Classic soft hackle.
Body-thread
Thorax(optional)- ice dub or any you like
Hackle- partridge or whatever you like

CDC & Elk
Bad Hair Day

PS - check out the book ‘Simple Flies’ by Morgan Lyle. I think he even limits it to 2 materials.

Killer bugs. Yarn and wire.

What he said! Deadly fly

pheasant tail nymph
leadwing coachman-classic wet
for alpine lakes-zug bug

Comparadun - moose body tail (you can use deer hair if you want), tan dubbing, deer hair wing

Elk Hair Caddis (without the wire ribbing, sometimes without the hackle too)

PT nymph and bead head PT nymph Pheasant Tail, dubbed thorax, Pheasant Tail wing case. Sometimes I use peacock herl instead of the dubbing.

If you can use hackle fibers for tails, you can even do a good parachute Adams substitute. (Grey dubbing and Grizzley hackle)

A bullethead hopper also can be done quickly (no-frills Madam-X)

Stealth bomber can be done with 3 materials, but it's a bit more involved. You have to cut the foam.


Standards that catch fish.

i see a pattern emerging...common themes among the flies mentioned:

1. most mentioned materials are natural hairs, furs, and feathers
2. most are freshwater focused

how about the clouser minnow-- barbell eyes, bucktail, and a few strands of flashabou.

i never realized how many flies can be tied with three or fewer different materials.

i can't recall where i saw it but i remember a fly called 'the one feather' fly. it is made of a single duck flank feather. anyone know this pattern?

It doesnt get much simpler than the killer bug. I gotta try that one. Mentioned earlier are two of my favorite nymphs:
hares ear, and pheasant tail. i would add a gray hackle peacock flymph because peacock herl is such a fish magnet. for dries, the elk hair (or deer hair) caddis, and the comparadun get my votes.

The Usual , snowshoe foot hair , tying thread. That’s all !!

Ha! I have read that, and I love it.

awesome looking flies -- l really like the 'tailing bonefish" patterns.

mops. simple. catches the hell out of fish.