I will Jay and thanks. I havent gotten to fish Spring in my life as much as i should have. I have a lot to learn about that stream.

I'm a counter since I like to be competitive against others or myself . I almost always count when I fish for wild trout but rarely even think about it when I fish for stockies on Ridley . When fishing for smallies I almost always loose count after 10 but always remember the biggins .

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In the stream area pictured below, focusing on the pool at the bottom left part of the photo, it would take me at least 10-15 casts to be convinced that the fish I suspect are there are not interested in my offering. Talented anglers may be able to be confident that they showed their offering to all the fish with a proper presentation and drift in fewer casts.

If I already know my offering is good (because I have caught on it that day), I am not going to change flies to try to get the recalcitrant residents of that pool. My time is better used moving on.

Then again, If I had a nice fish show and I know his holding lie, I may change flies or stages of fly to see if I can get him.

I count, I lose track after 8 but I usually don't catch that many so it's not really an issue. I don't keep track of sunfish or chubs unless it's a really slow day or I'm trying to see if I can get 25 in an hour or 50 in a day or something like that. If I'm not doing well, even on most medium sized creeks, I don't hesitate to move.

I usually don't keep count unless it's a year in which I keep a fishing journal (like 2009). Since I keep a journal only about once every 3-4 years, most years keeping count doesn't matter to me. I have even considered dropping fish count when I keep a journal but since I have always counted fish, and my fly fishing journals go back to 1983, I feel I ought to maintain fish count just to preserve my journals' integrity.

Jack,

You are probably right.

I often make on average about 3-4 casts into a pool like that if nothing has taken the fly. Also i will make more on cold days as the fish are slow.

On a warm day it will just be a few.

On Limestone Spring Creeks i will work holes even more. These fish are very selective when compared to mountain freestone trout. That just comes down to available food source.

Iam probably sometimes, over confident in my abilities to get a fish to strike. Im sure i have missed several fish, along with some of the nicest fish in the stream using my method. But i do usually do very well the way i handle small streams.

It really does come down to confidence and ability. Im not saying that any given angler shouldnt work a hole much more than i do. But still, your first and second casts are the most important no matter how you do it.

I carry a Netbook with TroutTracker software. Different company than the one that makes WhackemStackem software. I think that's Nugent Inc.

I start out counting but sometimes I lose count. I don't blame anyone for counting fish, For years I keep a log, part of it was how many I caught. My mind ain't what it use to be so, I lose count, most of the time.

Count them if you want!

Paul G

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I start counting at 10.

10, 15, 20... i caught 30.

I only count the ones that go home with me. anything else is a guess.

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Dave do you go trout fishing ?

I keep track of how many fish I catch throughout the day, so that when I get home I can answer my girlfriend how many fish I caught. Same with fishing friends and relatives that knew I would be on a certain piece of water that day. After a month or so I forget. Now I just remember numbers as "a lot" or "a few", and honestly, a lot and a few could both be 4, or 5 or 7. I know that I've caught a lot of fish on Kinzua creek during the E. alba hatch before, but I couldn't tell you if "a lot" was 7 or 27.

I absolutely remember numbers when they have a sense of accomplishment to me, like the day I caught two 6in browns on the Neshannock on a dry fly more than two weeks before the statewide opener (yes, it was the DHALO area). Or the first fish I caught on a fly (and the next 3), a brown bivisible, all the same day.

The only one I count is the first, the rest are a gift. Of course I don't ignore the others or the LDR's but the first of the day makes the preparation all worth while. I move when I want to, hopefully the rest of the crew doesn't follow too closely.

I counted for so many years that even when I consciously made myself stop to absorb more of the surroundings, I subconsciously kept a tally. I too lose exact count when it gets into double-digits though. Counting isnt as effective a tool as it used to be.
Although I know when days should be above average and below average fishing wise, it turns out that on SOME days you will kill them or get skunked no matter what history shows.
Part of the draw to the sport I guess.

i used to count when i first started ff, i thought that if i didn`t catch anything that i wasn`t successful, now even if i get a rise or refusel to my fly im satisfied , as far as how long at one spot, as long as there is one trout rising i will try every fly and different position`s to see if i can catch it

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Welcome to the Dry Fly Snob Club. There are more than a few of us on here.