You sure got some traction on this thread.
I tie my own menagerie of complex mayfly patterns. But mostly just to keep from getting bored. I don't claim (at least not in the Mayfly realm) they entice more strikes. I just like to tie them. During the PMD hatch on a Paradise Valley Spring creek or when fishing over the half-schizophrenic caught too many times rainbows on the Henry's Fork, my experience is I can do just as well--or almost as well--with Catskill patterns as with the latest and greatest Rene Harrup patterns. Or with my own best in the universe mayflies. I prefer to fish with experimental patterns because it's more fun than deja-vuing what I did 50 years ago all over again. But any measurable difference in the daily strikes to refusals ratio is minimal. At best.
I really do believe and stand by the above paragraph, at least in the midday mayfly/rainbow context. There are cutting edge new streamers, wigglers, leeches and nymphs that really do make a fish catching difference. But not so much (I don't think) in the dry fly mayfly context. The dryfly mayfly context only happens for a few weeks every year anyway. If you live in the rocky mountains and if you try to fish every month of the year, itty bitty mayfly dryflies become a bit like after dinner desert on Christmas or Thanksgiving...as good as it gets in some ways. And almost irrelevant in other ways. On the Paradise Valley spring creeks, if you target the mid-summer mid-day mayfly hatches, you will catch mostly rainbows. Sure. You'll get a few cutthroats and browns too. But it's mostly rainbows during hatch time. But if you come back at 7:00pm and stay 'til dark. It's mostly browns. And how you catch them gets complicated. Rainbows move around and follow the bugs. Browns hide out and lurk. And watch. And look for a fast and furious belly full. Big browns will eat a mayfly every now and then. But not all that often. The brown trout are the East LA gang bangers of the watery realm.
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Byron:
My tapers and texturers finished on Friday. Got two coats of paint on the walls today: one coat primer and one coat color. One more color coat tomorrow. Then the hardwood floor guys come in on July 5th. All is SUPPOSED to be done July 11th. Then and only then I can unpack my office and fly tying room. And then (again) attempt to make a DVD copy of Byron Lempke. And if I'm STILL in a generous mood, send you a copy right away. Otherwise it might take a few more days than that. :=))
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