Adams
The Adams is the most iconic dry fly ever tied. Its mixed grizzly and brown hackle and muskrat body give it the silhouette of almost any mayfly adult, making it a go-to when fish are rising but you cannot identify the exact species. Fish it with a dead drift in riffles, runs, and flat water wherever trout are feeding on the surface.
- Type
- dry fly (Mayfly)
- Hook sizes
- #12–18
- Target species
- trout
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Best seasons
- spring, summer, fall
Materials
- hook: Dry fly hook, Mustad 94840 or equivalent
- thread: Gray 6/0 or 8/0
- tail: Mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers
- body: Muskrat fur or gray dubbing
- wing: Grizzly hen hackle tips, upright and divided
- hackle: Mixed brown and grizzly rooster hackle
Tying steps
- Mount a size 12–18 dry fly hook and start thread just behind the eye, wrapping back to the bend.
- Tie in 6–8 mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers as a split tail, one hook-gap long.
- Dub a slim tapered body of gray muskrat or Superfine from above the barb to the 2/3 point.
- Select two matching grizzly hen hackle tips; hold cupped face-to-face and tie upright at the 2/3 point.
- Separate the wings with a figure-eight wrap and push apart with a post wrap at the base.
- Tie in one brown and one grizzly dry fly hackle feather sized to the hook.
- Wind both hackles 3–4 turns behind the wing and 2 turns in front, then tie off.
- Build a small neat head, whip finish, and apply a drop of head cement.