FAKE OUT
There are more ways to catch, than to simply match the hatch
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MATCH ACTIONS
Whether I’m fishing near home or afar, I mostly carry generally imitative patterns that don’t look like anything specific, yet drift or swim in lifelike, bite-triggering ways. My go-tos include modern classics such as the Parachute Adams, Elk Hair Caddis, Bead-Head Soft Hackle, Chernobyl Ant, Woolly Bugger and Cone-Head Muddler, plus a few oddballs like worms and mice.
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So, how do I pick a fly? On the rare occasions I encounter overwhelmingly obvious insect activity, I’ll attempt a casual match. But mostly, I consider the target species, region, season and water conditions, then tie on something that seems like a plausible prey item. If this takes longer than a minute, I’m over-thinking. I spend a lot more time figuring out how to cast my fly to the right spot, get it to the right depth and ensure it moves correctly.
These days, my guiding philosophy comes from a grizzled mentor who liked to point out that the short, fraught life of a gamefish is a balance between constant, nagging hunger and fear of predation. It took me decades of flailing around, but I eventually realized he was right. Now I follow his simple advice: “Just put something tasty-looking in front of the fish, and let their stomachs and hunting instincts do the rest.”