Denny Rickards Stillwater Bug

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Denny Rickards Stillwater Bug.

If you are a stillwater fly fisher and live in Oregon, you know who Denny Rickards is. If not, you should!

I picked up this fly from Denny’s booth at a NW Fly Tyer and Fly Fishing Expo a few years ago in Albany, OR.

Denny focuses on catching trophy trout, like in the 13 pound range that ate his Stillwater Bug!

He writes on his Flyfishing Stillwaters website about this fly. In 2006, he tested it on a dozen lakes and it worked well. Rickards says the fly’s silhouette simulates a leech or bugger, or perhaps both.

I met Denny for the first time when my wife and I attended a stillwater flyfishing clinic at Alder Creek Ranch in Sisters many years ago. We didn’t know much about fishing lakes and really enjoyed the clinic AND the fishing. I think that’s probably where I purchased his book Fly-Fishing Stillwaters for Trophy Trout (1997). And perhaps a couple of fly lines to present our flies in the proper zone.

I’ve not fished this fly pattern, but have no reason to believe it wouldn’t be successful like any of the other flies Denny creates, including Denny’s Stillwater Nymph, Denny’s Callibaetis Nymph, Denny’s A.P. Emerger and Denny’s Seal Bugger.

Denny Rickards owns Crystal Creek Anglers in Fort Klamath, Oregon and is an expert fly fisher on Klamath Lake. And he catches BIG fish! Like trophy trout!

Enjoy…go fish!

(John Kreft is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.)