Greetings all,
I wish to offer some thoughts on flytying and hope they will be taken in the spirit of discussion. On the two boards where I usually post there have been recent discussions on material substitution, hook selection and pattern requests/options that have triggered my following thoughts. My ?headline? at this time of intense fly tying is a suggestion to think of the big picture ? outside the PATTERN. Patterns are a guide, but they are not the bible of tying.
Over the years and continents, several tiers have tried so solve the fish-catching/bug equation by developing patterns to do so. Novices (and I was once one) cling to each distinct pattern as the next silver bullet for success. Who in the beginning has not sought "pink polar bear hair from South Africa, harvested on the full-moon" as the next perfect material if only tied on a #o0&%$$y9nv hook.
However as I have been at this for 20 years and have put in a lot of thought and (involuntary) effort (www.winterhatches.org, - I am the president there), I have come to 3 conclusions on fly-tying:
1) the object is to get some stuff on a hook that looks like a bug or other prey and attracts fish.
2) there are only 4 things you can do with material, hook and thread: You can tie the material on and let it hang (tails and streamer wings); You can warp it around (everything from chenille to hackle to dubbing loops to parachutes); You can tie it in, fold it over and tie it in again (wing-cases and shellbacks); or you can tie it in and the use the thread to make it stand out in some way (upright wings, spinners, legs).
3) you can choose whatever materials or technique you want to achieve 1 & 2. And the operative word is CHOOSE. Some work techniques or materials work better than others but the standard is always moving.
I guess what I am trying to say, especially to beginners is, "Begin with the end in mind." (Now I know beginners usually need more of a ?how-to?, but they can get over that with experience.)
I.E.: "I fish on sandy-bottomed creeks and need a light coloured nymph." ? Well the tiers in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, England and Europe all have a suggestion, but they amount to the same thing. Start with a tail that has some movement and looks like the right colour, put in an appropriate coloured abdomen, with some ribbing of xxx if you want. Add a thorax and add legs and a wingcase if you want ? use whatever you like for the wingcase, there are several suggestions available. (Wing cases are usually darker than the nymph is.) Don?t get stuck thinking a certain pattern promoted as solving the problem in any of those aforementioned regions with the materials at hand at the time is the only or the perfect answer. The objective in this example is to get a light coloured nymph with some ?bugginess?.
In this example the result might be an old fly re-invented or a ?new? fly because you used old brown teabag for the wingcase, or used AYZ for ABC or whatever!! But from 2ft away under water it will closely resemble all the other light nymphs from around the world.
The real trick is to choose the appropriately coloured and shaped fly for the situation, and fish it right in front of the fish with a LITTLE twinkle, twitch, tingle, tremble, to suggest life.
Fish it, publish it, or give it away. But don?t get STUCK thinking there is a perfect formula, or rules, or a certain path to more fish ? and trust yourself as much as anyone else.