Excellent video on fly choice....

[GANGGREEN]

From Fly, Fish, Food. I consider myself somewhere between intermediate and advanced when it comes to fly fishing for trout generally, but I always lean towards the simple when it comes to rigs and especially fly choice. I think most guys overthink it far too much and most SHOULD be more concerned with approach and presentation and less concerned with fly choice (although profile and depth are obviously of real import). I've been asked before streamside what fly I was using and usually the inquiry also involves a confession that the asker didn't catch anything, and they saw me killing them during the same time period. I'll always tell the person what I was using, but then frequently ask a question or two myself and suggest that perhaps that they'd be further ahead to improve their approach or presentation rather than searching for the one magic fly pattern.

 

[PennKev]

The premise is sound. I don't necessarily agree with that specific limited selection of flies for PA, but for 90%+ of the fishing here you can do just fine with a small selection of flies that are thoughtfully chosen.

From what I've seen, too many guys worry about pattern, but can't cast or read water to save their life.

 

[ROVERT]

His fly selection didn't really match the lesson. Every subsurface fly had a big bead on it. He addressed mid column and lightly weighted and unweighted flies but didn't actually choose any.

I think a soft hackle and unweighted nymph should displace two of his beadheads. I'd rather have zero beadheads and have to add shot than have only beadheads.

 

[GANGGREEN]

Yes, I also might have chosen different flies, but conceptually, he is dead on. Furthermore, you do have to realize where he fishes and that his home waters are typically good sized streams with a stout flow and gradient for the most part. He's right though, most guys would benefit from picking flies by zone and profile and most would benefit from concentrating on their approach and presentation, rather than such a reliance on attempting to match the hatch constantly, which is precisely what I've suggested to anyone who's ever asked me for advice about how to improve their catch rates.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Trying to match the hatch is what I enjoy about fly fishing. I could catch trout all day anywhere with a few sizes and styles of beadhead walts worms, but to me that is boring. I want to catch the fish on my terms, and if it doesn't work I'm okay with that.

 

[Bamboozle]

Somewhere during my evolution as a fly fisherman when I wasn't paying attention, fly choices became a whole bunch of "named" fly patterns flies with MORE choices than you see in spoons, spinners, plugs, and soft plastics combined.

I was glazing over in the video after he mentioned Parachute Adams...

"Corn Fed Caddis, PMX Cricket, Egan's Poacher, Duracell, Guide's Choice Hare's Ear, Higa's SOS"...

HUH, WHAT??? Never heard of any of them...

I guess I get it IF a "PMX Cricket" or a "Corn Fed Caddis" becomes your go-to cricket and caddis pattern and you stop there, but the problem is fly shops and "experts" on the Internet are always coming up with new slick named variants that are a must have and all of a sudden...

Folks are back to being confused and feel they need 10 different patterns for every bug & life-stage.

Do whatever floats your boat, but I employ two approaches that have served me WELL and I catch PLENTY of fish using them:

1: Generic fly patterns that only vary in color & size - For example, all of my mayfly duns are the same generic pattern tied as a thorax or parachute and the same goes for mayfly nymphs. I also only fish an EWC as a dry caddis.

One of the many things I like about this approach is if I am fishing and out of the properly colored fly in a size 16, I just use an improperly colored fly in size 16. I can't tell you how many times it didn't matter one bit. Also, if some new gobbledygook named fly is suddenly mentioned on every website, I may look, but I will almost never "bite."

2: The "chow line" approach (This goes hand-in-hand with #1) - If the fish are hungry, they get what I am serving. I don't feel compelled to have a whole bunch of options like a restaurant with 4 pages of regular, gluten free, organic and vegan choices...

I run a chow line, just like my grandmother; eat what I am offering or stay hungry....

If fish are on BWO's, they get MY BWO pattern in the appropriate size. If they don't take it, maybe a size difference or a switch from a thorax to a parachute is tried. However, I never felt or had a need to carry or use a bunch of different patterns representing the same bug to catch fish. That's one rabbit hole I fortunately learned was unnecessary to continue exploring.

Maybe more of the newer generation of fly anglers are GF or didn't have grandmothers like we did so that's why they feel compelled to give the fish a lot of choices... 😉

YMMV