Same Old Patterns

[Mantis]

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[AaronJasper]

I agree, if I let someone look at my fly boxes, they would say... "That's it?!?"

[Magnet]

When I took Aaron's Euro-nymphing clinic I asked him before hand about the flies I should bring. I thought I needed czech nymphs or something exotic for the technique to work. He said just bring the flies you have confidence in and we will make it work. When we got in the water he handed me one of those vladi worms and said tie this on the point. Other than that I used the "same old stuff" like Mantis. It was the condom worm which put the rest of my unweighted flies in the game.

[Clema74]

funny because we've got exactly the same discussion in a french forum...

As fishing is closed all winter long here, that's the time I thought hardly how I will fill my box.
I 've choosen the classics.. nothing very original.
One friend of mine told me: "In the flybox, you always have too much from the fly which doesn't work and never enough from the fly which works"...

It's better to be right 60% of the time with 'classics' than beeing wrong 90% of the time with specifics...

[Adam]

It's better to be right 60% of the time with 'classics' than beeing wrong 90% of the time with specifics...

I like that.

[Clema74]

it's valuable for me as a beginner. But of course for an old hand, experienced who knows very well his rivers, fishes and hatches, could get the exact imitation appropriated for a special condition and hatch... but this needs a high experience;
I think...

[AaronJasper]

Clema,

You are correct. Nailing those things down takes a lot of time on different waterways. You can't fish one method in only a a few select locations.

[Clema74]

especially in dry...

[AaronJasper]

Clema,

Nymph fishermen from France are touted as some of the best on the planet. I know that we touched on this in another thread. Wouldn't you agree that the majority of the flies that you see being used are made from either pheasant tail or hare's ear? I bet that you don't see many people fishing complicated flies do you?

[Clema74]

Well... I think it depends of the rivers , the anglers and the conditions. But that's true, for nymphs pheasant tail is the most used in many flies. Hare's ear too (more for dry flies maybe).

For complicated flies... every angler has is own style. But yes I think you're right. Not so complicated.

Last year I went a long week end for trout closing with a friend and a guy I didn't know. In fact he's a very good angler, he used to make competitions... impressive. I was very surprised opening his fly box. Not so much models, types... quite classic.

I'm not a good tyier so for me complicated flies are tough. Long time to tye, hard... for a result which isn't so good. When you want something very precise you multiplicate the risks of errors.
And seeing flies with a human eye is a mistake. Fishs have got their own eye and their point of view (under the water). A hare's ear looks like nothing for us... but for a trout it seems it looks like something she likes... That's most important.

I personnaly need to improve a lot of things in my fishing technique. So, I prefer use classics, generals flies and focus on presentation.

But yes you're right, except for specific conditions on a specific river, the majority of flies aren't so complicated and with more o less the same material.
Hare's ear, pheasant tail... and cdc here for dries.

would you say the same thing for american anglers?