Monday, October 13, 2014

Unmatching the hatch

Mike Lawson has an excellent article on Midcurrent.com, discussing unmatching the hatch, walking through the psychology and principles of a fly fisher. A very good read.
"ONE OF THE MYTHS of spring-creek fishing is that you can't catch trout unless you know exactly what the trout are feeding on and select a fly that precisely matches the insect they're eating. I have known some very good anglers who carry only a few simple patterns that catch a lot of fish. Their theory is that if you make a perfect presentation it doesn't matter what fly you use. Art Lee makes a case for this approach in his book, Fishing Dry Flies for Trout on Rivers and Streams. Lee credits Ernest Schwiebert with popularizing the term "matching the hatch" in 1955. Lee notes that matching the hatch requires substantial investments of both time and money as we waste countless hours changing flies every "twenty seconds" at the "right time" for the "right fish."

Lee writes of a fishing friend, Ed Van Put, who uses only three patterns — the Adams, the Royal Wulff, and the Pheasant Tail Midge — and catches as many fish as anybody he knows. Gary LaFontaine, in The Dry Fly New Angles, defines anglers who tackle fly fishing with only a limited number of flies as generalists. "Presentation is everything," the generalist insists..."

Read the full article at the following link:

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