My learning milestone.... and yours is?

[Migs]

Dear friends:

This is my milestone: I have now narrowed my flies down to olive and black mohair leeches, some same colored marabou streamers and a few dry flies (of no special format - for that undisturbed pond). Since I fish lakes mostly, these are my staple. They work better than anything else I've tried until now, and for the time being these are mostly what I tie. My hook sizes range is 10 (few), 12, and 14. All cast with a stillwater (read: clear intermediate sink) line from a fast 6wt rod. This is it folks, the sum of five years of experience and lots of trial and error.

So what are your learning milestones? -Migs

[Jonezee]

I have several hundred flies in various fly boxes, how does one narrow it down? I don't want to narrow it down......that's why I love fly fishing.,,...what fly to use next?

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I learn more about the world while talking to myself when fishing alone

[Doublehauler]

Why in the world would a guy go to all the trouble to learn how to tie flies well, gather up all the tools and materials he needs to tie all the flies, and then limit himself to carry just a few flies???

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Jim Johnson

[ducksterman]

Jim, That may be the most sensible thing I've heard in a long time.

[littlebrook]

Migs,

Your choice of the mohair leech fly is excellent. But please tie a few using Canadian Brown mohair yarn, if you haven't done it already. Not just a single color the yarn has traces of other colors - reds, greens, etc,- although it's basically a dark brown. Also, try some with a conehead. Excellent , IMHO. G'luck

Bill

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Name indicates where I fish and for what I fish.

[nick0danger]

I tie, about 60 some flies, dry streamer nymph, and chrino, that give me everything i need to be a succseful helicoptor.

[J Castwell]

I figured out that I have been a 'Perfect" fly caster for years. I calculated that 50% of my casts go to the left and the other 50% go to the right. Therefore... my 'average' is dead-center! Perfect! I can live with that...


My point is that we all should try to get some better at casting, if for no other reason than it's fun. Beware, however, he who would impress you and feels that his rod has magically become a 'scepter'. No matter how proficient one may become, remember you are just standing in the water waving a stick.


[This message has been edited by J Castwell (edited 19 June 2006).]

[Migs]

Amigos:

Don't get me wrong in the sense that I havent tied a whole bunch and bought even more types to try. My fly boxes are fairly well assorted too. It's just that the flys I mention tend to out perform most of the others in my high mountain lake conditions. Thanks for the Canadian Brown Mohair input. Where can I mail order it? I sure will try it! As for tying other flies, yeah, its fun and I still do it, but I always make sure to stalk about 6 of each one I mentioned in my box. And yes, I do try others from time to time just to see what happens, but I'll tell you, as a beginner I would have wasted a lot less time sticking to these basics until other aspects of my skill became solid. (Like presentation, distance, retrieve etc.) -Migs

[dleo6446]

What a great point JC....dead on target!

[Daniel J]

My milestone. Be patient.
It takes the fish longer than I want for them to go to my fly.
Strip some line and wait...


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There is a fine line between fly fishing and standing in a river waving a stick, and YOU SIR have crossed that line!