Where to start? Hatches are local so be sure to ask local people. A certain bug may be hot on one part of a river system but may not be a few miles up or downstream.

You should be able to find hatch charts for your area (usually east or west, but sometimes for major stream). These show what bugs typically hatch when. Learn a bit about the bugs and what flies imitate them. I always refer to local hatch charts, read local stream reports, and ask the local fly shop, "What is happening out there?" Then buy a couple of flies to say thank you.

Then I sit by the stream and watch. Look at the water, in the air, and in the shrubs. Shake the bushes. I also have a bug net that I put down into the water to see what floats by. Then I try to find something to match the bugs ... pattern and size first, and then color.

I usually fish in the Upper Midwest. It may differ where you fish. If no bugs are obvious I try a Royal Coachman, Adams, Elk Hair Caddis, or small Stimulator. Others have their favorites.

Middle of the day in the summer is much easier - a Dave's Hopper, ant, or what we call a Big Ugly (a bulky, hairy, rubber-legged creature from someone's nightmare). If you are comfortable casting, tie on a dropper/tandem with a Hare's Ear or Pheasant Tail (this is a length of tippet tied onto the floating fly's hook with a fly at the other end).

As Kirk Deeter wrote a few weeks ago he had luck on a Chernobyl Ant when trout were striking nothing else. I hope to never see an ant that huge, but fish love it. Drifting a bead head black Woolly Bugger is also a good choice.