Subsurface I am almost always fishing an attractor of some sort except when I know there is specific insect activity that should be imitated.
On the surface with dries it is always an "imitator". I own three Adams dry flies which I never fish and that is extent of my surface attractor flies.
Geez. I just love these 'Either / Or' preference hypothetics.
Dub
After much thought, I'd have to answer...Yes...
"They say you forget your troubles on a trout stream, but that's not quite it. What happens is that you begin to see where your troubles fit into the grand scheme of things, and suddenly they're just not such a big deal anymore." - John Gierach
I would have to say imitator....
I fish mostly drys when I can and enjoy "trying" to match the hatch.
If no hatch is evident I will then go to terrestrials.....
Bill A
Daz, ... we don't match the hatch here, .. there are NONE!!!! The fish don't eat anything anyway!!! (Atlantic salmon !!!)Originally Posted by DazWah
Christopher Chin
I've never seen a mayfly, minnow or tereestrial with a monstrous big hook under its abdomen, so I guess all I fish are attractors.
Hi,
It's not clear to me what people mean by immitator and attractor. I think we all get the idea of what the distinction is, but from some answers here, I think we draw the line in different places in the sand. For example, I think of an immitator as a pattern that is supposed to immitate something alive. So, an Adams would be an immitator, even if it's a pattern that is intended to immitate a wide range of species. An attractor, however, is something that is not supposed to be "anything", but rather, the idea is that it will just induce a strike for reasons known only to the fish (but we usually go with the "out of aggression" explanation). A Parmachene Belle, for example, has always struck me as an attractor pattern despite the historical record indicating it's supposed to immitate a trout fin (which was used as a popular bait). I can't see the resemblance, hence, I can't see it as an immitator.
In other words, I see a lot of immitator patterns where some might seen only attractors.
Now, with that in mind, I still can claim I fish both because I have some patterns that I fish that immitate (or are supposed to immitate) specific mayflies, and ants, etc, and others that are just bright and flashy. Where they change, well, I don't know.
- Jeff
Very early in the year naturals more than attractors.
But some of my attractors are very effective later.
Rick
Jeff and all,
An intersting read, if you are so motivated, would be Gary LaFontaine's "The Dry Fly New Angles".
Gary spends ALOT of time discussing attractors vs imitations and why/when each works. I'm not saying he's right but as with most things GLaF, you'd have a hard time proving him wrong. It's a convincing story and a fascinating perspective.
Even goes so far as to design and test the ultimate attractor(my paraphrase), the Double Wing.
Life is too short for me to worry about it. I use both, sometimes at the same time.
Ed
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