Why Tie

[Possumpoint 0]

Okay, I've put my asbestos underpants on.

 

So many of the flies on this site just blow me away with the authenticity of the imitation. The beauty of the art is eye catching. Yet, less will catch fish in some if not many cases.

 

I understand the concept of matching the hatch but how closely is required?

[ikerajala 0]

dear possumpoint,intresting name by the way.

the other day ecstatic about joining fly tying forum I waded out into a cold local stream so that I could examine some insect life.what I discovered was amazing.I found stonefly nymphs, mayfly nymphs and,even some caddis. but the amazing thing were the caddis flies flittering about the stream.most were small,about the size of a #14 goddard caddis and the same color.I also caught one large caddis he was 1"1/8 long. this caddis was Im guessing an october caddis,(not sure on latin).Otherwise very educational in the science dept.not exactly trout season in north Idaho,but highly recomend trying this.

 

your friend,ike

[Fred H. 0]

While an impressionistic fly will do the job a good portion of the time , it is still wise to have some imitative flies in your arenal as well. When I tie a batch of flies for a fishing trip , I try to match the insects the fish are feeding on as close as possible . It is a bit overkill in some situations , but I have also had days when they would rise and ignore my friends fly , yet they would take mine. I also enjoy trying to come up with more and more techniques to tie durable and lifelike looking flies. And since I'm tying for my personal use , I tie the best flies I possibly can with no regard to time or difficulty. It's like, if you were a gun maker. Would you hunt with a gun you just threw together , or with the best most acurate gun you could make.

 

But to more directly answer your question of how closely should one try to match the hatch. Only the fish can tell you that. Some days it seems you could catch them on any fly you would care to throw. And some days they will refuse your best offerings.

 

regards , Fred

[deeky 0]

Reality is, some days fish will hammer any bit of crap on a hook.

 

As you are working on imitating particular insects, keep in mind that many times action is as much if not more of a trigger than color/shape/etc. If you look at most of the ultra realistics in that forum, they are amazing to look at, but would act like.....well..... a hunk of plastic floating downstream. Like most other things, it's a balance of what you want in the fly.

 

Deeky

[day5 0]

Reality is, some days fish will hammer any bit of crap on a hook.

 

 

Deeky

 

 

THANK GOD!!!!!

[lykos33 0]

Reality is, some days fish will hammer any bit of crap on a hook.

 

 

Deeky

 

 

THANK GOD!!!!!

 

 

:hyst: AMEN to that brother! If they didn't,I'd only see fish in the picture books and in the movies... :hyst:

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

some days I have to fish with Fred's flies other days Day5 flies and once in a great while I catch a dumb fish on one of my own flies so the point is either get yourself into tying all kinds of flies or join lots of swaps so you can get flies you can't tie

[day5 0]

some days I have to fish with Fred's flies other days Day5 flies and once in a great while I catch a dumb fish on one of my own flies so the point is either get yourself into tying all kinds of flies or join lots of swaps so you can get flies you can't tie

 

 

Catch fish on my flies? Really? wow you must be GOOD!!!

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

some days I have to fish with Fred's flies other days Day5 flies and once in a great while I catch a dumb fish on one of my own flies so the point is either get yourself into tying all kinds of flies or join lots of swaps so you can get flies you can't tie

 

 

Catch fish on my flies? Really? wow you must be GOOD!!!

I didn't say I caught the fish I was trying for :hyst:

[notenuftoys 0]

I'm not sure about others here, but I tie flies that may never hit the stream. Many of the midges I've been filling my box with lately will most likely never get wet. I'm not an artistic flyer at all. Not even sure it's imitative, either. But fly tying is a way to relax, stay connected with the hobby, continue my education about fly fishing and the bugs that trout survive on. But mainly, just to relax. Nothing beats sitting down at the vise with a nice glass of bourbon, and spending a few hours putting little bits of hair, feature, and other stuff on a hook.

[Li'lDave 0]

My 2c....

 

I like the therapeutics too.... But my primary goal is to catch a fish on something I made.... whether it's a Pink Thing tied on a 6/0 or a size 16 parachute adams....

[Possumpoint 0]

dear possumpoint,intresting name by the way.

the other day ecstatic about joining fly tying forum I waded out into a cold local stream so that I could examine some insect life.what I discovered was amazing.I found stonefly nymphs, mayfly nymphs and,even some caddis. but the amazing thing were the caddis flies flittering about the stream.most were small,about the size of a #14 goddard caddis and the same color.I also caught one large caddis he was 1"1/8 long. this caddis was Im guessing an october caddis,(not sure on latin).Otherwise very educational in the science dept.not exactly trout season in north Idaho,but highly recomend trying this.

 

your friend,ike

 

Possumpoint, you'd think with a name like that I'd come from a family with branches on only one side of the tree. It's the name of the road I live on. At one time this area was known as cockpit point. Between here and two roads up, till very recently, some of the finest moonshine in Prince William, County VA was produced, not that I ever tasted it. Two hundred and fifty or so years ago this was one of the busiest deep water ports of early America but the slash and burn farming methods caused enough erosion that the creeks all filled in.

 

Enough history now, the local waters are all very warm, not really suitable to trout. They stock a creek two counties up in Fairfax, County but I think the survivability isn't too good. To find halfway acceptable trout fishing I have to drive two or more hours west. Fly fishing however is accepted for more species of fish then just trout. Locally we have the Rappahannock River, one of the finest small mouth bass fisheries on the east coast. That's a half hour south. Till I became interested in trout, I wasn't very interested in matching the hatch. I was more interested in developing an attractor that interested the fish. Now I find that a different criteria is required.

 

 

 

[Bryan Wright 0]

I'm not sure about others here, but I tie flies that may never hit the stream. Many of the midges I've been filling my box with lately will most likely never get wet. I'm not an artistic flyer at all. Not even sure it's imitative, either. But fly tying is a way to relax, stay connected with the hobby, continue my education about fly fishing and the bugs that trout survive on. But mainly, just to relax. Nothing beats sitting down at the vise with a nice glass of bourbon, and spending a few hours putting little bits of hair, feature, and other stuff on a hook.

 

I do fly fish but there is no way I will ever fish all of the flies that I tye. I am like you and I do it to relax after a hard day I love tying more than fishing. That could be because I have neropothy in my feet and cannot stand all that long. I want to get a kick boat but just can't afford it. So for now I will have way more fly's than I will ever fish. And, I am ok with that.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

I try to imitate the successful spin fishing lures. Imitating naturals is fine but I think it is better to imitate shape/form and action or orientation. Can't speak for trout but in warm and saltwater, the fish strike often out of instinct and triggering that aggressive instinct of attacking a bait is best accomplished by the action and presence of the fly more so than the exact visual duplication of the bait/insect.

For instance, an insect pattern with wings will be more effective most of the time with rubber or silicone legs as the wings opposed to a feather or celephane that has been lacquered to be rigid and realistic. They look great, but unless they act great, its gonna be tough fooling the fish.

As I mentioned in the beginning, look at some of the successful spin fishing lures like the metal spoon or spinner. Don't know about you but I've yet to a natural bait go through the water like a spoon or spinner yet fish jump all over them from bass and redfish to trout and pike.

 

Kirk