FLYMPH FORUM

As usual I didnt answer the particular question particularly well

I think I have touched on this before and its an area that I find a little fascinating as it goes to the very core of how each angler fishes and selects their flies.

Most of us are conditioned to accept particular forms/styles based on our experiences ( are we any different than a trout ) and also to fish in a particular way. So when Mark asks , does an experienced angler have a better eye for a good pattern , the answer is generally Yes. The choice is not by some magic or superior intellect or superior skill but by conditioning which is a direct result of our own individual experiences aided by the influence of other anglers. Whether we recognise this fact or not most of us suffer from tunnel vision and on sites such as this it is very evident when members display their patterns and receive claps on the back, " nice pattern, sure fire killer etc.....". Apart from people just being generous and voicing encouragement to other tiers, the response is largely because the patterns have conformed and have the right vibes.

A very modern buzz word is "triggers" or "positive triggers" , I firmly believe that whatever you are trying to imitate, there are certain key attributes that a pattern should have. On face value, and because so many anglers say so, over emphasis of these key attributes seems to generate a response from the trout. I am not convinced that this is totally true and have long since come around to thinking that less is more and that the concept of triggers has more effect on keying into the conditioning of the angler than the conditioning of the trout. Just as the trout, we are very much creatures of habit and I wonder how many of us , would if we had sufficent time to do so, empty our boxes and our minds of preconceptions and start with the basics and develop our skills and approach in a less conformist manner.

I've enjoyed this question and I'm not surprised to see such particularly thoughtful input. I'm sure there is a lot more here to be mined, so I hope this thread takes on a long life. There are a couple of comments that have stuck with me, out of thousands of very useful bits of insight that I've heard here and read elsewhere. I don't recall whether it was Stendalen or daringduffer (either of these guy's opinion rank very high) who once kindly offered that a fly "ticked all the boxes" for him. I remember thinking...it does, doesn't it. Somehow that forced me to loosely tally the positive triggers offered when I'm making judgements while tying. I'd be curious to hear the "attributes" named, as they are likely similar and as likely different for each of us.

I think part of the reason I'm compelled to tie is that I don't get to the water as often as I would like and there is an immediate connection while tying a fly to anticipating the take. Positioning the hackle after completing a fly is very close to getting a good drift and I sometimes feel like each time I line another set of flies in the box I'm just putting myself that much closer to a definite hook-up. That doesn't turn out to be true, but it feels that way while tying. I think that might play a part in why I put such a high value on the vitality of the materials. It's just more satisying when you can visualize their mobility in the drift. That doesn't exactly address the question, but it seemed relevant.

I have only been fly tying and fishing for four years now. I can't say it is experience really. I think it is a gut feeling, and it speaks to me. I remember once I was in a place in the mountains, and picked out a few spinner flies to fish with. The man there told me I picked out some of his best stuff. I got them because I thought they looked "fishy". Maybe he was filling me full of you know what. But I came away with a half dozen of them, and I liked them very much. I was not a fly fisherman back then. This is when I was in the navy. I cannot remember if this was VA, or West VA now. I think it was West VA. Some days I'm on fire with the right stuff, some days I'm not. Usually I do better than average though, for sure.