Three Generalist Dry Fly Patterns

Bob Wyatt's - Three Generalist Dry Fly Patterns - DHS, DHE & SHE

For those not familiar, Bob Wyatt is a painter and angler from Canada who has lived and fished in Scotland and New Zealand as well as his homeland of Western Canada.

He is the author of "Trout Hunting" and "What the Trout Want". He is of the school of Datus Proper in writing books that challenge much of the strongly held beliefs of the trout fly fishing world.

His Fly tying can be viewed on Hans Weilenmann's website here: https://www.flytierspage.com/rwyatt/rwyatt.htm. Many of his patterns are also expertly tied by Hans in videos on YouTube.

A bit about Bob's approach to dry fly fishing for trout, and in general, can be read here: https://www.thefloatingfly.com/bob-wyatt

My personal fishing philosophy is very much in his camp. I do, though, love tying flies too much to be limited to just tying flies to catch trout :).

But for those of you less into the fun of tying, you really cannot go wrong with these flies.

DHS - traces its history back to many hair wing sedge patterns in use throughout the US, Canada, and maybe more. Datus Proper talks about the Hair Wing Sedge in his book. Al Troth's EHC goes back to around 1958 and is, as he says, a hair wing variation of Skues' Little Red Sedge (perhaps an upcoming video?). Bob uses this pattern beyond just caddis on the water - in large sizes, he uses it for hoppers, cicadas, etc, and in smaller sizes also for mayflies.

DHE/SHE - As Bob explains, these are simplified versions of the low riding dry flies, either parachutes - the para duns, the revolutionary Klinkhammer, and combining that concept with No hackle flies and some influence of Fran Betters' Haystack/Usual patterns. In essence, the "wing" here is not a wing but a sighter and flotation device; the "prey image" is the low-hanging abdomen and thorax in the film. By using deer hair and not CDC and/or hackle, Bob feels he creates a more durable and simpler fly.

Not tied here, but even easier is his Wee Hair Emerger - which is just spikey hare's mask and perhaps some seal fur wound onto an emerger style hook with a fatter thorax and the thread as a rib to use as a nymph. Tie it with lead or with a bead to sink deeper, or unweighted and a little floatant on the thorax for a rising nymph.

Enjoy!

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