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Our August 2000 contribution from Dry Fly

" The margin of human error is wide, and we are all potential bunglers with a fly rod in our hands"
Howard Marshall - Reflections On A River

It has been said that presentation - in all walks of life - is vital.

In fly fishing also - particularly dry fly fishing - presentation is crucial to success, even when fishing the water rather than casting to a specific fish. If you can't cast well - I said well - not far, you will catch precious little. Far helps but well is much more important. Accuracy, judgement of distance, delicacy, allowance for wind and conflicting currents whilst all the while keeping in touch with the fly so as to allow a positive strike are all essential skills.

Of all fly fishing equipment the fly itself has to be the most important. Trout do not eat rods, reels, lines, landing nets, fishing vests or any of the other glorious items that we are, thankfully, able to spend our money on in pursuit of piscatorial nirvana. The fly then, is of paramount importance in terms of success, if only because without one we would at the very least be at something of a disadvantage. So - good, bad or ugly, a fly is of the essence. It is however much better to use a good one - well designed, correctly proportioned and constructed from the best materials available.

A well tied fly is a joy in itself but that aside, good flies catch more fish. Yes - I know the argument about the more you fish a pattern the more fish it will catch but all things are relative and good flies will catch more than bad ones - all other things being equal.

Frequently, just one or two patterns - correctly presented - would produce the same if not better results than the carnival parade which we frequently believe must be offered up when success eludes us. The Adams family - of flies not ghouls - in various sizes and representations would probably have taken at least seventy per cent of all the trout which I have ever caught. But much as I like to keep things as simple as possible these days, even I would concede that to limit ones fly selection too drastically would deprive fly fishers - including myself - of one of the sport's great pleasures - the buying, collecting, admiring of and experimenting with, sexy looking patterns.

Consequently, like many others, I have accumulated boxes and boxes of flies over the years, many of which have never and, quite possibly, will never see the light of day. Some are horrid little specimens which I keep meaning to discreetly dispose of. Still more are less nasty but still not up to snuff these days. There was a time when I found it all but impossible to leave a tackle shop without parting with my hard earned for a dozen or two assorted fancies. The prettier and more exotically named they were the more I was likely to be tempted. But no matter how many I bought there was always the never ending stream of magazine articles and books which detailed the attractions and absolute killing powers of yet more variations, without which the trout of certain rivers would be absolutely uncatchable.

The most persuasive and irresistible folklore in this respect is, of course, that surrounding the 'local indispensable' which one disregards at no small risk to both perceived humility and sanity. In other words you must have some in your box even if you don't actually feel the need to use them. I have to admit that it took me some time to cast off this initial belief in such hokum.

Generally speaking I am of the firm opinion that an effective pattern which works well in the streams of The Catskills or the spring creeks of Montana will do just as well in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Devon or Derbyshire. I have long since and, unashamedly, become a great fan of the American school of fly tying. I am also an avid user of cul de canard patterns designed initially many years ago in mainland Europe. Marc Petitjean of Fribourg in Switzerland is a master with this material and his designs are rightly renowned world-wide. If you can find any buy them. They are not cheap but they are superb.

Much has been written and talked about CDC flies in the past ten years or so in the British fly fishing press but it is the Americans who have developed this material to greatest advantage.

The simple fact of the matter is that a great many patterns seek to imitate the same naturals. Common sense dictates that some - a minority - will achieve this objective more successfully than the rest. The general principle I would like to convey is that modern versions of the old favourites are almost always more effective - in my experience at least - and the best modern versions - in my opinion - are of American origin.

If I were asked to select just 10 patterns to cover all my river fishing (excluding mayfly) - regardless of river type within the UK - the following would ensure a quiet confidence - however misplaced.

If I was to be restricted to just 5 of these, I would choose the ones in the first column. The majority would be size 16 down to 24.

The catalogues of Orvis and Sportfish in the UK and Orvis, Dan Bailey and L.L. Bean in America between them offer a selection of some of the best commercially tied flies available and visits to their web sites will facilitate speedy delivery of sumptuous printed mail order catalogues. A word of caution - Fulling Mill supply many of the biggest names in fly fishing with their flies so before ordering from the States make sure that the patterns you want are not also available here. If they are they will cost you a lot less.

Regrettably, what none of these companies can sell us, however, is the magic of good presentation.

I think this is where I came in. Great flies are no better than poor ones if they are not well presented.

Dry Fly

'Dry Fly' is a passionate fly fisher who, unusually, fishes dry fly exclusively and with no exceptions. This practice is born out of simple preference and despite his many protestations, fully acknowledges and respects both the skills and historical significance attached to traditional alternative styles and the absolute rights of others to employ them. He enjoys fishing dry fly in all types of running water. Fishing not fish is his priority.

He does, however, have a number of piscatorial bees in his bonnet !!

With a background in marketing and a nodding acquaintance with members of the tackle business both here and abroad he lives in deepest chalkstream country from where, unsuccessfully, it is insisted, he attempts to eke out a living from a variety of commercial and investment ventures.