A famous fly that you dont care for?

[flybop]

This is an interesting subject when you compare the east vs west responses. There was a simular post on a western site and many of the answers were just the opposit of the ones here.

For instance, before I moved to Montana I would have agreed with the Prince being a never use fly. In Montana it is as commonly used as a pt. Buggers, big ones, are a standard here as are stimulators, trudes and royal wulfs. The rainbows really, realy like royal anythings out here.

As for the muddler, I am a bit surprised there. For many years back east the muddler was a go to fly for me. I tied and fished them both weighted and un-weighted and caught lots of fish on them. An extremely effective method to fish an un-weighted muddler is to trail one behind a heavier point fly under an indicator. The un-weighted muddler flutters along the bottom and big browns really seem to like them.

As for a famous pattern that I use very infrequently: for some very strange reson I rarely use a Clouser Minnow. As a streamer fisherman that is strange. However, I have used them a few times recently and my clients did well on them on the lower Big Horn. They are on my to-tie list now.

One of the shop owners near YNP uses a royal trude and a prince dropper almost exclusively, ie way too much. He does however catch a heck of a lot of fish with this rig.

 

[ErnieBall]

I'm a big fan of the Royal Wulff. One of my go-to's for wild trout.

 

[PaulG]

Goddard caddies :-x

PaulG

 

[Maurice]

scotto wrote:
Royal Wullf - love the Wulff pattern, but it makes more sense and has seemed more effective to me to use in natural colors.

I feel the same way about the Royal Wulff. However last week Fritz hit a local stream and fished many fishy runs and pools but didn't even see a trout, then He put a Royal Wulff and I a RW parachute on and in 45 minutes we landed 6 trout. It was spooky.

 

[DGC]

If you lived near Middletown and visited Clouser's shop, you know what a pleasant and down-to-earth person he is, and how his suggestions are grounded in deep experience. Yet, despite overwhelming evidence of its effectiveness, I simply don't like the Clouser deep minnow and have no idea why not. The lead eyes, however, are great for many of my other warmwater flies.

 

[ryguyfi]

YOU HATE THE PRINCE!!! THAT'S MY GO TO NYMPH!!!!
(all kidding aside)

I am a fan of the prince nymph. I like how it looks, I tie it pretty well, and I catch a good amout of fish on it, especially steelhead. I also like the HE as I can tie it in any color combo and it is a very general pattern.

I am also on the side of liking the royal wulff for wilds. They float like a cork all day, and have the color to see, and the fish seem to like them.



Now to answer the real question, which patterns I do not like. Count me for another on the Muddler side. Looks stupid, doesn't sink, and I like buggers and other streamers for those situations that one would fish a muddler.

(don't shoot me Jay...)
I'm not a big fan of the Pheasant Tail. I just don't catch many fish on them, and don't fish them confidently. It looks ok, but just don't like the pattern. I have some and tie one on every once in a while, but not my go-to.


Ryan

 

[GreenWeenie]

Woolly Buggers. I carry them, and fish them occasionally, but just don’t care for them. Also, I don’t care for any beetle imitation. I have much more luck with a plain old griffith’s gnat.

As for muddlers, I have great success with muddlers.

First, try adding a cone head to add some weight.

Second, when tying, hold the first clump of deer hair in-place on top of the shank and secure it in place. Then cut a second clump and cut the tips off cutting the length in half. Spin this clump around the shank and see how it looks. You want enough hair flare to shape a head but not so much that it is tightly packed or so little that it is full of holes. I always go smaller clumps so I can add additional hair if needed. The reason I cut the tips on the second clump is I don’t want the entire shank wrapped in deer hair and since I am going to cut the bottom tips off anyway, I might as well do it first plus the shorter clumps spins much more easily.

 

[afishinado]

I never was fond of the prince nymph and have never had much success with it. I’m not sure if I even have one in my nymph box for trout, although I use them for bluegills a lot. It’s all a matter of what you have confidence in.

I almost always fish multiple flies and you will likely find a HE or a PT nymph on my tippet along with a match-the-hatch type nymph, larva, or pupa. In limestoners I nearly always fish a scud with another fly.

When I first started fishing, I used a muddler and caught fish, but now usually try a wooly bugger first since it can represent a bunch of things to the fish and has an irresistible movement.

I will put my money on the “wrong” fly, presented well, and fished in the right place any time.

 

[flybop]

Afishinado has really summed this up well. As long as we are talking about flies that are in the same size range I will take a well presented "any fly" over any poorly presented fly. I see this end result day after day after day. Presentation is far more important than any particular pattern. IMHO this goes for dries, wets, nymphs and streamers.

 

[JackM]

Can't bring myself to fish scuds and though I almost always have exactly one San Juan worm in my possession, I don't think one has graced my tippet for more than 20 minutes of my entire flyfishing career.

 

[jayL]

Jack,

Would you fish a shrimp pattern in the salt?

If the Bighorn ever makes your bucket list, do yourself a favor and pass on it. :lol: Scud/sjw combo seemed to be the key to the nonstop fish catching. Then again, the bottom was crawling with scuds and tiny red worms.

 

[MattBoyer]

Fishidiot wrote:
Hornberg.

Gahh!!! You're killin' me Dave! Those are the first fly I ever caught a significant number of trout on and thanks to my tying laziness, led the way to "Maurice's Miracle", Which is one of my go-to flies. As far as popular flies that I don't get, put me down for most dries and all midges. :-D

Boyer

PS: you muddler haters also make me sad :-(

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Muddler Minnows....hate those things

 

[MattBoyer]

salvelinusfontinalis wrote:
Muddler Minnows....hate those things

Try hanging one near the top of the water column in a deep, clear native stream. Nothing like bringing a jumper up from the deep.

Boyer

 

[Maurice]

OK I give up...whats my miracle?

 

[jayL]

It's just a guess, but probably something similar to the fly that you barked something along the lines of "WTF IS THAT???" at the pine creek jam. :lol:

I'm a believer. It works.

 

[MattBoyer]

jayL wrote:
It's just a guess, but probably something similar to the fly that you barked something along the lines of "WTF IS THAT???" at the pine creek jam. :lol:

I'm a believer. It works.

What Jay said. It's nothing more than brown saddle hackle with a lemon wood duck tuft for a tail on streamer hook. I thought you knew I named it after you. LOL. Shakey calls it "that Maurice fly" I believe.

Boyer

 

[tztrout]

Not a big fan of clousers, green weenies, or prince nymphs

 

[delkins]

Cool thread. Man, lots of people hatin' on the prince nymph. I loves me a BH prince...now the zug bug, on the the other hand...seems like a waste of my Alexandra peacock sword to me...
-Dave

 

[jaybo41]

Great post Ernie! I'd have to agree with JayL's notion on the traditional winged Wets. Soft Hackles are a perfect substitute and definately easier to tie.

The Prince has a place in my box, but my success with it is less than I'd prefer. It doesn't quite live up to the hype for me, but I know lots of guys love that fly. Pheasant Tails on the other hand are very consistent for me, and I love to tie them.