I have heard of spin guys collecting nymphs, larvae, grasshoppers, beetles, and crickets too. And let's not get started on streamers.

Just sayin'.

I have never caught a trout on one but yet again I never fish them either I guess I should start .

Fred......they do work and the light pink one like jdaddy says seems to work on water where they see alot of flies. It also works on wild brookies , best when it's raining or has rained and clouds it up a little. Presented just as if you were fishing with bait but you don't get many second chances. I put a red collar on a light pink body and also tie it in natural worm colors with a brown floss collar.

I think the term "Junk" fly in addition to resembling bait also refers to its simple, one or two step/material process. So in that case they all still apply.....just sayin.

I've never caught a fish on a SJW, "real" green weenie, sucker spawn, and only one on a glo bug.

I have a hard time using them because they look silly, mostly, and they feel like cheating. Regardless, they seem to work very well.

I really don't understand suckerspawn, though.

They are junk flies for sure and effective as duly noted. I don't use them much because I like to preserve the illusion that fish are intelligent despite my firm understanding that they are really, really dumb.

Quote:

I think there's a lot of room for your own bias in this system. I know of plenty of one/two material simple patterns that aren't considered "junk". The bright colors come into play for SJW, but I think they get a pass because they are so close to the naturals.

I tie a simple sculpin, for example. Two materials, and only slightly harder to tie than a SJW. Given that tons of bait fishermen use baitfish, I don't see how it passes your "junk test".

I have no problem calling a SJW a junk fly, but I have never heard a convincing and consistent explanation for why it is so. Are foam and deer hair terrestrials not considered junk because they float?

We used to use a size 22 nymph up at the Paradise back in the 60s that was just a single color spun fur-absolutely deadly if you used the appropriate color and intensity for the season.
Would that be a junk fly ?
No hackle,collar,tail-just the fur.

No, that's just a small pellet fly.

And a cress bug is just a pellet, amirite?

I am done driving 3 hours to fish for the wild trout. They are just eating junk like the stockies.

it wasn't designed to be a pellet fly but good shot Jack.LOL
It was tied tapered like a nymph body and it was important to have the correct color/hue or it wasn't very good.
You could go by Art Flicks book
dark gray
light gray
dark brown
light brown
tan.
Ed Koch and Ed Shenk were the big promoters of this tie and I used them out west on ponds and spring creeks where there were NO pellets fed.

i find irony in the junk flys even though they are tied to imitate something that actually is in the water , eggs , worms , sucker spawn , and if indeed trout are dumb then everytime a angler goes out and gets skunked then i guess this means on that day we are dumber than a trout !

Really don't fish the SWJ that much but seems like it works well on the stocker trout and my intuition tells me to use them after a rain.

Hodge- no offense, but I laugh when you ask questions about Spruce and the J etc.. You know, since you can walk to them and your getting answers from dumb dumbs like me from 3 hours away. Again, no offense to you, just funny to me is all-sure wish I lived there for the fishing.

Well i acctually i cant walk to them, but i can ride my bike. im only 16 i just got into this fly fishing. And to be truthful i only fish a small section of the little j since it is the closest( only 9 miles away) because ikt is a pain to ride your bike 9 mils to fish then ride back

None of them are junk flys Jay, they are all traditional, natural and effective. I'm convinced. Happy now......