Last week, I offered some suggestions on assembling a basic assortment of nymph patterns for early-season trout in our region. This week, I’ll present a similar discussion targeting dry-fly patterns.

Tying flies has long been one of my favorite winter activities. I derive much pleasure from crafting a supply of the many fly patterns needed to restock my fly boxes for the upcoming trout season.

Dry fly fishing is when an angler uses a floating fly to entice a fish to rise and eat the fly off the surface of the water. We are trying to imitate the natural adult stage in any given bug’s life ...