Throw out the Junk...

[ColdBore]

Eddy wrote:

In my opinion, any of the "no junk fly" purist that use strike indicators (aka bobbers), have no room to judge.

I only use strike indicators when I sneak a chunk of nightcrawler on to my traditional, classic flies.

But to avoid the stigma of strike indicators altogether, I'm slowly progressing to going with a big dry fly, and powerbait under it (though I have quit putting it on a treble hook.... usually..) as a dry/dropper combo. By using the dry, I feel more pure.

 

[afishinado]

MKern wrote:
I don't throw a bunch of junk flies but it is amazing that one can pluck some hair from a passing-by cat and lash it to a hook and give it a fancy name (which is creative and innovative), but chenille on a hook (blasphemy).

No doubt trout sometimes hit the craziest things we throw at them, but other times they are locked in on a certain prey and your fly must mimic the look and behavior to elicit any response.

One would be wise have in their fly box some realistic flies that match the hatch and/or the most common forage in the stream along with an assortment of attractor flies, aka junk flies.

And as Ryan said above, they are most often hitting a "good presentation." I'll take that a step further and change it to the "right presentation" for that time and place, anyway.

Again, for me anyway, my most memorable days on the stream aren't necessary the days where I caught the most fish. I remember most the days I worked at it and solved the puzzle for that particular day and caught some hard-earned fish by changing it up and trying different things.

I've been asked why I drive 6 hours (3 hours each way) to the Upper D river or Penns instead of fishing closer to home. The answer is simply, to meet the hatch, since both rivers are bug factories and have predictable hatches. I love to tie flies to meet the hatches during the winter in anticipation of matching wits with wary trout.

I can fish a local stream with weenies and worms and catch a load of fish, but choose not to; at least when the hatches are happening. But fishing should be all about having fun, and I'll wing weenie in a stocked stream on occasion too. That what makes fly-fishing for trout such a great sport, it can be enjoyed at any level.

 

[jbewley]

That what makes fly-fishing for trout such a great sport, it can be enjoyed at any level.

I think of "Fly Fishing" as, simply "Fly Fishing". Adding in "levels", implies that there are upper, middle and lower ways to do it.

Jim

 

[afishinado]

jbewley wrote:

That what makes fly-fishing for trout such a great sport, it can be enjoyed at any level.

I think of "Fly Fishing" as, simply "Fly Fishing". Adding in "levels", implies that there are upper, middle and lower ways to do it.

Jim

No doubt there are levels!


I know FFers that have dedicated a good part of their life studying entomology and reading books (or earning a degree) to educate themselves about fishery and fish biology, stream hydrology, as well as stream chemistry and geology as it relates to trout. Many are active members of TU or other organizations spending a good deal of their free time dedicated to the streams, the fishing and the sport. Still others have become master fly casters as well as rod builders. True masters of the sport.

Others grab their rod, a box of flies and go fishing a couple of weekends in the spring.

Most of us fall somewhere at a level in between these two extremes.

 

[ryansheehan]

afishinado wrote:

jbewley wrote:

That what makes fly-fishing for trout such a great sport, it can be enjoyed at any level.

I think of "Fly Fishing" as, simply "Fly Fishing". Adding in "levels", implies that there are upper, middle and lower ways to do it.

Jim

No doubt there are levels!


I know FFers that have dedicated a good part of their life studying entomology and reading books (or earning a degree) to educate themselves about fishery and fish biology, stream hydrology, as well as stream chemistry and geology as it relates to trout. Many are active members of TU or other organizations spending a good deal of their free time dedicated to the streams, the fishing and the sport. Still others have become master fly casters as well as rod builders. True masters of the sport.

Others grab their rod, a box of flies and go fishing a couple of weekends in the spring.

Most of us fall somewhere at a level in between these two extremes.

I think he was implying that there are not levels of fly fishing style, you are speaking about ability. Certainly there are masters of the sport but each one has a different style to which they operate.

 

[krayfish2]

Yet no one would ever call classics like the Letort cricket, Crowe beetle, Spruce Matuka, or any Royal Coachman dry/wet/streamer a junk fly.

Call me the devil but I'll go ahead and call that stuff junk. LoL. Of the ones listed above, can't say I've had one of those in my box for 15+ years....so to me, junk.

Somebody posted how they don't understand that using junk flies and not being observant go hand-in-hand. If you roll up on your favorite stream and know what insects are hatching or if you spend 20 minutes to observe what insects are hatching, I'll bet you it's not a mop fly hatch. I believe it's more along the lines of not observing or being too lazy to observe so you roll out a lightning bug with a patriot and a mop on the bottom. When I know that there's a mayfly hatching and a number 14 pheasant tail matches it perfectly, but I may use it to fly rig when nymphing. A ridiculously oversized Prince with a tungsten bead to get my flies down and dangling about 10 in behind that without weight will be my pheasant tail. Rather than use lead, I'm using the prince as weight. The problem is that they eat the hell out of that ridiculous fly. I thought it might be an attention getter and then the fish would take the fly matching the nymphs in the drift but.... it's 50/50. Go figure

 

[larkmark]

My favorite ways to fly fish- Most to least
1. Dry fly
2.Streamer
3. Wet fly
4.Nymph

***I sometimes put a nymph/emerger on as a dropper which I am including as dry fly fishing

 

[krayfish2]

Don't get me wrong... nymphing isn't my favorite way to get it done but it's so freaking effective at the right time that I almost feel like I'm cheating somehow by doing it. Nymphing is also probably the most consistent method as you get to fish the entire water column.

 

[fishhead]

Glad afishinado cleared up "thats what makes fly fishing for trout so special" for everyone.

 

[PennKev]

At some point, some people become more concerned with understanding the bugs than understanding the fish. That's hard for me to wrap my head around. At the other end of the spectrum, and equally hard for me to understand, is the guys that are completely wrapped up in fishing almost nothing but junk flies. Maybe it's due to our proliferation of stocked trout. Perhaps some guys just like to feel like fishing junk is sticking it to the "establishment.' I dunno. It's weird too IMO.

Everyone who has become even somewhat serious about the sport knows there are days when our efforts to match what we assume the fish are eating fail, yet a gaudy, even silly fly will work. Likewise, an angler with diverse and extensive experience knows that junk flies are no silver bullet, they have their time and place just like any other fly. I think a lot of anglers nowadays have either forgotten or missed out on how effective a plain old hares ear, PT, or walts worm is. If I was forced to choose one, I would take any of those three over a SJW, squirmie, mop, etc.. In fact, none of those particular "junk" flies would make my top ten. But you better believe that I have those flies available and use them when needed. In fact, both my largest wild brown ever and my largest wild brown this past year both came on SJW variations.

 

[jifigz]

Walt's worm is, without a doubt, my favorite nymph ever.

 

[coyoterahn]

As a self taught fly fisherman possessing intermediate skill levels at best, I find that catching wild or native fish on flies I have tied myself to be the one of the most enjoyable aspects of the sport.
Having the opportunity to enjoy the natural surrounding of the streams here in Pa. and interact with other fishermen is a bonus.
With that being said, most of my best encounters are usually with those fishermen who don't frown upon my less than stellar presentation techniques or what is in my fly box. I find that swapping stories, discussing flies, fish and sharing info about streams is perhaps the ultimate encounter on a trout stream.
To sum it up, if I happen to encounter one of those expert level fly fisherman who frowns upon my methods and has no interest interacting with me, fine. I just remind myself that they put on their Patagonia waders and tweed hat the same way I put my Cabelas waders and camo Harley Davidson hat on!
Fish on people and don't forget to enjoy yourself.

 

[Bamboozle]

Absolutely True Story:

Many moons ago I was eating at a McDonalds right along Falling Springs and when I tossed in french fries, fish were eating them.

When I got home, I tied a "French Fry Fly" out of yellow spun deer hair clipped to shape. Weeks later when I went back to that McDonald's, I caught a trout on that French Fry Fly.

All these years I never thought much about it but now I am SO confused because I don't know if I was observing the stream and matching the hatch or just throwing a junk fly?

I hope I can sleep tonight...

 

[ColdBore]

I pretty much agree with everything in Coyote's post above.

And I see that he is a new member. With an attitude and outlook like that, I want to say "Welcome to PAFF!". I look forward to seeing more of your posts.

 

[krayfish2]

If any of the 'purist', 'patagonia waders' or 'tweed' comments are directed at me.....shame, shame. You don't know me and are assuming. While I might have fairly pricey gear, I'm as blue collar as it gets. Ask anyone on here that's ever had the misfortune of fishing with me. LoL.

If I run into an angler on the water, I don't hesitate to shoot the sh*t. If I'm catching a bunch and they aren't, I hand out flies... even if it's the last of the pattern that's catching fish. If someone else wants to give me flies because they are doing well, I'll accept them... even if they are junk flies. It's likely that I'll toss them in a plastic cup at home and probably never use them. Many times, those flies are given to a newbie that I meet so they have more than 3-4 patterns in their box.

Sometimes when I meet a angler that's struggling and they strike me as a really good guy (or gal), I'll exchange info and offer to take them out with me for a day of fishing. I'll try to explain as much as I can about insects, reading water and different techniques. 99.999% chance that 'junk flies' will not be used.


Bam,
French fries? LoL. Never heard of that before. When I first started, tied a bread fly without crust and one with crust for when people were feeding the fish at Paradise and the yellow breeches. Looking back, it's funny and it makes me feel dirty

 

[Bamboozle]

krayfish2 wrote:
Bam,
French fries? LoL. Never heard of that before. When I first started, tied a bread fly without crust and one with crust for when people were feeding the fish at Paradise and the yellow breeches. Looking back, it's funny and it makes me feel dirty

I was planning on making an articulated version with catsup, but never got around to it.

I also still have a cigarette butt fly I tied eons ago while I was on a "scratching the hatch" kick, but the only thing I ever caught on it was a duck at the Run. I tried it after my bread flies (whole wheat & white) were being refused.

Ducks can be selective you know... ;-)

 

[silverfox]

I think one of the greatest things about flyfishing is that there are so many "styles" of the same basic premise of catching fish. Everyone has their own set of interests and reasons for fishing the way they do. I'm not convinced that any one "style" is better than any other.

Want to whip the water to a froth with a size 12 adams in February? Do it. Want to dredge heavily weighted nymphs with an 11 foot rod? Do it. Want to rip 8 inch long articulated streamers? Do it. Want to simply stand in the water and enjoy nature? Do it.

To each his/her own. As long as we're all interested in the fish, the bugs and the places they swim, it's a win for everyone.

 

[coyoterahn]

Thank you Coldbore, I appreciate the kind words!