Egg Flies

To some fishermen using egg patterns is not true fly fishing. However, if you are imitating the natural food of your target fish then this is fly fishing. The art of matching the color and size of eggs that are being eaten is an art form just like matching the hatch of emerging dry flies, so egg flies are matching a natural food! Not all salmon eggs are the same. Spawning King and Chums have much larger eggs than sockeye's. You can find that the hungry trout. steelheads have discerning tastes. They will only target eggs of a certain color and size. Eggs that are laid by one particular salmon species and leave the others. It is therefore important to understand the color differences and what is the favorite color and size of the eggs eaten by your target fish. Most eggs are a very bright orange when first laid. They gradually change shade. They take on a milky white tint as they develop or decompose. You will find your fish lurking downstream, gobbling up the loose salmon eggs as they tumble from their redds and roll along the streambed as the salmon complete their spawning. Generally salmon lay between 2,500 to 7,000 eggs depending on the species and size of the fish. Chinook Salmon generally produce the most and largest eggs.

Egg Fly Fishing

Egg Flies are amongst the most popular patterns for Rainbow Trout, Brown and Brook Trout, and Salmon. eggs are a great source of energy for fish. These eggs will catch fish consistently in rivers, lakes and streams throughout the world. Fish on a "dead-drift" in streams, they will fish well against the river or stream bottom, add a couple of split shot to keep the egg near to the stream bed where the bright colours can attract fish where they make look like a natural egg floating.

On lakes or reservoirs Egg flies can be floated or used as part of a tandem rig with for example a buzzer suspended below the egg fly at 18" to 24" deep.