Are Modern Fly Designs More Versatile?

[Wildfisher]

Conventional wisdom is that  flat clam and bright sun is hopeless, especially on lochs. Is it really? Is it not just  more challenging? For example,  Allan Liddle looks forward to  these conditions and tends to do rather well in them compared to most.

One July evening last season Harsear and I fished through a plague hatch of caenis on a small loch near here and actually caught a good few fish on a parachute olive of his design that incorporated a tail made  of some "sparkle"   type of material….. Alex tells me the same fly worked well in brilliant sunshine on some  Alberta rivers in August, so well  a local Canadian  guide (who one might expect has seen his share of flies) took one to copy.

With the huge range of designs , tying techniques and materials available  to us now are we better placed to cover a wider range of fishing conditions than we once were?

[haresear]

I don't really agree that modern designs are more versatile. When I started fly fishing I bought my flies. When fishing dry flies I came to realise that if a fish refused a high floating fly, it might take a partially sunk one. My tactic was to fish the hi and dry first, then to spit on the tail and abdomen so it floated like a DHE with the arse underwater. Plan C was to totally submerge the fly. It worked then and it probably still does.

I don't think the Krystal Flash tail on my fly makes a hell of a lot of difference to be honest. All I know is that I tried it and it works well, so I keep using it

I only tried the stuff as a tail, because I thought it was about the right thickness to suggest either a tail or a shuck. I don't know why it works, but it seems to do OK . I always have conventionally tailed flies as an alternative...just in case.

Alex

[Wildfisher]

Today's anglers are becoming more innovative in their approach to Fly design

Are modern materials a factor in this?  I feel they are,  just as modern materials enable better fly rod and aircraft design.

[Wildfisher]

i think the rainbow scene has improved folks knowledge of how to fish differant styles and spawned a lot of inovative fly patterns (shuttlecocks,superglue buzzers, viva etc.). Im usually condoning anything to do with bow fishing but i do think anglers today technique wise would be still stuck in the dark ages pulliing a team of wets on a floater , if it was'nt for the rainbow scene.

Agreed. Southern reservoir fishing has changed fly fishing radically and while  not all the techniques translate well, many certainly do. It's not all lure pulling.

[scotfly]

You're on a roll Fred!
I think there are few hopeless condition, it's a simple case of adapting and overcoming.
The tackle, tactics and materials available to us today certainly make it easier.
As haresear has pointed out the versatility has always been there. The big difference now is that we have a much better understanding of how and when fish feed, how and when insects hatch and the materials and understanding to enable us to tie flies to do almost exactly what we want them to do. We have much greater control over a given situation than was previously available.
For all that though, and given that our quarry has little or no higher cognitive abilities, they still contrive to make fools of us all too often! Long may that continue.

[haresear]

The big difference now is that we have a much better understanding of how and when fish feed, how and when insects hatch and the materials and understanding to enable us to tie flies to do almost exactly what we want them to do. We have much greater control over a given situation than was previously available.

I think the average angler has a better grasp of these things than in the past. The good anglers were always the teachers. The Goddards, Sawyers and the Walkers of the world taught through their writings and I suggest that the internet has opened a few folks eyes to ideas from foreign parts. There is a huge amount of information and debate on the WWW. It certainly has had a huge influence on me and my fly fishing technique in particular has (I think) improved dramatically since I signed up to the WWW.

As far as materials go. Mmmm... I think we always had the materials to do the job. The problem was that expertise was a bit limited and the approach blinkered.

I'm expecting some abuse from you tradional loch fishers here   and so to deflect this, I feel obliged to point out that my comments are most definitely based on river fishing.

Alex

[Clan Ford]

Definitely,fishing has moved on big time in fly design , and i think the rainbow scene has improved folks knowledge of how to fish differant styles and spawned a lot of inovative fly patterns (shuttlecocks,superglue buzzers, viva etc.). Im usually condoning anything to do with bow fishing but i do think anglers today technique wise would be still stuck in the dark ages pulliing a team of wets on a floater , if it was'nt for the rainbow scene.
Col

I think your correct to an extent Col, but I think that most of the innovations in river flies have come from the states.  I know when I first got into dry fly fishing on the Water of Leith in the 80's, that I improved my catch considerably by following trends from across the pond - parachute flies, micro flies, nymphs under indicators etc.
At the time these technique's were not in common use in the UK. 

Norm

[.D.]

I might suggest that a lot of "modern fly designs" (whatever "modern" means ? :biglaugh;) amount to little more than The Emperor's new clothes, especially when you look at dry flies.

So-called "emergers"; they've been around for donkeys years. A tail-less Grey Duster or a John Storey fishes best with the body submerged and the hackle holding it in the film. In the latter example the feather pointing up readily suggests something breaking free above the film. The Moustique is a CDC "spider" that's been around since the 1920s: they too fish with the body submerged ( unless you add tails). The old style GRHE dry, without a hackle would probably be called a "floating nymph" were someone to "invent" it tomorrow.

The internet's the main thing - both in terms of exchange of knowledge and also in making the aquisition of materials easier.

.D.

[Wildfisher]

The problem was that expertise was a bit limited and the approach blinkered.

A very British trait I'm afraid. Most of us are far more conservative than we care to admit. The web has helped many more of us realise  that there is more to fly fishing than stiff upper lips  and stiff hackled dries.

[Wildfisher]

Flies are not more versatile but our approach is. 

Can only agree with that in part. Some of us are  some of us are not are not. You'll still see folk pulling flies on a loch when a change in tactics would probably  be in order. I am just as bad as the next, I avoid using sinking lines because I can't be bothered  to change over (especially in a boat) and just don’t enjoy fishing   with sinkers or intermediates.  As far as flies and materials go I am with sandfly on this. Modern materials (right down to superglue) allow us to tie a more versatile box of flies. The "classic point in time"  patterns   are fine and I still use them, however I firmly believe that if Kingsmill Half-loaf  and other past heroes had had the opportunity they too would have used these new materials.

On the subject of heroes will Stan Headley be a future icon? Like him or loath him he is a good tier and catches more fish than most on the loch.