July Fly Fishing Hatch Guide: Best Flies for Summer Trout Fishing

Quick Answer: What Flies Hatch in July?

In July, trout anglers should be ready for Yellow Sallies, caddis, PMDs, small mayflies, midges, terrestrials, stonefly nymphs, and damselflies depending on the water type. On rivers and streams, July is often a mix of evening caddis, smaller summer mayflies, stonefly activity, and bank-side terrestrials. On lakes, ponds, spring creeks, and slow weedy water, damselflies, midges, scuds, and other subsurface food can be just as important.

The main thing to remember: July hatch charts are a starting point, not a promise from the bug gods. Hatch timing changes with elevation, water temperature, flows, weather, and local stream conditions. The best anglers use the chart, then look at the water.

Best Trout Flies for July

For most July trout fishing, carry a mix of:

  • Yellow Sally dries and nymphs

  • Elk Hair Caddis, X-Caddis, and caddis pupae

  • PMD dries, emergers, and soft hackles

  • Small mayfly spinners and Trico-style patterns

  • Ants, beetles, hoppers, crickets, and inchworms

  • Stonefly nymphs

  • Midges for technical water

  • Damselfly nymphs for stillwaters

  • Scuds and sowbugs where vegetation or limestone influence is present

That sounds like a lot, but July is not a one-bug month. It is more like the river opened a buffet and forgot to label anything.

Yellow Sallies: July’s Small Stonefly You Should Not Ignore

Yellow Sallies are one of the most useful July stonefly hatches. They are smaller than the big-name stoneflies, but trout still notice them, especially in riffles, pocket water, and along faster seams.

Fish a Yellow Sally dry fly when you see small yellow stoneflies fluttering near the bank or skating around the surface. If trout are not looking up, fish a small yellow stonefly nymph near the bottom through faster water.

Stonefly nymphs are valuable because many stoneflies live underwater for a long time before becoming adults, which keeps nymphs available to trout beyond the short hatch window.

Best Yellow Sally setup:
Run a Yellow Sally dry on top with a small nymph dropper below it. Trout get the upstairs snack and the basement snack. Very civilized.

Caddis: The July Evening MVP

Caddisflies are a major summer food source, and July evenings can bring some excellent caddis action. Unlike mayflies, caddis do not always sit still and behave themselves. They twitch, hop, skate, and flutter, and trout often key in on that movement.

Best July Caddis Flies

  • Elk Hair Caddis

  • X-Caddis

  • CDC Caddis

  • Sparkle Pupa

  • Soft hackle caddis

  • Caddis larva patterns

How to Fish Caddis in July

Start with a dead drift. If trout refuse it or rises look splashy, add a slight twitch or skate the fly across the surface. For subsurface fishing, swing a caddis pupa through riffles and seams as if it is rising toward the surface.

Redd’s tip: If the rise sounds like someone flicked a pebble into the water, think caddis.

PMDs and Summer Mayflies: Match the Drift First

PMDs and other small summer mayflies can bring picky trout to the surface in July, especially on tailwaters, spring creeks, and smoother runs. With mayflies, the game is usually less “make it dance” and more “make it drift like it was born there.”

Mayflies are vulnerable as nymphs, emergers, duns, and spinners, and trout may focus on one stage over another. Emergers can be especially useful when trout refuse high-floating dries because they imitate a mayfly stuck in the surface film.

Best July PMD and Mayfly Patterns

  • PMD dry fly

  • PMD emerger

  • Sparkle Dun

  • CDC emerger

  • Parachute PMD

  • Rusty spinner

  • Soft hackle

How to Fish PMDs in July

Use a longer leader, lighter tippet, and a clean drag-free drift. If trout are sipping but ignoring your dry, switch to an emerger or spinner. The fly does not need to be fancy. It needs to stop water-skiing.

Terrestrials: Ants, Beetles, Hoppers, and Other Bank Snacks

July is prime time for terrestrials. These are land insects that accidentally end up in the water: ants, beetles, hoppers, crickets, inchworms, caterpillars, cicadas, moths, and leafhoppers. Trout eat them because they are available, helpless, and often worth the effort.

Best July Terrestrial Flies

  • Foam ant

  • Flying ant

  • Beetle

  • Hopper

  • Cricket

  • Inchworm

  • Small jassid or leafhopper pattern

Where to Fish Terrestrials

Focus on:

  • Grassy banks

  • Undercuts

  • Overhanging trees

  • Shaded edges

  • Brushy seams

  • Wind-blown banks

The best terrestrial fishing often happens along edges where bugs naturally fall, jump, or get blown into the water. Low-riding terrestrial flies can be especially effective because many real terrestrials struggle in the surface film instead of floating high and pretty.

Best presentation: Cast close to the bank with a gentle plop. Not a cannonball. Not a whisper. Just enough to say, “Oops, I fell in.”

Midges: Small Flies, Annoyingly Good Results

Midges are not glamorous, but trout do not care about glamour. They care about easy food. In July, midges can matter on tailwaters, spring creeks, slow pools, and technical water where trout are feeding carefully.

Midge fishing often requires small flies, fine tippet, accurate casts, and patient drifts. When larger bugs are absent or trout are sipping quietly, a tiny midge pattern can save the day.

Best July Midge Flies

  • Zebra Midge

  • Griffith’s Gnat

  • Small black midge

  • Red midge larva

  • Olive midge pupa

  • Tiny emerger

How to Fish Midges

Use light tippet, watch for subtle rises, and avoid drag. If you are squinting, muttering, and questioning your life choices, you are probably fishing midges correctly.

Damselflies: A July Stillwater Favorite

If you fish lakes, ponds, sloughs, spring creeks, or slow weedy water, damselflies deserve a spot in the July box. Damselfly nymphs are especially important during their slow movement through vegetation toward emergence, when trout can pick them off.

Best Damselfly Flies for July

  • Olive damsel nymph

  • Marabou damsel

  • Slim blue adult damsel

  • Soft hackle damsel-style nymph

How to Fish Damselflies

Fish nymphs near weed beds, shallow margins, and slow water. Use slow strips, pauses, or a gentle upward retrieve to imitate a nymph swimming toward structure or the surface.

Stonefly Nymphs: The Bottom Game Still Works

Even when the big stonefly dry fly circus has moved on, stonefly nymphs can keep producing. In July, fish them in faster, oxygenated water where trout can hold near bottom and let food come to them.

Trout often hold near the bottom because current is slower there, while food still moves through the lane. Getting subsurface flies into that lower feeding zone is often more important than making the prettiest cast on the river.

Best July Stonefly Nymph Water

  • Riffles

  • Pocket water

  • Fast seams

  • Deep runs

  • Boulder edges

  • Shaded plunge pools

Best Rig

Fish a stonefly nymph as the lead fly, then trail a smaller mayfly, caddis, or midge pattern behind it. The big fly gets down. The little fly often gets eaten. Everybody has a job.

Scuds, Sowbugs, and Subsurface Snacks

Not everything trout eat in July is hatching. In spring creeks, tailwaters, limestone streams, and weedy water, trout may feed heavily on scuds, sowbugs, and other small crustaceans.

Scuds are often found around aquatic vegetation and can be fished dead-drifted near bottom or slowly stripped in stillwaters. Sowbugs are usually poor swimmers, so they are best fished low and slow at the natural current speed.

Best July Scud and Sowbug Flies

  • Olive scud

  • Tan scud

  • Gray scud

  • Orange scud

  • Gray sowbug

  • Soft hackle sowbug

These are not flashy bugs, but they grow trout. Respect the little protein nuggets.

Best Time of Day to Fly Fish in July

The best July trout fishing is often early morning, late evening, or during shaded periods. Bright sun and warm water can push trout into shade, deeper runs, faster riffles, and cooler holding water.

Trout use shade for comfort, concealment, and protection, and anglers should treat shade like structure. Overhanging trees, boulders, foam lines, deeper water, and shadowed banks can all hold fish.

July Timing Cheat Sheet

Time of Day What to Try
Early morning PMD spinners, midges, small mayflies, nymphs
Midday Terrestrials, nymphs, shaded banks, faster water
Afternoon Hoppers, ants, beetles, Yellow Sallies
Evening Caddis, PMDs, spinners, soft hackles
Overcast days Mayflies, BWOs, caddis, emergers

Best July Fly Fishing Rig: Dry-Dropper

A dry-dropper rig is one of the best July setups because it covers surface and subsurface feeding at the same time.

Simple July Dry-Dropper Rig

  • Top fly: Hopper, beetle, Yellow Sally, Stimulator, or caddis

  • Dropper: PMD nymph, caddis pupa, midge, stonefly nymph, or scud

  • Dropper length: Adjust based on water depth and current speed

A visible buoyant dry fly can also act as a strike indicator when trout eat the subsurface fly. The dry may twitch, pause, dip, or disappear. That is your cue. Not your cue to admire it. Your cue to set.

July Fly Fishing Tips

1. Watch Before You Cast

Before changing flies twelve times, watch the water. Look for rises, fluttering adults, shucks on rocks, bugs in streamside spider webs, and trout feeding lanes. Hatch charts help, but local observation matters more.

2. Fish Shade Like Structure

In July, shade can be as important as a boulder or logjam. Fish shaded banks, undercut edges, foam lines, and pockets where trout can feed without roasting under the big yellow lamp in the sky.

3. Match Behavior, Not Just Color

A caddis may need a twitch. A mayfly usually needs a dead drift. A terrestrial may need a plop. A damsel nymph may need a slow strip. Trout are not only asking, “What bug is that?” They are asking, “Why is it acting weird?”

4. Keep Your Fly in the Right Lane

Subsurface flies need to reach the feeding zone. In faster water, that often means near the bottom where trout can hold comfortably and intercept food.

5. Carry More Than Dry Flies

July dry fly fishing is fun, but trout still eat below the surface most of the time. Bring nymphs, emergers, soft hackles, pupae, scuds, and midges.

What Should Be in a July Fly Box?

A solid July trout box should include:

Dry Flies

  • Yellow Sally

  • Elk Hair Caddis

  • X-Caddis

  • PMD dry

  • Parachute mayfly

  • Rusty spinner

  • Hopper

  • Beetle

  • Ant

  • Griffith’s Gnat

Nymphs and Emergers

  • Yellow Sally nymph

  • Stonefly nymph

  • Caddis pupa

  • Caddis larva

  • PMD emerger

  • Soft hackle

  • Zebra Midge

  • Scud

  • Sowbug

  • Damselfly nymph

FAQ: July Fly Fishing Hatch Guide

What are the best flies for trout in July?

The best flies for trout in July are usually Yellow Sallies, caddis, PMDs, ants, beetles, hoppers, midges, stonefly nymphs, and damselfly nymphs. The exact best fly depends on your water type, region, time of day, and what trout are actually feeding on.

Do trout eat Yellow Sallies in July?

Yes. Yellow Sallies are small summer stoneflies, and trout will eat both the nymphs and adults. Fish Yellow Sally dries when you see adults near riffles or banks, and fish Yellow Sally nymphs when trout are feeding subsurface.

Are terrestrials good for July fly fishing?

Yes. July is one of the best months for terrestrial fly fishing. Ants, beetles, hoppers, crickets, inchworms, and leafhoppers can all become important when they fall or blow into the water from nearby vegetation.

What is the best fly fishing setup for July?

A dry-dropper rig is one of the best July setups. Use a buoyant dry fly such as a hopper, beetle, caddis, or Yellow Sally, then trail a nymph, emerger, midge, scud, or caddis pupa below it.

What time of day is best for fly fishing in July?

Early morning and evening are often best in July, especially during hot weather. Midday can still fish well if you focus on shade, faster oxygenated water, deeper runs, and terrestrial activity along the banks.

Should I fish dries or nymphs in July?

Fish both. July can bring excellent dry fly action, especially with caddis, Yellow Sallies, PMDs, and terrestrials. But trout still feed subsurface, so nymphs, emergers, pupae, scuds, and midge patterns should stay in the box.

Final Take: July Is a Bug Buffet

July fly fishing is all about flexibility. Some trout will chase caddis in the evening. Some will sip tiny mayflies in slick water. Some will sit under the bank waiting for a beetle to make a bad life decision. Others will stay near the bottom eating nymphs, scuds, and whatever the current delivers.

Bring a smart mix of Yellow Sallies, caddis, PMDs, terrestrials, midges, stonefly nymphs, and stillwater bugs, then let the river tell you what matters.

Or, to put it the shop-counter way: don’t bring one magic fly. Bring the July lineup.

Back to News