Fly pattern to be without

[addictedangler]

Over the years I have tied a lot of flys. Some worked great and some never caught a fish. What pattern do you find non productive? This can save tyers time and money on unneeded materials. I am assuming these are trout pattern or please give details for other species. Thanks in advance.

 

[Fishidiot]

To be honest, I really can't think of any particular pattern that has so utterly failed me that I consider it a fly that doesn't work for me.

Perhaps, I've stuck for so long with patterns I have confidence in, that I haven't really taken the time to identify those that don't work.

 

[addictedangler]

Perhaps a little rephrasing. Are there any patterns you do not tie due to another you have found a more productive pattern. Mine would be a Mickey Fin streamer and a Montana nymph. These may be productive in some locations but I may have not fished those waters. As you have stated Dave you only tie those that work for you.

 

[sandfly]

mickey finn works for pickerel, and a Montana has always been good on Pocono streams for me, I have tied 1,000's of flies and never once said one was bad.

 

[David]

Good question... but hard for me to answer. I tie just about all of my flies, and they typically aren't any one "pattern" to speak of. They become a morph of what I find works or I have confidence in. I take they "best" or the "buggiest" parts of each and put them together.

I will say that, for dries, I lean now towards compara style flies. I believe it has whatever attributes the fish are keying in on... ie if one fish is keying on an emerger, the compara is flush in the water. If the next riser is looking for an adult, it has the upright wings / tail. With the buoyant deer hair, I can skitter it for movement or dead drift it.

 

[afishinado]

sandfly wrote:
mickey finn works for pickerel, and a Montana has always been good on Pocono streams for me, I have tied 1,000's of flies and never once said one was bad.

^ +1 to Sandy.

FFers, and most particularly new FFers, believe their success or failure catching fish is caused by their fly choice.

If more FFers focused on their fishing technique and reading the water skills, a lot more fish would be caught.

I like my chances with a perfect drift in an area that holds a buncha trout while fishing the "wrong" pattern.

I would put my money on a skilled FFer that fished using only three flies the whole season: hares ear for nymphing, wooly bugger for streamer fishing, and an adams for dry fly fishing (you can substitute your 3 favorite patterns).

 

[Fishidiot]

addictedangler wrote:
Perhaps a little rephrasing. Are there any patterns you do not tie due to another you have found a more productive pattern.

Well, although not a particular pattern....I can certainly say that I don't tie or use (or rarely use) traditional, feather wing streamers that swim with the hook downward; anything like a Deceiver or Black Ghost. Sure, these flies catch fish and I'm sure would catch them for me (I did try a Black Ghost in the Breeches awhile back just for nostalgia and it drew a lot of strikes)....however, I don't care for their function. Flies like this tend to snag when pulled over stumps or rocks and many of them tend to foul their wing around the hook bend. I find streamers tied to ride hook upward and made with hair wing or synthetic wing material to work better for me.
In fact, setting aside surface divers....probably over 90% of the streamers I tie to fish both salt and freshwater, including muskie flies, are tied to swim with the hook upward. Ditto with big nymphs like stoneflies and hellgrammites.

In other words, I like the Clouser Minnow better than the Mickey Finn.

Nice chatting with you yesterday BTW.

 

[fishbaithohaha]

Royal Coachman. After reading a short article, with description/picture, concluded the RC must be the greatest fly ever.

Tied various sizes of hackled, parachute and Wulff. Consider the RC one of my best ties, which is faint praise.

Tied one on at the beginning of the day, middle and end. When catching fish, not catching. Sunny days, overcast and cloudy. Cold days, warm and hot. Fast water, slow. Head of the pool, tail.

Nothing. Zip. Nada. Hate that fly.

Of course, the only common factor is me. Don't think that's the problem, its that fly.

 

[lv2nymph]

I could be without a green weenie.
(That should get things going...)

 

[dc410]

C'mon Jack. You don't even need a freakin' green weenie in your box. :lol:

 

[lv2nymph]

Haha, that's good cause I can't seem to make it work!

 

[addictedangler]

It is interesting to see the replys. Some of the patterns would not be in or at least at the top of my list. The reason I started the post is to help beginners narrow down there list of needed flys. Quite often one pattern works better than another however I do not disguard the fly after one bad day. Also if the great white fleet dumps 100 trout in a hole almost anything will work for a while. Wild smart Browns can be a different game. I have tried to study insect and minnows all my life and think I know what is going on only to find there is a lot more that I do not understand. I hope we will get more post on patterns or styles that are not at the top of the list.

 

[dryflyguy]

One of the flies that I had to tie for my fly tying class - many years ago now - was the muddler minnow. And I tried fishing with it for a few years afterward. Stripping and swinging it like a steamer. And floated on top for a hopper imitation. And never caught a thing on it.

 

[FrequentTyer]

addictedangler wrote:
It is interesting to see the replys. Some of the patterns would not be in or at least at the top of my list. The reason I started the post is to help beginners narrow down there list of needed flys.

I think that you are making a mistake here. As pointed out already it is almost never the pattern that is the issue when you are not catching fish, and to suggest that beginners focus based on this sort of a question is misleading to the beginners. Take, for example, the fanwing royal coachman dryfly. Does it catch fish? Absolutely, and in some sitiations can be devastatingly effective. Does anyone have it on their 10 must-have list? On the other hand, take the wooly bugger. Surely the bugger is on everyone's must have list, but I don't fish them because I rarely have caught a trout on a bugger. That doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with the bugger, it just means that my particular style/skill/confidence is in other types of fly's.
My advice to beginners is to focus on developing technique while tying tried and true patterns. Focus on your favorite fishing style (streamers, nymphs, dryflys, etc) and let experience guide your choice of fly.
Mike.

 

[shortrod2]

FrequentTyer wrote:
I think that you are making a mistake here. As pointed out already it is almost never the pattern that is the issue when you are not catching fish, and to suggest that beginners focus based on this sort of a question is misleading to the beginners.

Beginners are going to be focused on patterns no matter what. I don't see any harm in listing patterns that have not performed upto their fame.

I will second the muddler minnow nomination.

 

[sandfly]

size 10 muddler swung on the Delaware with a wake is killer for smallie's during the zebra caddis hatch. works on the tiger trout in lower river (bucks) too..

 

[lineman]

Agree that the weenie and muddler are pretty much a waste of time in the waters I fish.

 

[BrookieChaser]

I think beginners associate flies with lures, and therefore look for the "magic fly". There is no magic fly that produces all the time because flies are fished to feeding fish, where lures antagonize the fish causing a strike.

I've caught fish on muddlers, green weenies, wooly buggers, etc. I really can't think of a fly in my box that I ain't caught fish on.

 

[jeremymcon]

+1 on the muddler minnow. I really don't like fishing streamers with spun deer hair for heads. Just seems goofy to me - it's a subsurface fly that floats! Though honestly I generally don't do well with streamers to begin with, so it might just be me.

 

[lv2nymph]

Jeremy, one thing to keep in mind about that kind of streamer is. When using a sink tip or full sinking line w/ a short tippet is the line gets the streamer to the bottom and pauses in retrieve will allow a streamer with a neutral buoyancy to float up off the bottom then a short strip darts it away then repeat, that can be deadly.