Size 10 Classic Gold Ribbed Hares Ears

The Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear might be the buggiest fly ever tied — and that's entirely the point. That scruffy hare's-mask dubbing has been suggesting mayfly nymphs, caddis larvae, and scuds to trout for well over a century, and this classic version adds the two modern upgrades that matter: a gold rib for flash and segmentation, and a 4mm gold tungsten bead that punches it through fast water without split shot.

In size 10 it fishes big enough to suggest a March Brown or Green Drake nymph, a small stonefly, or just a substantial meal worth moving for — which makes it a killer lead fly in a tandem rig. The tungsten bead on a standard Umpqua nymph hook gives you a fast sink rate with a proven hook you can trust on heavy fish.

Dead-drift it deep along rocky bottoms, swing it through tailouts at the end of the drift, or trail a midge behind it when fish are feeding at multiple levels. Some patterns are classics because they're old. The Hare's Ear is a classic because it never stops working.