'77 is largely right. Some patterns (like woolly bugger and muddler minnow, both of which work very well) can be fished year-round, since they imitate baitfish. I find that microleech patterns also work for much of the year. Nymphs will also work throughout the season (Hare's ear and Prince are classics, and work well), but with the caveat that size matters. Early in the spring, you want to use small nymphs (#18 or even 20); as you get through July, size 14 or 12 are generally more successful.
For dries, it depends a lot on what's happening. The expression "match the hatch" is more than just a rhyme. With that being said, I carry large numbers of certain flies. First among these are Elk hair caddis. Different colours and sizes can be used to match the caddis flies that are hatching on a particular day. Also high on my list are mayfly imitators, such as green drake and Adams. Stimulators can be used to imitate a variety of things, including stoneflies, large mayflies, and craneflies; and a pattern that I have fallen in love with, this year, in the Royal Wulff, which doesn't seem to imitate anything, but sits high in the water, and brookies, at least, seem to go nuts over it (though this applies to the streams I fish, and may not apply elsewhere).
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alacringa
"This Brittany is my most cherished possession — the darndest bird-finder I have ever seen, a tough and wiry little dog with a choke-bored nose and the ability to read birds’ minds." -Jack O'Connor
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