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The Reel Deal Deck
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Our Fly-brary

Everything we know about fly fishing, in one place and free. Ken built this deck because he wanted to learn the flies himself, so it would be a bit rich to charge you for the same thing. Four ways in.

Know one we missed? Tell us what belongs in Volume 2 — the next deck is not written yet.

Dry flies

20 in the deck

Parachute Adams — King of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Salmonfly — King of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Yellow Sally — Queen of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description March Brown — 8 of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Pale Morning Dun — 7 of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Blue Wing Olive — 6 of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Rusty Spinner — 5 of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Green Drake — Ace of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Elk Hair Caddis — Queen of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Royal Wulff — Jack of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Stimulator — 10 of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Humpy — 9 of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Madam X — 8 of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Chubby Chernobyl — 7 of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Purple Haze — 6 of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Griffith's Gnat — 5 of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Trico — 4 of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Royal Coachman — 3 of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Pink Albert — 2 of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Adams — Ace of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

Emergers

5 in the deck

Caddis Pupa — 5 of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description RS2 — 6 of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Split Case PMD — 4 of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Barr's Emerger — 3 of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Blue Wing Olive Emerger — 2 of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

Terrestrials

3 in the deck

Grasshopper — Jack of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Ant — 10 of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Beetle — 9 of clubs from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

Midges

5 in the deck

WD-40 — 7 of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Serendipity — 8 of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Snow Cone Midge — 9 of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Disco Midge — 10 of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Zebra Midge — Jack of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

Nymphs

13 in the deck

Rainbow Warrior — Ace of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Green Weenie — Queen of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Lightning Bug — King of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Duracell Nymph — 2 of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Blowtorch — 3 of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Frenchie — 4 of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Perdigon — 5 of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Hare's Ear Nymph — 6 of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Pheasant Tail Nymph — 7 of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Prince Nymph — 8 of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Copper John — 9 of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Pat's Rubber Legs — 10 of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Scud — King of hearts from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

Wet flies

1 in the deck

Soft Hackle — 4 of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

Streamers

5 in the deck

Muddler Minnow — 2 of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Woolly Bugger — 3 of spades from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Clouser Minnow — Ace of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Balanced Leech — Jack of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description Deer Hair Mouse — Queen of diamonds from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

Poppers

1 in the deck

Bass Popper — Joker from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

Egg patterns

1 in the deck

Egg — Joker from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

Worm patterns

1 in the deck

San Juan Worm — Joker from The Reel Deal Deck, showing the hand-drawn fly and its description

The Virtual Guide

The questions that come up most

30 of them, each answered in its first paragraph. These four are the ones people arrive asking; the rest are one click further in.

Open the Virtual Guide

gear

What weight fly rod do I need for trout?

basics

What flies do I actually need to start fly fishing?

technique

How do I set up a strike-indicator nymph rig?

technique

Why do trout keep refusing my fly?

Getting started Gear Technique Knots Seasons & timing Practical

Flashcards

Learn them the way the deck teaches them

Ken went looking for fly-fishing flashcards and could not find a set, which is how the deck happened. Here is that, free: the fly on the front, what it imitates on the back. The whole deck, in whatever order you like.

What does it imitate?

Read the full page →

Why this exists

The library is free. The deck is the version you can deal out.

Every fly above is a card in The Reel Deal Deck — 54 originals, drawn by hand and printed on Genuine Bicycle Rider Back stock with the patented Air-Cushion finish.

Order now Buying it as a gift

Scrolled the whole list and yours is not in it? Tell us what we missed — Volume 2 is not written yet.