David Murphy wrote:
If the following epiphany or revelation of mine doesn't make you sit
up and take notice, either I'm whacko (you can vote later) or there is
something to my madness. Many of you have discussed parts of this at
length over the years or possibly the entire trail to its logical
conclusion. I'm very interested to hear what ALL of you think about
this (LURKERS, come out and weigh in).
While searching for info on a pattern, I came upon upon the following
article on the demise of Mayflys, the effect on trout diet and how all
of this affects our hobby. Of particular disturbance is
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0121_030121_hatchmatch.html
regarding trout chasing non-specific imitations versus imitations of
"naturals" such as Mayflys. How many here think it sad that we have
digressed away from the need to "match the hatch" VERY SPECIFICALLY in
waters we have thought of as sacred almost? Another article spoke of
a stream which became devoid of Salmon-Flys in the 60s.
SNIPPED
So... are we evolving as tyers with new ideas or has nature been
tampered with so much that our tying reflects what we observe and what
the fish react to? Consider Great Lakes steelhead, every year they
seem to hone in on a new pattern much different that last. Almost all
are hatchery fish 2 years or more in an eco-system which evolves
unnaturally. What do YOU think? Is it the tyers or environment which
drives the newest patterns? What is the future of fly tying?
Murf
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You asked for lurkers and I am one of them. I should either be writing
a paper or grading all those assignments that have been building up from
my students. This was too much like an attractor pattern that causes
lurkers to go far out of the normal feeding lane to attack.
I have been tying flies since 1967 and think there is less attention to
attractor traits than in the past. Your definition of attractor traits
might differ from mine. There is a movement away from realistic flies
specifically for fishing. Realistic flies have become more of an art
form. Some of the tiers are trying to include natural traits in gills
and legs to give an appearance of life like qualities in those patterns.
There definitely is a philosophical shift to an impressionistic style
for flies but more emphasis is on the life like qualities of movement in
extended bodies, legs, gills, and wings. If you consider this to be an
attractor I would agree with you.
How often do you see patterns such as the Royal Coachmen these days
appearing in magazines or books. How much of the streamer patterns of
Stevens and other Maine tiers was imitation and how much was attractor?
Does substituting Z-lon for bucktail change a pattern from imitation to
attractor? Do some of the newer synthetics permit us to imitate a
natural trait that was always there but not noticed or cared about but
looks only like an attractant in the vise?
As Mike pointed out in his response, changes are occurring but not
necessarily with loss of insects. An example from my experience would
be the Black River that begins in Medford, WI and flows into the
Mississippi at LaCrosse. The middle section from below Greenwood for
about thirty miles to Lake Arbutus is a beautiful stretch with most of
it wadeable. It has an abundance of smallmouth and other warmwater
species. Every year some nice muskies are even caught in it. When I
was a kid it had an abundance of runoff from manure from all of the
dairy farms. Some of the towns did not treat their sewage very well and
dumped it into the river. It was not a healthy river. In the last
couple years, when we have stopped for gas at a station about a half
mile from the river in Neillsville we are amazed at the number of
species of mayflies and caddis that are all flying around the lights.
This river looks like a miniature Susquehanna without the press or
people. It is shallow to wade with plenty of small and sometimes deep
holes. It is large enough that trees would not be catching your flies.
[Wisconsinite PR with no stake in your trying it out.]
We have seen so many insects while driving past other streams now that
we never seemed to have thirty years ago.
You might want to look in some of the entomology journals. I believe I
have read that variation in color within the same species can occur
naturally based upon environmental conditions that are not necessarily
detrimental. It is possible that a negative condition was affecting the
original coloration. A larger size, #16 versus #18, might also indicate
a healthier condition.
I believe we are at a high point in the history of fly tying and hope it
is not an apex. There is much more cross fertilization of ideas now
with the Internet and shows such as Somerset that were unheard of a
generation ago. The change in the availability and marketing of fly
tying materials is another story.
Gerald Lincoln
Mount Joy, PA
formerly from Neillsville, WI
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