My learning milestone.... and yours is?

[James Smith]

I'm not sure if it is my milestone, but I have come to a somewhat similar conclusion. I have a ton of materials and tie lots of different patterns, but I have five go-to patterns that produce over 90% of all the fish I catch. They include black mohair leech or variation therof, Carters Sculpin, softhackle, floating mylar minnow and Polar Fiber baitfish. Understand that I fish mainly warmwater but the leech and softhackles work equally well for trout. I am not sure if they work better for me because I have so much confidence in them or if I have so much confidence in them because they work so well for me.

p.s. I always carry several boxes loaded with other patterns that get tried on occasion when I feel like playing around.

Jim Smith

[Kerry Stratton]

Any fish can be caught with any fly at any given time.

[Migs]

Hi Kerry:

With a statement like that you can work some magic I sure can't! -Hats off to you-

Migs

[Kerry Stratton]

Migs,

Tell me what fish I can't catch with the fly I can't catch it on.......ever. Dorado on a moose turd? Or maybe one of those giant Amazon cats on an Adams? What else you got down there that will take a fly?

[Migs]

Hi Kerry:

Here we have Dorado (buy in murky water) so an Adams is out, Rainbow Trout (mostly in lakes) so streamers usually work best, Sabalo (a kind of Catfish), Palometa (a kind of Pirahna), Tucunare (Peackock Bass) but a little far from where I'm at, Tacu Tacu (no idea how translate), Sabalo (?) etc...

Migs

[tea stick]

I think it's great that you have flies that you can fish with confidence. I usually carry a large array of flies, but when it comes right down to it, there are only a few patterens that I reguarly fish and that work well when there are no hatches and I'm just pounding water.

I started fishing a new stream this year and it's very small and strewn with obstacles, it's humbled me in regards to my casting accuaracy. So my milestone is realizing just how much my casting needs improvement.

Scott