Now that we have had a while to play with the technique, rigging & fly patterns, I'm curious what flies we are all using.

Tungsten Beadhead flies additionally weighted with lead wire have become my mainstays- mostly I'm using my favorite patterns and just adding those 2 elements to them. It's amazing how much weight a 7/64" tungsten bead coupled with 10-15 wraps of .015 lead wire will add to a #14 scud hook. I use a lot of black beads for stealth, with copper a close 2nd. I know Aaron is a big fan of nickel/silver.

Some of my go-to's are (all BH- beadhead- versions below are w/ tungsten beads):

-BH Caddis larva, mostly in olive (black bead) and Hare's Ear (copper bead) #12-16, some in bright green too (black bead)- I use Caddis larva A LOT
-Vladi Worm #4, 20 wraps of .030 lead
-BH Cased Caddis, #6-14 w/ black bead
-BH Prince Nymph #10-12
-BH PT on a scud hook #12-18- usually tied with died chocolate brown pheasant.
-BH Hare & Copper w/ black bead #10-12
-BH Fox Squirrel #10 (black bead)
-BH Czech nymph #10 in Hare's Ear w/ black bead and orange hot spot
-Brown Rubber Legs #6 weighted heavy (.025 lead, double wrapped thru thorax area)
-BH Brown Mayfly nymph #12-18 (black bead)- imitates most mayflies
-Golden Stone nymph #6-10- weighted with lead wire only it's plenty heavy

Now that we are moving into the Fall & smaller bugs with lower flows, I'll be adding a lot more smaller patterns to my rigs, in the #18-20 range to imitate Baetis/Olives and Midges. I usually fish 2 flies, with my heavier anchor on the bottom and my smaller, lighter (often unweighted or lightly weighted) above it on a short dropper. I'll be tying my favorite BWO nymphs and Midge larva/pupa with tungsten beads- WD'40's, Micro Mayflies, Barr Emergers, Crippled Midges, Holographic Blood Midges, etc. I did well with a standard olive Micro Mayfly (regular non-tungsten copper BH) last week when the trout (and bass!) were selectively feeding on small olive nymphs one afternoon- I had a heavy anchor fly on the bottom and the Micro Mayfly up top.

I'll also be working on a Tungsten Scud pattern for this Fall on the Housy, they are truly prolific in that river & very available to the trout in Fall & Winter, when other bugs are scarce. They are an almost transparent light olive/gray usually, in about a #14-16, but I've seen them from about a #10 down to a #22. Also seen some in amber with very dark blotches on the back. Any suggestions for working up a deadly pattern for this are welcome. You can PM me or put it right on this thread, or start a new thread.

For heavy Anchor flies when I REALLY need to get down, my mainstays are currently:

#6-10 BH Cased Caddis, #4 Vladi Worms, big Golden Stones & Rubber Legs, #10-12 BH Hare & Copper, #10-12 BH Princes, #10 Hare's Ear Czech nymph w/ hotspot, and #10 BH Fox Squirrel.
-all beadhead versions are tied with Tungsten beads

There are still many times when I want to fish a fly but I don't have a weighted or tungsten version in my box, so I just tie it on along with a heavier anchor pattern.

My fly selection for this is a work in progress, and this merely represents what I'm currently using. I would have more tungsten flies in my box, but this is what my time has allowed me to tie so far. I intend to eventually have tungsten & lead wire versions of all my most used nymphs. Don't be surprised if a year from now my set of flies for this has changed quite a bit.

I'm starting to play around more with fluorescent hot spots, both in the form of dubbings & thread. Always looking for a "trigger" that gets the trout to open it's mouth even when it's not actively feeding. Other hot spots/triggers you can play with including ribs of fluorescent wire, flashbacks, using Ice Dub, hot/fluorescent colored tungsten/brass/glass beads, etc. Steelhead fishermen have been playing with "hot spots" for decades now, we can learn from them.