PAFF Fly pattern section

[littlelehigh]

Every year it seems as the hatches come up there is an annual thread regarding patterns and pictures on them ex. Stone flies, BWO, Drakes etc. and I always wind up having to dig back in search of something I vaguely remember. It always seem the links to the actual photos of a year ago are no longer linked.


Any chance PAFF could add a library section of patterns even if limited to the site? I think it would add so much and make things simple to search if you could type in BWO and get everything from nymphs to spinners.

FishIdiot patterns and threads are something I would love to have access to for years to come but can never seems to recover them when I want to.

Im not very techy so this may be a long stretch or just not possible. I do know JStockards forum (Gulp) has this and it's ok to use if you wanna see patterns from all around the world. But I'd prefer something more regional and I think our new community would as well? Thoughts?

 

[Stevie-B]

I wonder if something like this could be incorporated into/with the entomology section? Would be nice to see pics of the actual insect next to suggested patterns with recipes.

 

[BTflyman]

I agree, and maybe i am wrong and I understand there is ALOT of info on how to tie flys on youtube, but would love a section that would have a picture of the actual fly then recipes form everyone in that thread. For example: Black stonefly. Picture of its various stages...then written recipes and or videos whether your own or from you tube etc. I have been tying for about a year and I love to see the different "twists" each person puts on a fly. Each thread could be its own patters from nymph to spinner etc. It is not meant to go on with comments, suggestions and so forth but just like a recipe book and thats it. Pick and choose from "recipes" you like or make a combination of your own!

 

[ryguyfi]

This is a HUGE task IMO. Maybe instead of laying this on the moderators, we could have someone, or a group of people be in charge of heading this up. With the size of this site the moderators have their hands full, especially with all the moodiness of late ;-)

 

[Foxgap239]

ryguyfi wrote:
With the size of this site the moderators have their hands full, especially with all the moodiness of late ;-)

I almost can't wait to see how bad it gets next winter when it's actually cold and fishing is next to impossible!

 

[dubthethorax]

Suggestion - sticky thread for each major hatch in the tying or bug forum. BWO, Caddis, Sulphur, Hex, Drake, Midge, Stones, etc.

 

[ryguyfi]

I'd see it as more complicated than that to make it more simple.


A "no comment post" new forum. Have volunteers show a pattern, recipe, picture, etc for each hatch. So a Caddis post with dry emerger, and nymph patterns, but nothing else. Posts clutter it up and make it hard to sift through to find what you need. I hate going to other sites and reading 200 posts to find the information I need. Simple is better in this case IMO.

But like I said before, this is a big task. Someone to organize, someone to build the new thread, volunteers to tie flies; it can get complicated. I think the end result would be fantastic, but it needs to be done right.

 

[JackM]

These are all great ideas. The entymology forum will eventually fulfill this function. But, as noted, there is a lot of work needed by volunteers. At the same time, is just anyone who wishes to volunteer "qualified" to sift the wheat from the chaff? This is the crux. We are trying to develop a strategy to consolidate the hatch and pattern wealth of information into the entymology forum. Patience here will be a virtue and a blessing.

 

[FrequentTyer]

I have been repeatedly impressed by the "annual" threads. On most other forms I have frequented the questioner would be bluntly told to use the search feature. I guess it is just another testament to the friendly community here on PAFF. And frankly I think we wind up rehashing a lot of stuff, but there is always some new updated information mixed in. So while the presence of and evolution of the entymology forum represents a fantastic resource, I hope we never stop the annual rehash.

 

[TimRobinsin]

I have been interested in developing something like this for a while. I would gladly lend help to anyone interested in developing this idea further.

One idea I had was developing a page that would have a chart (similar to the periodic table of elements) that would list all the major patterns that you should have to fish throughout PA.

Each cell on the chart would have a pattern with all pertinent information about the pattern represented.

for example:

one cell (element) could be an adams pattern. It would have a title and a clear artistic rendering of the classic fly pattern. By using an artistic rendering for the cell image you can eliminate singling out unique characteristics of a specific pattern that you would have from a photo.

where you can get into the specifics is you can make selectable characters around the image on the cell that lead to pages with specific information. such as various hatches the pattern imitates. suggested dates for those hatches. types of water where these hatches are prevalent (spring, freestone, tailwater, lake, etc).

also (and more to the point being discussed here) you could have a character on the cell that when clicked leads to a page with various recipes for the pattern and corresponding pictures.

I know its a lot to take on but I would be glad to work on a project like that. something like that would have been a great asset when I first started out.

 

[BTflyman]

I know its a lot to take on but I would be glad to work on a project like that. something like that would have been a great asset when I first started out.

As Tim stated above....I cant' agree more! I love the insight from this forum and I have learned so much in 2 years. I am really enjoying tying my own flies but a thread like this would be a huge help especially PA specific.

 

[bikerfish]

I like where this is going, good ideas all!

 

[Fishidiot]

There are indeed good ideas here. Dave Kile is always open minded about possible ways to improve and upgrade the site. There have been some incremental changes this year such as the bug forum and the new forum Shop Talk for folks in the FF business to have a more open and honest access to our readers. The current snag with PMs is taking a lot of his time but he's certainly amenable to these sorts of thoughts. A specialty fly forum is a good idea and hopefully we can grow in the future toward something like this.

Littlelehigh,
Thanks for the kind words.

 

[CLSports]

If anyone is curious on a good layout check out this website:
Westfly

Here you can click on the desired fishery and the time of year and it will give you a hatch chart complete with hyperlinks to pictures of the actual insect as well as the common fly patterns. It also has links to current stream conditions and weather.

I had used this as a reference for locations in Montana and Oregon and I thought it was the best thing I had ever seen as far as having all the info you will need on a particular stream all in one location.

 

[afishinado]

We are currently working on taking some of the better pics & info posted in the Hatch & Entomology Forum, categorizing them by insect types and making a permanent file to be used as a reference for all members of the Board. It's is a big job, though. At some point it may be possible to do the same with fly patterns, let's see how the hatches files work out.

In the mean time, everyone is welcome to post their fly patterns. If labeled properly, they could be searched and retrieved for future reference.

 

[blackandgold4ever05]

Very good ideas. I would use this type of thing often.

 

[flipnfly]

i like this idea also and the sticky idea but couldnt we just have a patterns sub forum . "heres my pattern.... heres the recipe any questions" if its a space thing just clean it out every so often and sell cd's of all the patterns ! although tim's idea sounds awesome it sounds like a ton of work .

 

[BelAirSteve]

Just reading this thread through for the first time. I am happy to volunteer some time if the mods need any help.

It does require some thoughtful analysis, as far as how to organize things - a site with bad information architecture provides a bad user experience, so I appreciate all of the planning that goes into this.


Also, I have seen other boards that have a "tutorials" forum. For example, suppose I wanted to post one of my favorite patterns. The subject of the post would be "Hare's Ear Soft Hackle." In that post, I would include a materials list and tying steps (with photos along the way if possible.) It makes the forum easily searchable, and browse-able, and still provides other users with a chance to comment and ask questions. But if I were looking for a pattern, I could scroll down the forum postings and see all of them in one view.

My 2 cents, thanks for listening.