Quote Originally Posted by Byron haugh View Post
Hi,
I know this is going to bring me some "hate posts", but here goes anyway:

First, let me give a little background so you know where I am coming from with this. I grew into fly tying with idols like Lee Wulf, Jack Dennis, Charlie Brooks, etc. I tied their patterns and only wished I could tie as well as they do/did.

A few years ago, I concluded that a lot of the flies they tied would not be as effective these days. For three reasons:
1. The year after year; and increasing each year; fishing pressure on the streams and trout.
2. The application of "relatively" recent understanding of insects, their behavior, etc.
3. The development of new materials

As an example, Lee would cast out a size 10 Wulf and catch a huge trout. I believe, these days, he most probably would have gone home skunked.
I know it is sort of a sacrilege to say that, but I tend to think it has a lot of truth to it. The trout are much better educated these days. They see all sort of imitations thrown out there at them. They demand better today.

As a bit of support for my theory, I give you Rene Harrop. A world-renowned tier and fisherman. He offers his flies (for a premium) at the Trout Hunter fly shop in Island Park, Id. There you will find patterns that are beautiful, look very much like the intended insect, and are tied in the appropriate sizes and stages of the insects. The whole fly tying community, including the big warehouses like Umpqua are moving this way.

I firmly believe that if you were able to fish the major blue ribbon streams of 40 years ago, the size and pattern of fly would not be very important. Today, however, I believe it is nearly everything.

Now everything I say assumes that the fisher has good presentation. So, it is a theory which says, all things equal (presentation of the fly), the fisher today must use much closer imitations to the trout's food than 40-50 years ago.

Thanks for listening, now go ahead and blast me!
I still fish a size 10 Royal Wolf a lot. I fish it between hatches in pocket water or a long the edges and catch penty of fish. I think you are putting way too much emphisis on the fly. Presintation I feel is much more important.