Winter means that a few things are certain: I'll have to commute to work in the dark-both ways. I'll have to bundle up to keep warm. And I'll spend much more time indoors than out. When the cold weather forces me to take time off from my local waters, I content myself with reflecting on fishing trips gone by and dreaming about next season's adventures. What worked? What didn't? What gear will I need for which fish? In every season, choosing the right fly is crucial to the success of any fly angling experience.

It all starts in April. The daffodils are pushing their yellow faces skyward; the dogwood tress start to bloom. These harbingers of spring are joined by a few hundred thousand shad that make there way up Virginia waterways to spawn. Shad are hardy fighters that have really made a name for themselves in Virginia. Ironically, when I want to chase these tiny brutes surging through the Old Dominion, I turn to native New Yorker Tommy Mattioli, a Hampton, Virginia guide (www.Matty-J.com ). Mattioli's killer shad pattern, Tommy's Torpedo, has all the components of a classic shad fly: First, it's bright. Shad are in a hurry and don't want to eat-but they will strike at bright objects that they think might make them late for their date with Mrs. Shad. Second, Mattioli's fly is small. Shad have small mouths, so a smaller hook size is best. Third, the fly is fished deep under the river's surface. Because shad migrate from saltwater, they tend to stay deep for safety. Tommy's Torpedo, might have been designed by a Yankee, but it's a Southern angler's best friend for shad.

By late April or early May, the trout have really begun to move. They've shaken off their winter doldrums, and they're ready to put on the feedbag. I love casting to rising trout-it's the essence of dry fly fishing. Sometimes, however, the intrepid dry fly angler needs an edge. After all, fishing small streams and rivers for trout can prove challenging when flotsam and foam in the water obscure a small fly, causing the angler to lose concentration and miss strikes. Harry Murray's Mr. Rapidan trout pattern has often given me the edge I need. Mr. Rapidan has yellow wings that make it stand out like a neon sign. The moment you get a surface strike, you know it. Anglers like the fact that they can follow the fly-and the trout seem pretty happy with the part of the fly that they can see, too.

By late May, the water is often high and sometimes off-color to catch wary trout. At times, though, trout just won't come to the surface, either because they are skittish or because there is plenty of food below the surface. When trout won't come to me, I go to them. To do that, I turn to patterns created by a couple of Marylanders. Jay Sheppard's Patuxent Special and Super Patuxent Special don't look like anything in particular and mimic everything. The Patuxent Special rides higher in the water column because it is nonweighted; it probably looks like a minnow to most fish. The Super Patuxent Special's cone head means it goes deeper and probably looks like a crayfish or shrimp. I know one thing for sure: to a fish, these flies look edible. I've caught everything from brook trout to stripers on Sheppard's patterns.

Larry Coburn, coauthor of Guide to Maryland Trout Fishing, developed Coburn's Cress Bug. This pattern is great for spring creeks and streams with the right vegetation-namely, cress plants. Fish Coburn's Cress Bug with a split shot a few inches above the fly to keep it lower in the water column. This pattern floats, but because it is fished with a split shot, it appears to have been swept downstream. I have heard other anglers refer to this fly as crack cocaine for trout, and I couldn't agree more.

As the summer pushes on, I like to chase bass. My favorite bass fly is the popping bug. Great poppers abound on the market, but I have a special place in my heart for Mr. Bob's Poppers. Bob Guess is known throughout the South as one of the best poppermakers to ever put thread and popper body together. His fly is soft-almost rubbery-and practically indestructible. It has a solid color all the way through the body and makes a great commotion on the water. Now, I also have personal reasons for favoring this fly: Bob Guess taught me how to fly fish, and for this I will be eternally grateful. Although Mr. Bob's Poppers are not commercially made anymore, Fly Fish the World in Richmond, Virginia (www.flyfishtheworld.com) bought all of Mr. Bob's remaining stock, and I know they have a few patterns left.

Fall comes hard on the heels of summer, I start thinking about stripers. Joe Bruce, owner of The Fisherman's Edge fly shop in Baltimore, Maryland, has written several books on fly angling and knows his stuff when it comes to flies. One of his better-known patterns is Bruce's Bay Anchovy. Bruce designed this fly more out of frustration than anything else: He noticed that many of the flies on the market didn't have the right combination of size and color. After doing research in his backyard-which happens to be the Chesapeake Bay-his Bay Anchovy was born. Although primarily tied for saltwater anglers, Bruce's fly could be fished in any location that you might find bright minnows.

After the last leaves have fallen from the trees and fall's crispness has turned to winter's chill, I have to fish by proxy: I try to content myself with fly shows and lectures where I can pick up new tricks of the trade and insights to give me an edge next season. If you're like me, and you're just trying to make it through 'til warmer weather arrives, then pay a visit to your local fly shop and see what the experts recommend. Perhaps they will steer you toward a warm destination trip. You can pick up a few of the owner's recommended patterns. And you can swap stories about the one that got away-or better yet, the one that didn't get away because you came prepared with the perfect fly.

To Find the Flies:
The following stores carry a large selection of the previously mentioned flies. In Virginia, try Orvis Tysons Corner, Orvis Richmond, Orvis Clarendon, L.L.Bean (Tysons Corner), The Albemarle Angler, Mountain River Outdoors, Fly Fish the World, Gander Mountain, and Hudson Trail Outfitters (Fairfax). In Maryland, try Backwater Angler, Winchester Creek Outfitters, Bass Pro Shop, and Hudson Trail Outfitters.