The thread on the main page about ‘great’ flies that don’t catch fish brought this to my mind.
I own twenty or so ‘pattern and tying instruction’ books. Each has from twenty to several hundred fly patterns listed. Then there’s sites like this one, where hundreds of fly patterns are listed, usually with tying steps. Then there’s you tube…I have to have looked at tens of thousands of different fly patterns over the years.
Now, someone went to the trouble to publish or post each of these flies someplace. That takes some small amount of time just doing the photo, listing the recipe, even without an SBS.
Would someone even do that if the fly in question didn’t produce fish? If so, why?
And, if the flies do all catch fish for the tier, does that say something about the sport itself? Or, maybe, about the fish?
I cannot imagine putting a fly pattern in a book or in a video, or a SBS instruction, that I did not personally know would catch fish because I had caught fish on it or one like it. On days when fish are not cooperating well, if fishing in a local spot, I will throw something at them I don?t think they see real often that I have heard works in a different area of the country. As my friend in AZ who grew up trout fishing told me give them something they haven?t seen a thousand times.
My nephew, Tom Travis - a professional fly fishing outfitter, fly tyer - and I were just having a conversation about this very subject last evening. We both have seen numerous patterns come and go over the years - patterns that were hot for awhile and then just disappeared. The reality is that they worked then and they would work today but no one uses them. I can’t imagine a fly pattern that, if you fished it often enough, would not catch a fish. However, that being said, there are certainly some patterns that will catch more fish, more consistently. I think most of us have fly patterns in our boxes that we have not used in years and some that we have never used. That does not mean that they would not fool a fish but we have chosen to use other patterns. When was the last time you used a Cowdung wet fly? How about a Royal Coachman dry fly or a wet Adams? Would they still work? I think we all know the answer to that question.
A some point in time virtually any fly will catch a fish if the circumstances are right. Sure, some flies are tied for the fish, nearly exact duplications and such, and some flies are tied for the fly tyers enjoyment, which means that somewhere they will also catch fish. What does that say about us? Great things actually. I would hate to see a world where there was only one style and color of car, or camera, or a fly rod or a reel or TV or a good burger. We like diversity and enjoy things that are beautiful and different. I welcome variations in flies. Some are great.
I have no doubt that any fly of a reasonable size* will take a fish from time to time.
Some do so more frequently than others, however. There’s absolutely no way to know which is which without having fished a fly over the course of years. I’m skeptical of anyone who tells me that the latest fly he just invented is the latest thing since sliced bread – he may have just happened into ideal conditions for that fly the first time he tried it, and it may never take another fish again.
I’ve caught trout on a bare hook on a couple of occasions, but I wouldn’t call a bare hook a great fly.
*By “reasonable size” I mean that you could probably fish an eight inch long muskie streamer in a stream with nothing but 6 inch brook trout every day forever and still not catch a fish; likewise a #32 midge probably will never interest a muskie. (There are probably a few other necessary features, like having a hook with a point, but not many.)
I believe flies are like tools. Use the proper one for the proper job. I have some patterns that just hammer the fish on 1 particular water. But I can’t buy a fish with it anywhere else. Sometimes you know why…and sometimes the reason remains a mystery. I don’t want all the answers though. I just want enough of them to allow me to catch fish.
It depends on how you look at it: All live worms and minnows will catch fish of some sort and hand tied flies are not “alive” and must be tied so that they have “movement” to make them look “alive” and then they may attract and catch fish. I have watched many fish a fly like it was “bait”. By that, I mean they just tie it on and cast it into the water anywhere and wait for the fish to find it and eat it as if they were using live worms and minnows. The fly must be presented to look “alive” and fished where the fish should be before it can produce results. I am a firm believer that any fly will catch fish if it is “fished/presented” correctly. A great fly does not “catch” fish. A good fly fisherman/woman “catches” the fish using the fly. A lot of people just do not want to take the time to learn to “read” the water, observe their surroundings, put their fly where they feel the fish are or should be, or learn about the habits of the fish species they are after. A lot of new fly fishers want to be as good as the person who has spent many years perfecting their style and they feel this person has the “secret” fly that always produces results. If people would understand that the fly rod, the fly line, the leader, the tippet, the fly reel and the fly does not “catch” the fish. The “fisherman” catches the fish. All flies will catch fish if the person using them has taken the time to learn how to fish…There is no easy button to become a good fly fisher person. It takes your time and dedication to learning how to “fish”.
Maybe I missed the intent of the thread?
Are you talking about what folks refer to as “an Attractor” or “a Searching Pattern”? Meaning there are no consistent rising trout and you prefer to fish a dry as opposed to a wet or nymph pattern.
If not, you would presumably be fishing a hatch. Most “decent” representations of the hatching insect will work, given good presentation.
If fishing below the surface, screening the water or turning rocks over will usually show you what a fly that will work should look like for your selection.
Its difficult to make generalizations sound like absolutes, because there are so many different fishing situations and species-specific fish behaviors that need to be considered. Some fish can be caught on a dry fly sitting motionless on the water surface, or on a nymph allowed to tumble freely downstream, or by imparting action that makes a fly look alive. Fly size and color are important, but the fish will tell you how they want it presented on any given day. Some days, every fly and presentation seems to work. Some days the fish are much more selective.
