June 27th, the morning was very slow, with very few trout showing before the hatch which didn't show up until 11 A.M. When the trout began to feed it was not with the classic movements that we often associate with nymphing trout. Instead of holding and feeding in one area they were moving around like drunken sailors. I had seen this behavior before and had figured out a game plan for this situation, therefore I will share the story which is; A FLY FISHING MYSTERY, The case of Nymphing to the Moving Trout. This is a situation when knowledge must be coupled with observation if the angler wishes to be successful.

The FBC was originally tied as a cricket pattern for the summer months of central Pennsylvania. It's a versatile pattern that fishes great as intended, and doubles as a warm water popper. It could be called Bluegill candy as well since they cannot ignore it when twitched, and can be irresistible to Brookies when fished along those shady undercut hemlock banks.

The original pattern lacked the Ice-dub chin. But after 2 years of the chin being added, it's there to stay. Tied from #12 through #8, it's an extremely effective pattern.

This past Spring I had the opportunity to fish a piece of water that I had not been on in 19 years. While visiting the family home in Central Pennsylvania for my nephew's graduation, as any fly fisherman would do in the month of May, I had come prepared to take advantage of expected good water. I planned to fish the Twin Bridges section of Huntington Creek near the town of Stillwater. The stream is near where I grew up, and the last time I had fished that particular stretch was with my Dad in 1989 prior to his passing. I intended to get on the water early since the day's events would consume my afternoon.

I got to thinking the other day, so I took some aspirin and lay down for a while. Once the shock of the initial thought was over I eased into my thoughts a little more carefully. These particular thoughts were on how important casting is.

It is the beginning of March, and the ice is off the ponds. My license is burning a hole in my pocket and other things. It might be 41 degrees out and the wind is blowing about 25 miles per hour. Still it is time to a line in the water. It will do great things for the mind, or as my better half says my disposition. So, I head out to a pond. I come prepared with two rods and two hook boxes of flies. I'm wearing a heavy coat so the vest will not fit over it. It's much too cold to be messing with the canoe.

I could start this story with the words, "Once upon a time," because it really is somewhat of a fairy tale, or perhaps more concisely, a fable. The characters are totally fictitious and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. However, you might conclude that one or both of these fictitious characters reminds you of someone you know or perhaps one of them might even resemble you.

When given the choice between fishing a large river or a small stream I consistently choose the small stream. As I wrote in an article that was published recently in California Fly Fisher, "Small streams" — these words invoke fond memories dating back some 60 years. Growing up on the west slope of the Cascades in Oregon, my earliest fishing forays were along the streams of the Willamette River drainage. There, I developed an appreciation for the beauty and intimacy of small streams, qualities that larger waters can't match, and that is what motivates me to seek out small streams to fish."

Most pan fish are voracious feeders and are not particularly selective as to what they try to eat. When food is abundant, particularly in warm weather months, a pan fish may consume up to thirty-five percent of its body weight each week. Their primary menu consists of insects and insect larvae, small crawfish, minnows, worms and caterpillars. Young pan fish feed on zooplankton (microscopic and almost-microscopic aquatic invertebrates), tiny water fleas and vegetation.

Recently, in another context, I read an article that asked the question that forms the title of this piece. It really is an interesting question to contemplate and when you beginning to think about what you know – for sure – about a certain subject the more you come to realize how much you know in general and how little you know for sure. In addition, there is a disturbing trend that confuses theory with fact. Fly fishing is full of theories that many people have come to accept as fact. In reality, we think we know but we don't.