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I always enjoy reading my email - well not the spam stuff,
but real letters from our readers. Quite often those letters spark some idea, or recognition
we have missed something really of interest. This one had to do with how hard should
your fly hit the water.
Good question. Missing was which type of fly the writer was asking about.
If it's a dry fly, the fly should flutter down gently. Wet flies, you want them to sink but not
cause waves when they hit. Terrestrials, which usually are considered a dry should hit the water
quite hard - like they had just accidently fallen in. This is especially true of grasshoppers,
beatles and such. Ants aren't as big and would hardly make a ring in the water falling in. You have to
temper how hard the fly hits the water by what it is and the size of the insect it represents.
But the thought the question sparked was how difficult it must be for folks who are really just
getting into dry fly fishing. For those of us who love it, we've pretty much worked out how we
want to play the game. In many ways it is a game of choice for the angler.
Is it presentation? Or is it imitation?
Some of course do a little of each, present the fly pretty well, and the fly has to be pretty close to
what the fish are eating.
There are some good books on presentation, Gary Borgers
Presentation is excellent. Lefty Kreh also has a book on presentation
out but I've not seen or read it. Presentation can be very involved - your choice.
Imitation becomes the fly tiers art. Tying to match as exactly as humanly possible the insect one
wishes to imitate, in the range of sizes possibly available and just using the fly which is appearing
is not easy. Store-bought flies might exactly match only a very small percentage of what is really
hatching.
The folks who claim to be 'presentationists' believe it is the perfect cast, at the perfect place
at the perfect time which catches fish. Good luck with that, don't think I've made the 'perfect'
rating ever. Got lucky a few times and caught fish. Add the absolutely perfect fly to that and
you've got the winning ticket to the lottery.
There is another group who believe the fish are pretty dumb, with less than a pea-sized brain
that's not a bad idea. And top that idea with the fact fish have to eat to survive. They will eat
what is handy if it looks like food. Probably is why there are a zillion different flies on the market.
Some folks never fish a dry fly. Nymphs and streamers work for them. Most of those folks
never met a Wooley Bugger they didn't love. I think they are missing the thrill of seeing the
fish take their fly on the surface, but it is certainly their choice. If it happens to be on a fly you've tied it's even better!
As we head into the major hatch season of the year, what is a person to do?
You could research the insects which are expected in your region, tie or buy the nymph, emerger,
dun and spinner of each in a couple of sizes and go for it. You could fish the impressionistic
type of flies which represent more than one insect. The standard Adams fly for example is one of the
most popular flies ever - for good reason - it works. The Adams represents a life-form. It's
generally thought it represents the life form of a Mayfly. In reality it was tied originally to match
a Caddis hatch, which explains the color. If you tie, again tie it in the colors of your local insects.
It may not be exactly the same as what is hatching, but with a decent cast and drift
you will catch fish.
Having seen the Flies Only series a number of times in its
slide form, I urge you to keep reading that series here. You will learn to see the insects
and flies differently.
One of our friends, after seeing the series years ago changed his fishing habits entirely. He no
longer carried a fly to match every possible insect. Instead he carried 3 sizes of flies, small,
medium and large, in an off white and either black or dark brown. (This is dry flies, not nymphs
or emergers - although I suspect it would work for them as well.) His catch numbers actually
increased. Unfortunately he was a surperb tier and the lack of need to match everything
known to man cut down on his time at the tying bench. He went on to build a wonderful
42 foot Ranger sailboat.
The point here is we each make up our own fly fishing game. If fishing only nymphs is what floats
your boat, fine. If tying the most involved match for a specific insect is your game, fine. If
spending hours learning the flow patterns of a specific riffle or pool works for you so you can
get that perfect drag-free drift, go for it.
Aside from the rule of gentlemanly etiquette on the stream, and a common sense approach to
preserving our fish for another day, there really aren't any rules. Some things work better for
some folks than others.
I've got my game. What's yours? ~ LadyFisher
If you would like to comment on this or any other article please feel free to
post your views on the FAOL Bulletin Board!
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