expedited the process and threw into what we would consider that “A” seam. It did not take but a few drifts in that positive water to be surprised with lines going tight to a nice healthy brown trout. Just proving and solidifying the point that these fish get keyed in on profile and rely on that  to determine and distinguish food sources, even in less than ideal clarity situations. 

The second fly I’d ensure I have stockpiled into my box when fishing the Smith River would be some form of a Pheasant Tail Nymph. These bugs are typically tied to mimic a Mayfly, which we have healthy populations of within our river system as well. These flies can also be found in our river system throughout the course of a year, with Seasons like your spring and summer and even into early fall holding a higher yield and abundance of these flies in comparison to your winter months. However, we still are finding some in our cooler months where bug activity has decreased. One trend I see with that is the potential of the size of these bugs decreasing,  as well as the frequency and abundance you would see them in. These time periods may promote other flies, but you would be surprised what you can get by with.  even though they may not be seeing them as frequently or abundantly, it's not like they just forgot about them. Some trout, especially when food availability is at a minimum, will take advantage of any opportunity they can find, specifically with a well-placed drift.  However, where I'm seeing these flies make their money is going to be in the warmer months when we have that heightened activity of bugs in our system. The Smith is notorious for some of the hatches they can produce, as well as the variety of the hatches it will hold. The main one that gets all the attention and focus tends to revolve around our big sulphur hatch.

To replicate this in the nymph form I tie and carry a variety of pheasant tail nymphs, flies like the Frenchie  can really be a powerhouse fly. Sometimes I'll even tie and throw a variation with a CDC collar,  when trout are being extra finicky that collar and additional movement can often elicit that strike we may not have been getting. It is always fun to experiment with the different forms,  but I encourage people and often have to remind myself not to overlook the bare basics of the American Pheasant Tail fly. One of the main aspects I attribute to why it works so well is its bare bugginess, the fly just looks like a bug! The drab basic look can often be the plain solution that often gets overlooked in a day in age where flash and bells and whistles seem to have taken over. I tend to carry and fish these in sizes 14 down to 18’s as needed. The pheasant tail nymph can be right there with the midge as one of the most versatile bugs to throw in any trout waters, and definitely here in the Smith River! 

The next fly I insure makes its way into my box is the stonefly, or some variation of the stonefly.  Most stoneflies tied, typically do a good job of emulating the leggy component of them.  something different but also very eye-catching to a trout looking for a meal. These flies are also on the larger end of the nymph category and what we would throw at them.  which is where I think it holds its merit and gets its attention. When the trout have an option to feed once and feed large it can make more metabolic sense for them in terms of a calorie trade-off.  Studies have estimated the caloric intake coming from a stonefly could be equivalent to that of 15-20 midges. 

(https://blog.murraysflyshop.com/the-aquatic-insects-how-many-calories-are-they-worth/)

(Caloric information taken from study recorded by Charlie Fox and Joe Brooks in conjunction with Penn State University c.1967)    

When tying the stonefly I typically tie large and chunky, quite the contrary from the other flies that we have spoken about up to this point, but again that aids and the distinct size and protein availability it can promote. Just as all the other flies have their abundant variations, I do like to have several variations of a stonefly available. This is also a fly that you can get by tying on a large bead and tying very heavy, that allows it to ride on the bottom and bounce around down in the rocks maintaining depth and staying in that strike zone as long as possible.  It is another great fly to have in the winter months when trout are not as active or moving as far and holding in some deeper waters in almost that dormant state. This fly can solve a lot of those problems and provide an outlet to still maintain viable fishing opportunities throughout those colder months. Some of the variations I like to tie and experiment with would be the large chunky one like I mentioned, but also being able to tie some still in that larger size but getting back to that thinner diameter, thinking of a more tapered body building up the abdomen as we get to the head. I do believe there's some merit associated there with that becoming a near match for the natural fly. One important thing to note in terms of this fly and its sink rate, despite placing a larger bead on the fly (4.0mm or higher) some of its sink rate can be defined and negated with the excessive bulk and protrusions of the legs. It adds a non-aerodynamic aspect or non-sink aspect, just to be aware of, rather than thinking it will sink like a bullet similar to our perdigons. This concern sometimes can be heightened when throwing these flies in a larger mass of current. As now that current has something to push rather than allowing it to sink by cutting through the current, it merely grabs and gets dragged at an angle down stream. Just something to be cognizant of when throwing these flies and wondering of its sink rate, knowing that just because it is a larger heavier fly does not always directly translate to immediate sink.

Another style of fly I ensure to have in my box in various sizes and profiles would be some olive based fly. There are several flies that could fit this mold and that's where I don’t get too concerned with specific patterns but more so with the size and profile they are looking to replicate. With these olive toned flies we are looking to provide an option for our Blue Wing Olive (BWO) flies. Here on the Smith and most tailwaters due to the nature of the consistent cold water, we receive a healthy sample of BWO’s. These flies come off relatively all year round and can be a great option for winter activity when other flies are not as abundant and prevalent in the system. Our BWO hatches can come off throughout various windows in the day and can see trout responding to them accordingly during those windows. During a trip, a client and I noticed a prominent BWO hatch with fish responding but not to our setup. We perused a few of my boxes and a few of his, he insisted confidence in this one fly. A fly he had fished across multiple states here on the East coast and even a few rivers out West.

The fly was merely a small olive buggy looking fly. A few additional bells and whistles up top near the collar but the basis of the fly was simple at its core; Olive and buggy! It was small and made a great match for the tiny bugs we were seeing coming off. Swapping to a minimalist green nymph profile completely changed the dynamic of the day, producing a high-volume catch rate and revealing new holding water where these fish had migrated to feed amongst these smaller bugs. More so than anything solidify the point that you don't need a specific trademarked fly name to replicate this; most slim, olive-based pattern built on a micro-frame will get the job done. I later built on that breakthrough at the fly-tying bench, experimenting with different collars and accent colors to see what subtle triggers drove the best response from our wild browns.

Again, the main component of these flies are the profile and size they are looking to replicate, secondary would then be the color. I had taken the structural framework or the bones of the fly and swapped in a few additional features. The big component that led to reactivity of the fish was maintaining that small profile, BWO’s are very small flies, typically coming off in our system in sizes 20 and below. These flies do feature a set wing coming off the top promoting that realism within that fly and adding to its buggyness. From there I began adding or taking away hot spots in both flashy colors but also even natural colors and showing a distinct difference creating segmentation and differentiation in areas of the fly. Something as simple as a black dot can do the trick. A small tail, green body with segmentation and a variety of collars spanning from CDC, hot spot dubbing, perdigon style with colored dots all have proven the test and received positive feedback from our fish!

Lastly I’d like to mention the use of small streamers beyond their role of ripping them back to you aggressively and eliciting roles and flashes from fish which we all love and know can and will invoke some forms of feedback from the fish. However over the years I have learned other tactics to supplement and diversify my approach and application of those small streamers. I tend to tie various forms of a wooly bugger platform with plenty of modifications based on intended purposes. Some wrapped with heavy wire to ensure they find their way to the bottom, some tied on jig hooks, some tied with hot spots present, some tied very small, others tied large and full of flash for those days playing stained water. One method that has found its way into my rolodex however, is fishing them in a less traditional or overlooked manner, fishing them like a nymph, fishing them like a dead non-moving protein source merely sliding down the main highway into that positive feeding line. I like this approach running it under an indicator with the same general mindset of drifting it down stream. It definitely serves its role plummeting into the depths of some of our deeper holes, as well as being drug and bounced through some shallow runs as well.  It is one of those deals where maybe a little tension or lack of a clean drift isn't the end of the world now. That big mend isn't such a bad thing anymore and can aid or be placed in well timed locations of our drift to now provide a nice animation of our fly as we come around the side of that rock. It also allows a different presentation, if I fish it traditionally and throw across and strip the streamer back to me, that streamer is in a direct line to the fixed point of my rod tip and can only be animated from that location, plenty of positives created through that with the various retrieves you can create.

However, I am a big fan of showing the fish something different and it can even be that same fly just fished from a different presentation, a small streamer under an indicator, now I am working off of a moving fixed point that suspends. I can dictate where in the water column my fly suspends and holds, I can choose when and how aggressive or non aggressive I want to make that fly jump and move. I can take and suspend my swing into positive zones where I think fish could be holding. Another positive play associated with this approach is being able to tag another nymph off the bottom of that small streamer, now I can assure that streamer is down but also bringing that nymph into that same line. I like doing this with something as small and viable as a midge, or something with flash but remaining in that small nymph category. The streamer often grabs the attention of the fish but then we provide a much more feasible meal with the smaller nymph tagging behind. If a fish moves from its line but decides to not take the larger of the two we are fishing, we are at least accommodating and providing a small snack to reward them from moving from their line, there was at least some interest that brought them out of there holding water to feed it sometimes can be too convenient that there is another smaller not aggressive food source magically trailing 18 inches behind the main source that got the attention from the fish initially. This concept is nothing new but often gets overlooked. I really like the visual component this promotes as well in the sense that small streamers give us visual check-ins where we can see our fly, we now know location and where we are in reference to where we want to be. We can now manipulate these flies or our drifts to ensure our flies are riding in the lines we want them to, as well as the depths we’d like. 

As always, I greatly appreciate the time you have taken to read my articles, hopefully there was a nugget or two of information in there for you to take with you into your daily practice or your next outing on the Smith. With this article highlighting a range of my Top 5 Essential Flies for the Smith River in Bassett, VA, I also have created and tied sample packs of these top 5 flies I use. If interested in purchasing any of these flies or the full combo pack feel free to reach out, to discuss pricing and shipping as needed.

Or likewise if you are interested in getting out in the boat for a float trip and testing these flies first hand, seeing more about how I like to fish them and what presentations we look to replicate, feel free to reach out at any of the following contact listed below:

Matt Tuggle - Lucky Strips Fly Co.

276-732-0517

www.luckystripsflyco.com

luckystripsflyco@gmail.com