Posted on April 05, 1999 at 19:52:37:
Gazing Into the Fly Box
By Gary D. Scavette
The waters of Maine come alive in the month of May. Reduced run off
and longer days contribute to warmer water and subsequently increased
biological activity. Aquatic insect emergence stimulates salmonids
into the rhythmic feeding patterns that we dream of all Winter. In
short, Maine's lakes ponds rivers and streams are once again awakened
from their long winter's sleep.
This is the month that many of us will take a critical look at our
fly boxes to see if we are prepared for the events to come. The
streamers and heavily weighted nymphs that we started the season with
in April will be left on the fly patch as we attach delicate winged
offerings to long fine tippets. Diversity is the name of the game
when the hatches start. The successful angler needs a fly selection
that is versatile enough to handle a broad range of situations.
In my younger college years I marveled in the entomology of the
productive limestone streams of Pennsylvania. I took pride in having
a terrestrial or aquatic imitation of just about every natural trout
food imaginable. My vest pockets were bulging with fly boxes , seine
nets, thermometers, and collection jars. My brother Mike was my
fishing companion who brought considerably less equipment to the
stream and ironically caught more fish. So he got lucky right? Wrong!
Mike consistently caught more fish. Smiling he'd toss a #4 Wooly
Bugger to a waiting brown, raise the rod gently to bury the hook and
say " Hey Gary they're taking Snicker's bars" . Today after having
more experience I have come to the conclusion that Mike used fly
patterns that were very versatile and adaptable to many different
situations.
The versatile patterns that I am referring to are often called
general purpose or all purpose patterns because they may imitate a
multitude of natural trout foods depending upon the way that they are
fished. No fly box should be without some of these all purpose flies.
I do not intend for this to be a specific pattern index but more of a
guide to a few of my favorite all purpose flies.
ALL PURPOSE NYMPHS
· Weighted (may have bead head) and non weighted
· light, medium, and dark colors (cream, olive, natural hare's
ear, dk. brown, black)
· sizes 12-18
I construct these patterns similar to the classic Hare's Ear nymph.
They may be ribbed or non- ribbed. Aside from imitating the genera of
the majority of the mayfly order these nymphs may be picked out and
fuzzed up to fish as caddis pupa imitations. They may be fished at
any level contributing to their versatility.
ALL PURPOSE WETS
· full collar of grouse, hen, hungarian partridge or other
swimmable substitute-no wing case
· tail made of the same material as collar
· dubbed body of poly fiber and or natural fibers
· light, medium , and dark colors
· sizes 12-18
I have a genuine passion for fishing these soft hackled wet flies.
They are extremely versatile and quick and easy to construct. If tied
on light wire hooks with synthetic materials these flies mimic
emergers or even spent winged spinners. If tied on traditional wet
fly or nymph hooks the flies can imitate nearly any drift insect
suspended in the water column. The material that the collar is made
of undulates and traps air bubbles creating a natural appearance. In
addition, the full collar assists the natural drift of the imitation.
During conditions of high water I will often add a bead in front of
the collar and fish this weighted fly as the point fly on a dropper
system.
ALL PURPOSE DRY FLIES
I'm not sure if there is such a thing as the all purpose dry fly. No
single imitation can represent the great diversity of adult naturals
drifting down the typical trout stream. I carry more different dry
fly patterns than nymphs, streamers, and wets put together. I will
mention a few things that I keep in mind when deciding if my dry fly
selection is appropriate. Its not much but its a good place to start.
When inventorying your dry fly box you should have patterns that
include the following:
· variation in size
· variation in color
· upright wings, spent wings, wings over the abdomen
· high floaters(variants) and flies where the thorax rests on
water
· emerger patterns
I have grown to be dependent upon relatively few subsurface patterns
that allow me to mimic a variety of naturals. I often think that
success is inversely proportional to the amount of time you spend
staring into your flybox……… At least that's what my
brother Mike tells me.