"Fishy"

[Snowmass Angler 0]

I'm starting to notice a trend and was wondering if this was every brought up before.

When you see a pretty rank fly on the board, the kind that makes you cringe, very obviously the first attempt by a beginner, I always see the reply: "Nice, that's very "fishy" looking"

I think I broke the code. Fishy=Keep practicing because this fly really sucks!

Ha!

We've all seen flies on the board and said to ourselves, "what the @(#&$^ were they thinking??!"

Well, we all gotta start somewhere!

I'll keep tying those "Fishy" looking flies!

 

[Twofingerz 0]

oh sure, break my heart. most if not all of my flies are "fishy"

[steelie 0]

Good Day,

 

Fishy huh?

 

I try to find a good point of the fly, if I can, then build positive criticism from there.

 

Steelie

[Dale 0]

Damn . . .all this time I thought 'fishy' ment 'able to catch fish'!

[Bruce Derington 0]

I sort of agree with Steelie, and I guess it depends where the fly is posted :dunno: Beginners need to post their flies and get excited in doing so. Normally if the fly looks like a Broken Di-k, I'll start with a positive, then give some advice(or my perspective) and followed up with another positive. NOW, As seen on the Classic site, When guys ask for criticism they get it BUT they have been tying for quite some time and normally don't get too upset. You have to go easy on newbies :smoke: I also think some tyer's have been taught some bad habits and the more they post they will begin to realize the shoet commings. After all, in the classic world very few are ever think perfection has been acheived :whistle: FISHY is good though.

 

 

P.S. Some of the most beat up fles in my boxes are the best producers!

[day5 0]

Eh.... I disagree. Fishy to me is a fly that has "I FREAKIN WORK" written all over it.

[Bob Cunningham 0]

Yea, Fishy is better than "Oh My Goodness", or "Oh God, check your PM". Ya gotta be positive. It will be awhile before I have the guts to post something on the beginner board, and that is after I figure out how to take the pic and do it! Right now I figure let the fish be the judge, but always be learning and really trying to improve techiques and skills. The work I see here on the various forums really makes me want to improve, that's for sure.

[RoyalWulff 0]

I think when we say fish"y" it is a very positive thing. Like I make apply pie, i like it apple"y". So I think that when a fly is tied with fish in mind, fish"y" is a great pun and encouragment for the tiers. I rememebr when I was a young buck of a tier (earlier this afternoon) posting flies on line was exciting but also nerve wreking... man I get shakes like I have coffee withdrawl. I hope in 30 years when im still posting and tying everyone will think my flies are nothing but fishy. If I ever tie a fly that isnt fishy.. ill cut it up and reuse the hook! Fishy is my aim, my friend, my greatest accomplishment and my attitude towards flies.

 

-phil "fishy" philster

 

 

[ILikeFish 0]

to me "fishy" is like when you pull out thorax on a hares ear nymph, id say it looks more "fishy" which mean, it will catch more fish.

[JSzymczyk 0]

No.

 

As we get older and gain tying experience, many of us tend to be a little neater, a little more worried about proportion, a little more concerned about the artistic or creative nature of our flies. THE FISH COULD NOT CARE LESS. Flies that are a little rough, a little ragged, and more suggestive usually fool as many fish as near perfect pieces of artwork.

 

You know, go down to walmart and buy a pack of plastic helgramites, perfect imitation of every gill, leg, and body segment. Fish it side by side to a crappy black woolly bugger tied with a hen hackle and busted up marabou, and see which works better.

 

Read it all over the place. Bob Clouser says he had guys come into his shop and say how they continued to catch fish after fish on a ratty, nasty, worn out deep minnow. That's just one example. I still have boxes of flies I tied as a kid almost 30 years ago, and they are pretty shabby by my standards today, but hey I caught fish with them.

 

Constructive criticism should always be offered, to help improve one's skill, and a compliment is a good way to build enthusiasm.

[JJD 0]

Well said JS!

[TerryLee 0]

No.

 

As we get older and gain tying experience, many of us tend to be a little neater, a little more worried about proportion, a little more concerned about the artistic or creative nature of our flies. THE FISH COULD NOT CARE LESS. Flies that are a little rough, a little ragged, and more suggestive usually fool as many fish as near perfect pieces of artwork.

 

You know, go down to walmart and buy a pack of plastic helgramites, perfect imitation of every gill, leg, and body segment. Fish it side by side to a crappy black woolly bugger tied with a hen hackle and busted up marabou, and see which works better.

 

Read it all over the place. Bob Clouser says he had guys come into his shop and say how they continued to catch fish after fish on a ratty, nasty, worn out deep minnow. That's just one example. I still have boxes of flies I tied as a kid almost 30 years ago, and they are pretty shabby by my standards today, but hey I caught fish with them.

 

Constructive criticism should always be offered, to help improve one's skill, and a compliment is a good way to build enthusiasm.

 

Everything I wanted to say and more.

 

"Fishy" is a word I use to describe a good looking piece of water, too, by the way, as if to say "Hey, looks like there are fish in there." By my estimation calling a fly fishy is like saying there's about to be some fish caught with that baby. Remember, like was said above, the fish don't care! (Ok, so maybe I wanted to say a bit more)

 

 

[swellcat 0]

You know, go down to walmart and buy a pack of plastic helgramites, perfect imitation of every gill, leg, and body segment. Fish it side by side to a crappy black woolly bugger tied with a hen hackle and busted up marabou, and see which works better.

 

That's what I find encouraging . . . and liberating.

[letumgo 0]

Very well said, guys.

 

I've always read "fishy" as a genuine and positive compliment to a fly. When I look at a fly and think "Damn that fly will surely catch fish" I consider that a great "fishy" fly.

[Steeldrifter 0]

I think I broke the code. Fishy=Keep practicing because this fly really sucks!

 

 

100% Wrong.....FYI there is no code.

 

As fly fisherman we all (with the exception of a few who do it for artistic values) tie flies because our goal is to catch fish with our flies. So if I or anyone here tells someone else their fly is "fishy" looking...then that simpley means what it means, which is that it is a well tied fly that will catch fish. I tied my first fly back in 1989 and to this day I would say all my flies I tie are "fishy" looking. Does that mean my flies suck or I don't know what I'm doing...of course not. It simply means I'm a fly tyer because I'm a fly fisherman, and not the other way around. Because over the year's I have learned that a trout doesnt care if the tail of a fly is exactly 1/2 the hook gap or if there's a little bump in the floss body.

 

I really don'y see the need to try to break down any hidden meaning in someone replys because far as I'm concerned 99.9% of our members here say what they mean and nothing less/more. And making a begineer think there's a hidden meaning is only going to have a negative affect on his joy of tying.

 

 

So when the day comes that my flies stop looking fishy, then I'll stop tying and start buying fishy looking flies.

 

 

Steve