Egg fly (egg imitation)

One of fly fishing’s simplest flies is also one of the most effective at drawing a take. Egg fly imitates a single egg, and even though it barely resembles anything alive it takes rainbow trout year after year. It is a pure trigger fly in the same spirit as Blob, and it deserves a place in the box for the days when the fish need persuading.

Why an egg catches

During spawning periods loose eggs drift in the water, and they are a nutritious, easy meal the fish have learned to take. But the egg fly works far outside spawning time, because the simple, round and strongly coloured shape triggers an instinctive take. For a curious or freshly stocked rainbow trout the small, meaty ball is hard to leave alone, rather like a titbit it does not need to chase.

Colour and when it works

Orange and pink in various shades are the classic egg colours and the obvious first choice. In very clear water and on cautious fish a paler, more natural shade can work better. Autumn and winter are classic times to fish egg fly, but it is effective year round, and especially deadly on freshly stocked fish that react strongly to the colour. Keep both a loud and a muted variant.

How you fish it

The egg fly is usually fished slowly and near the bottom, where eggs naturally drift and collect. A good way is to hang it under a fly indicator at the right depth and let it sit almost still, just like a heavy nymph. Alternatively you creep it along the bottom in very small steps. The take often comes when the fly is simply lying still, so have patience and watch the indicator or the line for the slightest movement.

A given trigger fly

Egg fly is cheap, easy to tie and surprisingly reliable when nothing else is happening. Treat it as a complement to your natural patterns and a neighbour to Blob among the trigger flies. If it does not work you can switch to a quieter, more imitative fly, but as a wake-up it is hard to beat. Presentation it shares with nymph fishing, and more patterns to switch between are in flies for rainbow trout.