Dave McKenna is a fly tier after my own heart—he travels a lot for work, so rather than diving into a fly shop to buy local patterns every time he hits a new river, he’s come up with a host of flies that seem to work generally everywhere. It’s a great notion, that of having on hand maybe a dozen different fly patterns that might work no matter where you stop to fish. It’s a worth goal for any venturing angler, that’s for sure.
Above, Dave ties his Sexy Walt’s Worm, a nymph with good weight that works well in fast, heavy water. It’s a clear attractor—a fly meant to imitate any number of aquatic insects on just about any trout stream in America … or beyond. It’s a handsome fly, too, and with the flashy bead and the bright silver wire, it’ll be visible to fish, even in murky water. As runoff approaches, this might be a fly to have in your box in order to get down in turbid water to reach feeding trout.
— Chris Hunt