This will be my first fly fishing trip. I'm excited to finally get to try this out. I've got my rod and reel I just have no clue on what flies to purchase. Its all overwhelming to me and makes no sense on what color or what kind and how to use them. If anyone can please help to guide me in the right direction I would appreciate it. Thank you

PM you.

http://www.orvis.com/fishing_report.aspx?locationid=7378

There's some good info here. Blue wing olives, black gnats seem to work well for me down there.

A list that I put together a few years ago:

Beavers Bend Fly�s @ the Lower Mt Fork River

MAIN FLIES:

Bead Head Pheasant Tails (Size: 14-18)
Hares Ear (Size: 14-18)
Orange Soft Hackles (Size: 16-18)
Red Hackles (Size: 16-18)
Bead Headed Wollybuggers (Colors: Olive, White, Black, Rust) (Size: 10-20, I like Big WB�S)
Black Midges (Size: 12-22)
Red Midges (Size: 12-22)
Blue Winged Olive (Size:16-22)
Sulpher (Size: )
Cahill (Size: 18-22)
San Juan Worm
RS2 (# 20-22) grey,Olive, red
Near Deer ( Olive, pink, black & brown)


January:

Hatches: Baetis, Blue Winged Olive, Light Cahill, Midge
Flies to use: Pheasant tails, Red Fox Squirrel, San Juan worm, Egg Patterns, Griffiths Gnat, Adult Caddis, Emergers


February:

Hatches: Mayflies, Midges, March Brown

Flies to use: March Browns, Bead Headed Black and Red Midges (size 12-14), San Juan worms, egg patterns, Griffiths gnat, CDC, Emerger Patterns, Soft hackle

March:

Hatches: Blue winged Olive, Midges

Wet Flies to use:
Soft Hackle, Copper Johns, Pheasant Tails, Egg patterns, Red Fox squirrels, crane fly

Dry Flies to use: Griffiths Gnats, Hares Ears, March Brown (mayfly), Blue Winged Olive (mayfly)

Flies to use: Elk Hair Caddis, Parachute Adams, Thread Midges, and Caddis Pupae Flies, Soft Hackles, Midges, Hares ears, Pheasant tails, Prince nymphs


April:

Hatchs: Flying Ants, Caddis, Mayflies, Crane flies, Midges

Flies to use: Red Soft Hackle, Elk Hair Caddis, Midges, Ants,

May:

Hatches: Baetis, Beetles ,Blue Winged Olive, Brown Caddis, March Brown ,Tan Caddis

Wet flies (nymphs) to use: Cream Colored Soft Hackles, Nymphs, Adam Parachutes 12-16, Hare's ear Nymphs, Elk hair caddis

Dry flies to use: CDC Caddis and CDC Mayfly Emergers, EHC, Adam Parachutes


June:
Hatches: Mayfly, PMD's, Sulphurs
Flies to use: Grasshoppers, Ants, Midges, Mayflies, Caddis

July:
Hatches: Mayflies, Midges
Flies to use: Copper Johns, Griffiths Gnats, EHC, Ants, Griffiths Gnats, Soft Hackles, Hoppers, Soft Hackles

August:

Hatches: Midge, Hexagenia, Caddis, Mayflies, Mosquitoes
Dry Flies: Caddis and Mayflies (including dry, emergers, and cripples)
Flies to use: Soft Hackles, Midges, Pheasant Tails, Copper Johns, Small Mayfly Imitations, Caddis Pupae, Emergers



September:

Hatches: PMD/s, BWO's Yellow Sally, Grass Hoppers and Katy-Dids, Hexagenia Mayflies

Wet flies (nymphs) to use: Green Bead Head Caddis Nymph imitations in about size 14-16, Egg patterns, San Juan Worm, Various Soft Hackles, Light Cahill, Grasshopper, Ant, Hex Nymph

Dry flies to use: Stimulators on a size 10 hook, Elk hair Caddis, Hex

October:

Hatches: Caddis, Grey Mayflies, Blue Quills Blue Winged Olives Midges, Sulfurs
Flies to use: Miracle Midge, Zebra Midge, Egg Patterns, San Juan Worm

November:

Hatches: Small Tan Caddis, Small Black Caddis, Midges
Flies to use: Thread Midges, Caddis Emergers, spiders, Copper John, Egg Patterns, San Juan Worms
December:
Hatches: Black Caddis, Blue Winged Olives (mayfly) and Midges.
Flies to use: Emergers, Caddis, Mayfly, Midges, Egg patterns
Dry flies to use: Griffiths Gnat, Blue Winged Olive, Black Caddis

(You can get this stuff online from somewhere like Blue Quill Angler or go to BPS)
Leader: 7' 3x tapered leader.
Tippet: 4x, 5x and 6x tippet material (Comes in small spools, mono or floro. Doesnt matter right now.)
Tippet rings: One package.
Indicators: kind that use rubber band piece to secure. Very adjustable.
Split shot. I don't know what the bitty fly fishing sizes are called.

Flies
Nymphs abd other bottom flies:
Near Deer: Order online from Tarponfly who posts here. Several. Olive, pink, or whatever he suggests.

(Buy these others online from Blue Quill Angler (no shipping fee!)or go to Bass Pro, or something):
San Juan Worms: red and natural or tan
Thread midges: my go-to. Red, black, brown, white zebra midges, sz 20 & 22.
Pheasant tail nymphs. Sz 14-18.
Hairs ear nymphs. Same.
Copper Johns. 16.
Caddis larvae pattern: chartreuse, yellow. I use sz 14.

Soft hackles or emergers:
Caddis pupa pattern. Sz 14 - 16.
Blue winged olive emerger pattern: sz 18-20.
March brown soft hackle: sz 12 - 14.

After fishing awhile at BB you might run to fly shop and get:
Palsa indicators (More sensitive. Very good. Not adjustable. Bad.)
A smaller football indy for sensitivity.
Barr's Emerger. They have the one you want.
RS2's (or you might have gotten them from Carey.)
Rainbow Warriors, 16 & 20.
See if they recommend a caddis emerger.
Elk hair caddis.
A few different partridge and (pick-your-color) soft hackles.
Adams dry flies (I ain't really a dry fly guy).
Anything they recommend, basically.

Start with nymphing (Bottom fly fishing. Way most productive.)
Tie a tippet ring to end of leader with a san diego jam knot (look it up). This often lasts 2-3 trips for me.
Tie 25" or so of 4x tippet to ring for tippet. I use double davy knot here, for speed, and it works.
Tie another 12" of 4x with a triple surgeons knot (gives a stop knot for splitshot.)
Tie on an olive or pink near deer with a davy or double davy knot, depending on preference. Fast, easy, good.
To bend in hook, with an improved clinch knot probably, tie 16" or so of 5x or 6x (6x if you can't thread the sz 22 midge).
End up with 2nd fly about 8 - 12" behind 1st. I start longer so I can change 2nd fly 2-3 times without it getting too short.
Tie on one of your 20 or 22 midges with the D or DD knot.
Put split shot above your triple surgeons knot. That's why we put that knot there. Start with one maybe. If flies not getting down you can add.
Estimate water depth. Put indicator on about 1.5 times depth.

Very basic nymph fishing:
You won't need to fish more than 20 ft away. Theyre (stocked trout) not too scared of humans standing in water. Cast slightly upstream. Follow indicator downstream. Whenever it twitches or goes under gently recast. It will either be the bottom and you'll be recasting, or you'll have a fish on and your recast motion will have set the hook. Nearly impossible to tell dif, so recast whenever it twitches. You'll do it a lot but also have hookups. You don't want your line to ever speed up your indicator for the most part. That pulls the fly up. Whenever its about to do that, mend, that is, lift line a little out of water and toss it upstream a little, trying not to disturb drifting indy much at all. When indy is quartered downstream from you, let line stop it. Stopped indy will drag flies up, sometimes triggering a strike (but basically, nymphing, you're trying hard to keep flies as deep as possible. If you're not hitting bottom quite a bit you're not deep enough). Then recast upstream again and repeat.

1st fly: swap out SJ worms, caddis larvae, #16 Rainbow Warrior, HE and PT nyphs.
2nd fly: all your thread and zebra midges, HE and PT nymphs, #20 RW, RS2's (basically, I run a thread or zebra, or a RS2 here).
Dont be afraid to change flies a lot till they start biting something, but you should get action on that Near Deer and/or its trailer fly.

Soft hackles and emergers:
If there starts to be activity near the surface they may be feeding on insect pupae that are coming to the surface to hatch. This is fun! Take off all that nymphing gear. If you still have a piece of 4x tippet on your tippet ring at that point you might add 18" or so of 5x with a triple surgeons knot, or just put 30" of 5x on the tippet ring. Tie on an emerger/soft hackle. Sometimes a splitshot where you tied the 5x to the 4x is good, but optional. Cast quartered downstream. Let it swing downstream till its completely below you and has certainly dragged, or is dragging, to the surface. This is actually most often where strike occurs for me. Its a tight line thing now. Youre closely watching for the line or whatever part of theleader you can see to suddenly straighten. Often they set the hook themselves. If a fish boils or jumps wherever you estimate your fly to be, set the hook! Till you find what they're biting, about every 3-4 casts with no action, change flies.

Best advice: First time, if you can afford it, hire a guide. Better fishing and he'll teach you (Better fishing later.)

Also, look up all those knots I mentioned. Sit at a desk and learn them. You have to learn how to tie them all while standing in cold water. Start with about 12 lb test and a fairly large hook. After awhile, try it with your tippet material and a small fly. I use a double davy instead of a davy cause somehow I mess up the davy but davy is very very good and quick. I just have the dd down. You can find tutorials for all of them online.

Good luck!

Great info Tarponfly and jonbo! Thank you

Awesome thread here. I am in the same boat as Brandon. I have off all next week due to spring break. I had almost talked myself out of going to LMF due to just not knowing what to do or how to use what I have. Thanks for all the help you guys are giving to beginners like myself. I plan to go to the FWFF casting class on Saturday and head to BB State park and camp Monday - Wednesday. Printing this as we speak.

So, Spring Break starts Monday?

I was planning on taking off work to avoid the crowds....just one day is all my soul needed.

Most districts and colleges in Texas are out the week of March 16-20. I called the state park yesterday and she said they still had lots of camping spots available but all the reserved are gone.

Hard to judge from the reservations in RV section since they have so few and stay booked for a year.

First come first serve on camping. I've found myself pulling in at 6pm Friday and ending up out at the RV park on 259.

All the schools around here are out next week. I heard OK is out the following week.

Looks like we are going(Monday day trip) and will deal with whatever we face.

Most DFW Schools have Spring Break March 7-15 - that is where the crowds come from. Most OKlahoma schools and smaller Texas schools have SB from March 14-22.

I will be up there with a few friends March 12 and 13. Likely taking off before the weekend madness starts.

I'm making the trip To BB this week from Tuesday-Friday and I'll be trying fly fishing for the first time (brought a rod and reel just incase that doesn't work out). I bought a pfluger 5/6wt beginners kit and I'm gonna take a shot at the fly class at bass pro on Sunday. Hoping everything goes well, if I catch at least one fish on the fly it will be worth it! Open to any advice and suggestions!

Put better line on it you'll thank me later!

On my way o bass pro right now, thanks!

If you just want to catch a fish - go as far up Spillway Creek as you can. The little 8-10" wild rainbows will hit anything. Toss an Adams dry fly or a small stimulator in any pocket or eddy.

Good luck