<p>If I could only have one fly for all fish, this would be the one. I tie it in a wide range of sizes.</p>

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1. STRIP LEECH

Two colours are sufficient: black mink Zonker style wing with a fuzzy black body, a spun fur head and a chartreuse marabou undertail; and silver mink Zonker-style wing with Crystal Chenille body, spun silver mink head and Crystal Flash undertail. It can be fished dead-drift like a nymph, or with all the usual retrieval tactics. It has taken a wide variety of cold water, warm water and salt water species from Alaska to Patagonia, Georgia to Montana, Canada to Russia, the Bahamas to the Yucatan. It will always hold a prominent place in my fly boxes.

2. HAIR LEG GRHE

I developed the spinning loop technique in the winter of 1969/1970 to make guard hair legs. It is still my favourite tactic for most of my nymphs. I tie several colours of Hair Leg flies, but the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear has always been a go-to favourite. I often fish it as the lead fly followed by a Pheasant Tail. Trout everywhere love it.

3. SAWYER’S PHEASANT TAIL (PT) FLASHBACK

The gifted tyer and fly fisher Frank Sawyer hit a major home run with his original PT. I use it in #14 and smaller, modifying the fly by tying it with a heavy thorax of fine dubbing and a black, dark green or bright blue Flashabou covert-coated with thick UV-set head cement. It matches so many of the smaller nymphs that it is effective worldwide.

4 SAN JUAN WORM

Originated by my friend Jim Aubrey of Albuquerque, NM, this fly has undergone massive evolutionary changes since its origin i