Flies & Fly Tying
Starter Fly Box: Midwest
Driftless spring creeks, Great Lakes tributaries, and the farm ponds full of bluegill where a lot of people learn.
The Midwest is the one region where a trout box might not be the right first purchase. The Driftless Area of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa holds superb spring-creek trout fishing, the Great Lakes tributaries run migratory fish — and for a great many Midwestern beginners, the nearest water is a pond full of bluegill and bass.
That is not a consolation prize. A farm pond full of bluegill is the best place in America to learn to fly fish: the fish are abundant, they eat with enthusiasm, they are not fussy about pattern, and nobody is watching your casting.
The short list
| # | Pick | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orvis Essential Trout Fly SelectionPre-packaged assortmentBest Overall | Covers Driftless spring-creek trout properly | 7.8 | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 | Umpqua Eastern Trout SelectionRegional assortmentRunner-Up | Patterns that overlap well with Midwest hatches | 8.3 | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 | Orvis Essential Trout Nymph AssortmentNymphs onlyBest Value | Nymphs, which carry spring-creek fishing | 7.8 | Check price on Amazon |
1. Best Overall
Orvis Essential Trout Fly Selection
The right first fly purchase if you do not have a local shop to ask — a curated set rather than a hundred random flies.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Pre-packaged trout fly assortment |
| Packaging | Sized to slip into a wader pocket or sling pack |
| Related sets | Essential Trout Dries and Essential Trout Nymph assortments sold separately |
The hardest part of buying your first flies is that the question has no general answer: the right fly depends on your river, the month and what is hatching. Faced with that, most beginners buy a hundred-fly bulk assortment, and most of those flies never get fished.
A curated assortment is the better compromise. Orvis's Essential Trout Fly Selection is a pre-packaged set sized to live in a wader pocket, and Orvis also sells dries-only and nymph-only versions if you already know which style your water calls for.
The honest caveat, and we would rather say it than sell you flies: if there is a fly shop within driving distance, go in and ask. Local knowledge beats any national selection, and it costs you nothing.
What we like
- Removes the single most paralyzing decision a beginner faces, which is which flies to buy
- Covers dries and subsurface patterns rather than only one style
- Orvis hooks and tying quality are consistent, which matters because a bent hook point is invisible until you miss a fish
What you give up
- Generic across the country rather than matched to your local water
- Costs more per fly than buying a bulk assortment
| Criterion | Score / 10 |
|---|---|
| Pattern choice | 8 |
| Hook quality | 9 |
| Beginner value | 8 |
| Local relevance | 5 |
| Value | 7 |
| Overall | 7.8 |
2. Runner-Up
Umpqua Eastern Trout Selection
The eastern counterpart to the Southern Rockies set, and the right one if you fish Appalachian or Northeast water.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Scope | Patterns selected for eastern US trout water |
Eastern trout water runs to different insects than western water: more small mayflies, more caddis, a long dependable run of midges in winter. Umpqua's Eastern Trout Selection is weighted accordingly.
We can tell you less about exactly which patterns are in it than we can for the Southern Rockies sets, because Umpqua publishes less detail. Rather than guess at the contents, we would say: it is the right regional choice for eastern water, and our Northeast starter fly box page sets out the specific patterns and sizes we would want in it so you can check.
What we like
- Matched to eastern hatches, which are genuinely different from western ones
- Commercially tied by the company that supplies a lot of fly shop bins
What you give up
- Published pattern-by-pattern content is thinner than for the Southern Rockies sets, so you cannot check the list before buying
| Criterion | Score / 10 |
|---|---|
| Pattern choice | 8 |
| Hook quality | 9 |
| Beginner value | 8 |
| Local relevance | 9 |
| Value | 8 |
| Overall | 8.3 |
3. Best Value
Orvis Essential Trout Nymph Assortment
The assortment that catches the most fish, if you are willing to fish a fly you cannot see.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Nymph-only pre-packaged assortment |
| Packaging | Pre-packaged set |
Trout take the large majority of their food underwater, as nymphs drifting in the current. That means a box of nymphs will out-fish a box of dry flies on most days on most rivers, and the Essential Trout Nymph Assortment is Orvis's pre-packed version of that box.
The trade is not price, it is engagement. Fishing a dry fly means watching a fish rise and eat something you can see, and it is the reason a lot of people fly fish at all. Nymphing means watching an indicator and setting the hook on a hesitation.
Our dry-dropper rig guide is the way to have both: a visible dry fly on the surface with a nymph hanging below it. If you buy one assortment, buy the mixed Essential Trout Fly Selection. If you buy two, these are the second.
What we like
- Trout do most of their feeding below the surface, so a nymph-weighted box out-fishes a dry-weighted one most days
- Narrower selection is easier to learn than a mixed box
What you give up
- No dry flies, so you cannot fish a rising fish without buying more
- Nymphing is slightly harder to learn than fishing a dry you can see
| Criterion | Score / 10 |
|---|---|
| Pattern choice | 8 |
| Hook quality | 9 |
| Beginner value | 8 |
| Local relevance | 5 |
| Value | 8 |
| Overall | 7.8 |
The box
| Water | Patterns | Sizes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driftless spring creeks | Parachute Adams, Pheasant Tail, Hare's Ear, foam beetle, scud | 16-18 | Clear cold water, grassy undercut banks, fish that have seen flies |
| Great Lakes tributaries | Woolly Bugger, egg patterns, large nymphs | 8-14 | Migratory fish, heavier gear than a 5-weight. Check seasons closely |
| Warm-water ponds and lakes | Foam popper, rubber-leg spider, small Woolly Bugger | 8-12 | Bluegill, crappie and bass. The best learning water there is |
A 9-foot 5-weight handles the first and third rows comfortably. Great Lakes tributary fish are genuinely bigger than a 5-weight is built for — that is a second rod, not a first one.
Why bluegill is the best teacher in fly fishing
- They are everywhere, in water you can reach without a two-hour drive.
- They eat readily. A small foam popper twitched on a pond in June will be eaten, repeatedly, by fish that do not care about your leader.
- The feedback loop is fast. You learn to cast, set the hook and play a fish dozens of times in an evening instead of twice in a day.
- They are unbothered by imprecision, which is exactly what a new caster needs while the stroke is still ugly.
A small foam popper and a size 10 Woolly Bugger is the entire panfish box. If you own a 5-weight and live near a pond, you can start this weekend — see your first day on the water.
Driftless spring creeks
The Driftless is unusual: cold spring-fed creeks running through farmland, with wild trout holding tight to grassy undercut banks. The fishing is close-range and often stealthy, and the fish respond badly to a heavy footfall on the bank.
Two patterns matter here more than in most regions. Scuds, because spring creeks are full of them, and terrestrials — beetles, ants, hoppers — because the banks are grass and the trout know it. Through summer a foam beetle tight to the bank is often the whole game.
Access rules, seasons and special regulations vary across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa and change between seasons. Check the relevant state agency before you fish, particularly for early-season catch-and-release periods.
Questions people actually ask
What flies work in the Driftless Area?
Parachute Adams and foam beetles for the surface, Pheasant Tail nymphs and scud patterns below, mostly in sizes 16 to 18. Terrestrials matter unusually much because the creeks run through grass.
Can I fly fish for bluegill and bass?
Yes, and it is the best learning water in the country. A small foam popper and a size 10 Woolly Bugger on a 5-weight will catch bluegill, crappie and small bass all summer, and the sheer number of takes teaches you faster than trout fishing will.
Is a 5-weight enough for Great Lakes tributaries?
Not really. Migratory steelhead and salmon in those rivers are considerably larger than a 5-weight is built for, and heavier rods are standard. Treat that as a second setup once you know you are committed.
What is a scud, and do I need one?
A small freshwater crustacean, abundant in spring creeks, imitated by a simple curved gray or olive nymph. In the Driftless it is worth carrying a few in size 16; in most other regions it is optional.
Where these figures come from
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