What’s more important: pattern or the presentation?

[skybay]

This depends…

 

[tomgamber]

yes.

 

[djs12354]

You can take my opinion with a grain of salt, as I am a relative newbie, but IMHO presentation is more important. As long as you are relatively close on size and color of the flies you are using.

I also would think that the water type you are fishing will impact this. Riffles versus flat water; water clarity.

There are a lot of variables, but drag kills your chances.

( Qualified the crap out of that reply didn't I? )

 

[Lonewolve]

IMHO, Presentation, the perfect matching fly might answer the Fly part of the riddle and get you into a fish now an then, but if you cannot answer the riddle of the presentation. You will inevitably deal with the skunk a lot. YMMV

 

[krayfish]

Presentation by far. You will catch many more trout on the "wrong fly" than you will with bad presentation / drift.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

I agree presentation is more important.

 

[Valdi]

Presentation - by a mile.
I was fishing during BWO hatch yesterday evening.
I Was getting them on size 18-22.
I gave my friends a lot of my flies i tied and after awhile i realized i was out of them (20-22) . Did not want to ask them for my flies back so I decided to throw size 20 Sulphur and landed two nice ones. I thought it was crazy.

 

[skybay]

and you are right, please click on the Guinness picture (it will zoom in-show the real size in the separate browser window) and check the box #6

 

[mario66pens]

Presentation by a long shot, I talked to George Daniel about this the other day and he told me what I ve always thought "as long as you present it in the right way and it looks like food the trout will eat it"

 

[PatrickC]

Depends on the conditions and what you are fishing for. Most of the time presentation is key, but there are times when presentation and pattern are equally important.

The other day I saw a dark shadow in a deep riffle that I was pretty sure was a fish. Many fish that move up into faster water are pretty aggressive to feed. It was windy that day and a gust came blasting through as I was casting a small streamer. The streamer did hit the water well upstream of the shadow, but probably 15' this side of the shadow. So, I thought I would just let it drift through and make another better cast. That fish shot across the riffle and and hammered the streamer. So, in this case, I'm not sure if the pattern or the presentation mattered. That fish was hitting anything that came through.

 

[afishinado]

pattern or the presentation?

If it were the pattern, you would be able to give any FFer the "right" fly and they would catch fish.....this is rarely, if ever the case.

Many experienced FFers fish a few generic patterns most of the time and are quite successful at catching fish.

 

[krayfish]

 

[PatrickC]

afishinado wrote:
Many experienced FFers fish a few generic patterns most of the time and are quite successful at catching fish.

Can't argue with that. My typical box has woolly buggers, some tan nymph and some black nymph, a single egg pattern in a coupe of colors...and a Royal Wulff just in case ;-) I remember the days when I carried boxes of flies to the streams. Now it is either the box I just described or a box full of big articulated streamers. I do have a box of "swinging streamers" as well. For me, it's pretty much one of those boxes for the day depending on what I'm doing.

 

[JackM]

I have a dryfly box of attractors and BWO and Caddis that always comes with me. The other is a box of specific species imitation that can be expected at the time.

I try to match the hatch when I can, but often use the generics and caddis and BWO to prospect.

Presentation is more important for sure, but at times, not sufficient. Thus, I carry some variety of bugs that will let me choose a more exact pattern.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Neither....if no fish are in the water that you are fishing. After that it has to be presentation.

With the multitude of different currents in an area, you sometimes have to cast several times and change position of your cast just to get a fish to take (especially trout).

If the food is just thrown on your plate and does not look like you thought it should, it will not taste the same even though it was made the same way, and you may not eat it.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

PennypackFlyer wrote:
Neither....if no fish are in the water that you are fishing. After that it has to be presentation.

With the multitude of different currents in an area, you sometimes have to cast several times and change position of your cast just to get a fish to take (especially trout).

If the food is just thrown on your plate and does not look like you thought it should, it will not taste the same even though it was made the same way, and you may not eat it.

You may not eat anyway no matter how good it looks because you are just not hungry. IMO trout are the same way. At times no matter how good the fly or presentation they do not want it. Period.

 

[JackM]

I bet it is rare when any trout says: "No, I'm too full."

 

[PennypackFlyer]

I think that maybe an excuse for those who don't catch any. "There just not hungry."

 

[PatrickC]

PennypackFlyer wrote:
I think that maybe an excuse for those who don't catch any. "There just not hungry."

It's a phase of the learning curve. We've all been there.

 

[tocar]

krayfish wrote:
Presentation by far. You will catch many more trout on the "wrong fly" than you will with bad presentation / drift.

Could not agree more. Of course many of us strive for the right fly AND the right presentation. This usually leads to a great outing.

peace-tony c.