Nymph Fly Fishing

what trout fly do i need to learn and tie next?

for fishing in the northwest us.

i can already tie wolly buggers, phesant tail nymphs, hares ear nypmhs, grifiths gnats, an ant pattern, a trico/spinner pattern, and egg patterns.

im thinking elk hair cadis but they are a hard fly for me ive tried and tried but just cant seem to get them down... im also thinking mickey finns just because they are easy and cheap but idk.

id prefer wet flys just because they tend to use cheaper materials and are easier but a simple dry fly is ok too
lol yup chad i decided to save some extra money and get a girrfin blackfoot mongoose. glad i did.

oh and i forgot i do tie brasies and theyre kinda fun, ive been tying them with different colors of wire to just for a little more selection

I agree with Josh -- Elk Hair Caddis is a fine pattern and will catch fish. There are tons of variations, too. Size, wing color, body color, head style, variations with hackle. Then there's the X-Caddis, which, to put it very simply, is a an Elk Hair Caddis with no hackle and a tail of dacron or something similar to imitate the nymphal shuck of an emerging adult. Basically, if you can tie the Elk Hair Caddis, you've by definition got the X-Caddis down, too. They're very effect during big hatches. I also agree with you -- they're kinda hard to get just right. I still have problems getting the proportions of the wing to look just like the pictures in the books. They're either too sparse or they lay down too flat or they're too bushy. About every other one gets a passing grade and I'm really proud of about one in four that I tie. If there's any way at all that you could manage to watch an experienced fly tier tie a few of these (demo, friend, class, video) it will help a lot.

Have you thought about any midge nymphs? I've been tying and using the Zebra Midge lately and having some success. The material needs are not too drastic -- you need some small (#18 - 22) hooks, red and/or black thread, fine silver or gold wire, and beads for heads. Very simple to tie:

http://www.riverbum.com/images/products/big/Zebra-Midge-Black-side.jpg

Brassies and other Chironomid patterns are deadly effective at this time of year in the west, too. The materials for those are likewise very simple, and in a couple months, they'll be less effective than they are right now.

http://www.fish4flies.com/img/flies/Large/T1509Beadhead%20Brassie.jpg

Sounds like you've learned a ton about tying already, though -- I remember when you were shopping for a vise!