From the Archives: Leisenring’s Favorite Twelve Wet Flies

Looking back at this post, I can happily say that I’ve given many of these patterns far more than a test drive. I find it highly satisfying that the flies that Leisenring fished with confidence on his beloved Pennsylvania streams work just as well on the Farmington River. The post is formatted so that if you click on a pattern title, you’ll be taken to the recipe, along with a little blurb about the fly.

You can find Leisenring’s Favorite Twelve Wet Flies here.

**Hot tip: try Liesenring’s Old Blue Dun in a size 12 during the Hendrickson hatch. The original works, but if you want to make it a little truer to the natural, use dark dun for the tail and hackle.**

2 comments on “From the Archives: Leisenring’s Favorite Twelve Wet Flies”

Steve says:

March 28, 2024 at 9:44 am

Thanks for the tip as I am always looking for an edge on Hendrickson’s as they can be pretty frustrating at times.

My tip is to try a large (8/10) Hare’s Ear Wet on the point once the March Browns start hatching. Gets the cast down, and sometimes is the most productive fly.

Steve Culton says:

March 28, 2024 at 11:48 am

If the trout are keyed on the Hendrickson emerger, I rarely find that they’re picky when it comes to eating a wet fly. You can hedge your bets with more than one Hendrickson pattern on your team of three. Pick an active feeder, place your cast over his position, and hold on.

Thanks for the tip. The Hare’s Ear is one of those legacy non-glamourous patterns that produces decade after decade…

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