Fly Fishing Terminology

How do you say that?

When discussing or describing insects and/or the flies used to imitate such insects, fly fishers frequently use several different types of terms:

Want more details?

  1. "Popular Names" . . . these would be the localized, "common" or "familiar" names that fly fishers use to refer to a specific insect and/or the fly or flies used to imitate that particular insect.  For flies that are not made to be imitative of a specific insect, such as many "attractor" type patterns, the popular names refer only to the fly itself.

    An example of a "popular name" for an attractor fly is, "Royal Coachman"; it does not suggest a specific insect.  For a commonly found mayfly, the name "Pale Morning Dun" is used for a variety of species in the mayfly family. Popular names are the prevailing type of name used by fly fishers and by the industry to identify flies sold in the marketplace.
  2. "Scientific Names" . . . this is the name of an actual insect species.  It is composed of the name of the genus to which the insect belongs, followed by its specific name.  e.g., "Pteronarcys californica" (where Pteronarcys is the genus & californica is the name of the specific insect within the genus.)  The complete scientific name is not commonly used by anglers to refer to insects or flies.
  3. "Genus Names" . . . in some areas, some fly fishers use the "genus" name of an insect to describe the insect itself, and/or to refer to all the insects within that genus, and/or to the fly patterns that imitate these individuals or groups of insects.

For example, in some places, the term, "Baetis" is used to refer collectively to those insects in the Baetis genus of mayflies.  It does not refer to a specific insect or fly, but generally is used to cover all insects in that genus.  Usually, these names refer to both the immature/nymphs & adult stages of the genus. The use of "genus names" has become more widespread in recent years, particularly with mayflies.  This type of terminology seems to be more commonly used in the east than elsewhere.

Home