Denny Rickards' All Purpose Emerger

In the flyfishing community, Denny Rickards is well known as one of the reigning experts of lake fishing for trophy trout.  He typically only fishes 5 different patterns; most of his flies are designed to be suggestive rather than specificly imitative, and to have life-like action.

The A.P. Emerger is a fly that is "suggestive" of several aquatic insects, including emerging mayfly and caddisfly nymphs, dragonfly nymphs, and water boatmen. In lakes it is best fished on an intermediate line, typically near the surface, with a short slow pull and pause retrieve, or with a retrieve of rapid two inch pulls. Club member, Warren Belisle, who will be demonstrating this fly, also likes to fish it as a dropper 2 feet behind a wooly bugger or other streamer pattern, using a hand twist retrieve or kick trolling.  Warren says this is his "go to fly" at Pine Mountain Lake and most other stillwaters.  

Although designed for lakes, this pattern can also be used to imitate emerging caddis and mayflies in streams by using a deaddrift or swinging presentation.

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