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Learn To Tie Flies

In this video series ambassador Chris Deen, aka TroutFreak brings you quick and simple tying tutorials to spark your inspiration! 

Trout Hate Purple Wooly Bugger

In this segment, Chris Deen teaches us how to tie a purple wooly bugger fly pattern. In his experience, purple is just as effective as Chartreuse!


Material List:

HOOK: Size 10 Streamer hook

BEAD: 3.2 mm purple brass

THREAD: 70D black 

TAIL: Purple & Black marabou

FLASH: Pearl Uni-Mylar

ABDOMEN: Black chenille, size medium

HACKLE: Black rooster from Whiting Farms Bugger Pack


Dirty Hairy- Generic Nymph Pattern

Probably the closest resembling a hare's ear, but provides enough of a difference to give you an edge on the water!


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STEELHEAD Woolly BUGGER

My go-to fly, my cheat pattern, my guilty sin - this is my confidence fly to help me catch some steelhead when all else is failing.


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Micro Euro Bugger

When smaller is needed, this small "Woolly Bugger" designed to swim upside down can do just the trick. Fish it like a nymph, strip it like a streamer, jig it like a jig - this pattern is extremely versatile.


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Ekdahl's CHIRONOMID

Tyler Ekdahl is a B.C native with over 10+ years experience fishing his local waters - so when he says this Chironomid is his favourite pattern, I'll take his word for it! There are over 2,500 species of chironomids found in freshwater habitats throughout North America. They are one of the most abundant food sources found in small lakes throughout our BC. Since trout, char, and even kokanee feed extensively on chironomids, these small insects make a great food source for fly-tyers to imitate.


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Olive Pheasant Tail Nymph

A Frank Sawyer design, the ever popular and versatile Pheasant Tail is a must have pattern for every fly box. You should have these in several sizes, and weights, and flip a few rocks to see what size is most suitable. Sold in just about every fly shop across the globe, it's a vital pattern you should learn to tie.


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Thread-Body Stonefly

Thread-body black stonefly; one of my favourite flies for steelhead. I typically carry a box with just these in various colours, sizes and leg variations.


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Bloody Wooly Bugger

The most versatile streamer to have in your box is the Wooly Bugger. This specific pattern I refer to as the "Bloody Bugger" has been tremendously successful for me for steelhead and trout.


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The Blue Winged Olive 

The Blue Winged Olive, more famously referred to as a BWO, is a must have pattern for every dry fly box. Traditionally being the most effective in June in Ontario, but always keep an eye out for this hatch in the warmer months. You should have these in sizes 16, 18, and 20.


Material List:

  • HOOK: Size 16 dry fly hook
  • THREAD: Nano silk in colour dun
  • TAIL: Mayfly tail fibers in dun
  • ABDOMEN: Olive turkey biot
  • THORAX: Superfine dry fly dub in colour
  • BWOWINGS: CDC in grey and white

Unboxing The Fly Tying Kit


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Carrot PT Nymph


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Fancy Caddis

My confidence flies are a mix of simplicity, functionality, and elegance.It's up to you to find your confidence fly - it'll change your fishing game forever!


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Rusty Emerger variant

Emerger patterns are like the cheese in a stuffed crust pizza. Can't see it, but once you bite into it, it's full of hot, melted, oozy goodness. These patterns are designed to imitate larvae that are just about to turn into flying insects. So you can kind of see why trout love them so much.


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Golden Stonefly

Rainbows, salmon, steelhead, bass, you name it - they love this fly! Golden Stonefly nymphs crawl on the bottom of the river searching for food and they aggressively feed on other smaller insects. Since they live in strong fast water, the current consistently washes them away making them a prime food source.


Material List:

  • HOOK: Size 14 nymph hook
  • BEAD: 3.2mm brown magic
  • WIRE: Lead free 0.15-inch weighted wire
  • THREAD: Rusty brown Nano Silk
  • TAIL: Brown goose biots
  • ABDOMEN: Stone blend dubbing with mottled oak thin skin
  • RIB: Small gold wire
  • LEGS: Green/Pumpkin barred sili legs


John Barr's Jumbo John

Very similar to the Copper John, with a few minor changes. Main changes being the addition of rubber legs and the wire body is two toned. Barr’s Jumbo John is a heavy and life like stonefly and works well on great lakes steelhead and western trout!


Material List:

  • HOOK: Size 10 Nymph hook
  • BEAD: 3.2mm fluo.orange
  • THREAD: Black 70D
  • TAIL: Brown goose biots
  • ABDOMEN: Medium gold and copper ultra wire
  • THORAX: Canadian Orange Arizona semi-seal
  • LEGS: Speckled hot orange centipede legs
  • WING CASE: Flash and brown scud-back, topped with UV resin


Blowtorch Euro Nymph

A great fly to use when you need to get into deep water in fast current. It's heavy bead, minimal materials, and slim profile help get this in front of fish that are holding deep in fast pockets of water. Also a great searching pattern as it contains enough natural features of a nymph, with enough attraction via the tail and bead, to drive fish crazy.


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Hares Ear Variant

The Hares Ear is probably one of the most highly used flies across the globe. It's a "generic" nymph that represents many mayfly and caddis nymphs. The shaggy appearance resembles when they shed their skins or shucks as they progress into their next stages. The most common method of fishing this popular fly is on a dead drift, but like most flies, you'll often get takes on the swing as well.


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Skull Head Bunny Leech

Leeches are a vital source of trout food, as they are present throughout the entire season. They are especially active during the late fall & early spring when forage for other insects are scarce, as the main hatches have already run their source, or they are yet to start. The fact that leeches are always present makes them excellent for a searching pattern.


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Last Hour Emerger

A struggling fly on top water is an easy meal for hungry trout. Emergers are more enticing than a high floating dry pattern as it requires less energy and can often change your entire day.


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Flashback Backswimmer


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Zuke Nukem Chironomid

This pattern uses new and old materials that put the wits of the fish to the test. Chironomid patterns are in a league of their own, with thousands of sub-species that have the most unique colours, this combo is a safety net.


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Preggo Scud

This pattern cannot be overlooked as many large sized trout can be directly linked to a healthy diet of scuds. It is another foundational searching pattern that can be tied on with confidence. In lakes, it is very common for trout to swim above the weeds with their mouths wide open just inhaling scuds by the hundreds. This pattern is best worked on a slow sinking line and a slow retrieve. Olive is a sure bet as it can also represent many other aquatic invertebrates.


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Egg Suckling Leech

Trout seldom pass up a juicy leech pattern. I find the “egg” in egg sucking leech to be more of a hot spot than the actuality of a leech feeding on an egg. Also, I find the pattern is most effective because of the silhouette. It can be tied in dull colours to represent leeches, damsels and dragons or tied with bright colours to be more of a lure. Either under an indicator, slow or fast sink, a go-to searching pattern in both lakes and rivers.


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Rainbow Warrior Variation

A super effective mayfly imitation but again, time and time again, this pattern will put you on fish when all else fails. This pattern can be fished in both lakes and rivers but is most predominantly used in rivers. The heavy bead and thin profile help this fly penetrate the water column as fast as possible to get to the feeding zone. When the trout are keying on a mayfly emergence, throw on a rainbow warrior for good results.


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Diawl Bach

Translating to “little devil”, this simple pattern holds true to its meaning. It is ideally used during a chironomid or mayfly emergence but when tied in larger sizes it can resemble damsels, dragons and caddis. Whether it is swung in a riffle or retrieved on a clear intermediate, it is hard to compare patterns more versatile than this. Simple and effective.

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For more awesome fly tying videos checkout @Troutfreak on Youtube. Thanks Chris for creating these awesome tutorials.