Adams

If you could only carry one dry fly on Colorado's rivers, the Adams would be it. Developed in 1922 and refined over a century of trout fishing, the Adams remains the most versatile and widely used dry fly ever tied. Its mixed brown and grizzly hackle, gray muskrat body, and upright grizzly wing tips create a silhouette that suggests a wide range of mayfly species — making it the ultimate searching pattern when you're not sure what's on the water.

On the Roaring Fork, Frying Pan River, and Colorado River, the Adams earns its place in every angler's box. Fish it dead-drift through riffles, runs, and flat water during mixed hatches, or use it as a confidence fly when nothing specific is rising. It excels as a standalone dry and as the indicator fly in a dry-dropper rig with a Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, or beadhead nymph below. Available in sizes #12 through #24 to match everything from large summer mayflies down to tiny midges and Tricos.

Pattern Details:

• Style: Classic upright-wing dry fly
• Wing: Upright grizzly hackle tips
• Hackle: Brown and grizzly mixed
• Body: Gray muskrat dubbing
• Tail: Mixed brown and grizzly fibers
• Hook: Standard dry fly
• Sizes available: #12, #14, #16, #18, #20, #22, #24
• Best fished: Dead-drift in riffles, runs, and flat water as a searching pattern or during mixed hatches

Available in store at Glenwood Springs Outdoors, 831 Grand Ave, Glenwood Springs, CO.