Tom:

I agree with everything that you said, in your article. I would also like to interject a few more findings. Trout are nearsighted, and since they have fish-eyes. They must get close to the prey to make the final determination, before attacking or rejecting the morsel in front of them.

They can be spooked by a cloud passing over, or your shadow.

Sometimes I do not try to match the hatch, instead I attempt to match the laying of the eggs on the water.

I was at the Idaho Fish-In, and I noticed that the October Caddis were landing heavily onto the water surface, to dislodge eggs into the water, then immediately take to flight, and land heavily on the water a couple feet distance. This they repeated over and over again.

Sometimes the opposite is the best way, create a commotion, and give the fish little time to to commensurate on whether to take or reject.

There are times to play by the rules, and there are other times to toss the rules out!

~Parnelli