Flies you trust vs. flies recommended at the shop

[danbob]

Certain folks on this board are very skilled at getting a lively discussion going. So, Marco, I hope this one works as well as yours always do!

My buddy Ralph and I noticed this phenomenon last summer. We always drop by the local fly shop when we get near our destination, and always buy something -- usually some of the flies recommended on the chalkboard.

Sometimes they work great on the river. But often we can't get even a nibble, even when fishing them the recommended way. So, I always then tie on an old favorite -- adams, skeeter, renegade for dries, green scud, beadhead pheasant or copper john for nymphs, muddler or chartreuse wooly bugger for streamers.
BAM -- always a fish, every time.

This happened to us again on the Miricle Mile, Wyo last summer. Every fly shop website was raving about a san juan worm with a red scud dropper on the Mile, I fished them the recommended way, and got nothing. Tied on the wooly bugger, and POW....fish after fish.

I'm chalking it up to confidence level. If there's a fish in that seam behind the boulder, I know *exactly* how to present that wooly bugger to get his attention, since I've caught so many fish on that fly. Maybe I'm doing something just slightly wrong in my presentation with the new-fangled fly I've never tried before. But I chalk it up to confidence. I *know* this fly catches fish, and so it does.

How 'bout it folks? Any other opinions?
DANBOB

[fcch]

Dan, ...

I'm with you on the "confidence factor".

imho, ... we also fish LONGER with out go-to flies 'cause we believe in them.

Like you said, we also may have better technique with these old familiar flies.

A few seasons ago, .. I dumped all those flies I hauled around, but only used about 5 minutes per year.


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Christopher Chin, Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:ebfb4]Fishing the Ste-Marguerite[/url:ebfb4]

[PaulM]

I had a similiar experience this past summer. I was fishing some of the tribs of the Flathead river and bought a number of the recommended fly patterns at the shop. I don't really mind, since most of the patterns are unique and a bit interesting.

So after fishing a better part of the day using the different patterns, I decided to throw on an H&L Variant and a zug bug dropper. Needless to say, the afternoon fishing was much improved.

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[url=http://www.rockymtnfly.com:e37cc]Rocky Mountain Fly[/url:e37cc]

[DG]

I rank fly shop reports right up there with weather forecasters for getting it right. You want to know what is working, check to see which fly bins are empty or nearly so.

I once caught a nice brown on a fly I got at the local shop. Gave em a pic of the fish, they posted it with one of the flies, and sold hundreds of them. That is the ONLY fish I have ever caught on that pattern. But they made # and I imagine a few people managed to catch a fish or two on em.

[Pisces by Birth]

I would like to defend flyshops. August is tricos on Silver Creek. That is what the flyshop recommended to me. What was coming off was tricos (in clouds actually), a few PMDs, Baetis, their respective nymphs, and if I were to fish in the ponds, I would need damsel flies, dry and nymphs. So the shop worker just has to take the first couple of main hatches and recommend from those, because the customer probably does not want to hear that the fish might be eating one of 4 different bugs (and Silver Creek fish are finicky), and that there are a couple of different patterns that could work. Nor does the customer want to buy $140 of flies, if you get 6 of each fly in case it is the one that works. The actual fishing went like this: I saw one baetis on my leg about 10 minutes into the trico hatch, tied it on and caught a pile of fish. The shop guy never mentioned them, but he did recommend a couple of trico patterns. So absolutely, I will fish better with 'my' flies, which is the answer to the question, but the shop people are just doing their best and telling you about the most probable hatch.

[AgMD]

Most of us have an experience where on the first day fly "A" is an absolute no fail killer. The next day we figure we have it all figured --- except now fly "A" couldn't catch a fish if you were to shove in to the fishes jaw. If this hasn't happened to you -- don't worry it will.
Considering that fly shops are usually basing their recomendations on yesterdays or at best this mornings information, it just might happen that things have changed by the time I get on the water.
I figure the fly shop recomendation is a good place to start, but it is no substitute for looking at the insects on the water, considering changes in weather/water , time of day, past experience, phase of the moon and maybe some tea leaves. I haven't yet started reading goat entrails, but only because the neighbors don't have any goats.
AgMD

[idahofisher]

If the shop is reputable then there should be no problems. It is not in the best interest of any shop to lie to customers. Bear in mind that things on the river change day to day.

The fishing reports the shop guy gets are probally at least a day old. One day one fly might work very well while the next day you might not even get a bite on it.

It is important to consider how and when the fly is used. I find that with most flies, they work better during certain conditions or during certain times of the day.

This can easily vary from day to day. Factors include weather, water temps, water levels, water types, and available food sources.

One other consideration is the skill level of the fisherman. Even if you have the right fly on and are not fishing it correctly, you probally won't catch alot with it.

[old geezer]

I'll go with what the fly shop recomends, it worked at Kettle creek in Pa. this spring. Well worth the purchase and support. I'll be back again for sure. Ya can't beat a wooly bugger when all else fails

Philip

[ducksterman]

It makes sense to go with local knowledge.
I trust the guides a little more then the shop owners.

[danbob]

I didn't mean to imply that fly shop owners don't know what they are doing -- they also love to fish, and get reports from their guides, and those men and women are actually out there gettin' r done.

Rather, the problem is *my* incompetence with those new fly patterns! As in, how the heck do I fish this bright orange thing with the funny shiny bump on its back, that looks like a mutant bug that might be found at the outlet of a nuclear power plant?

I love my wooly buggers....

DANBOB



[This message has been edited by danbob (edited 22 December 2005).]