What was your most effective fly in 2008?

[flyfishingpastor]

If you kept a fishing log last year, and you may well have; what do you think it would tell you about your fly selection?

Do you think it would simply suggest you have favorite flies that you just grab out of preference or habit? Would it suggest you were a careful observer of stream conditions/bugs present/air and water temp/weather?

I DO keep a fishing log, and am reasonably faithful about it. I found out that in 80% of the times I fished in 2008, I started the day with something top water, regardless of conditions. Maybe I just like to warm up with a dry? The other 20% was a bugger. After the "warm-up period" (for lack of a better descriptor), I switched to a fly that I would have logically fished with under the conditions. So, given the sample size (3+ dozen - I didn't keep it every time), I'd say I begin my fishing with my heart (something I LIKE to fish) and then spend the rest of the day using my head (what you would expect to fish given the conditions).

So, if you DID keep a log: would it tell you anything surprising about the way you fish? Would it suggest that you start/finish your outing with a preference or a purpose, as it were?

Pat

[kdthomps]

I like this topic, it'll be interesting.

I ALWAYS start with a LBN (little brown nymph) with 1 small weight about 18 inches up, and an indicator twice the depth of the water I start at. It allows me to watch the water fairly easily while I start. While fishing this I start turning rocks and watching the air to see what's going on. If nothing perks my interest, I'll usually try a muddler minnow or bugger.

By the end of the day I'll end up throwing anything and everything out there, just to see what happens. Often it's large streamers (the Saltwater fishermen in me hoping to hookup with something that I'll never land without a leader).

So, I guess I start with my head, then regress to hopes and dreams.

The LBN is a fly my father [claims] to have started to replicate the generic dark nymphs, usually size 16ish. It's always reliable when nothing else is happening in the small native trout streams I'm used to. It's also been known to land a couple small mouth. To see it, you'll have to fish with me.

[trent]

My best fly for '08 was a fly they sell at the Warehouse. I can't remember if it even has a name. It is basically a clump of rubber legs strapped to a hook. They have it in a couple of different colors, but the yellow version was the best for me. It didn't always catch fish, but it caught my best fish of the year and was productive for me numberous times.

Not far behind would be a wooly bugger and then maybe a small clouser crayfish pattern.

I think much more important for last season was not necessarily the most effective fly, but rather just becoming a more effective fisherman overall. By that I mean being smarter about how I approach water, trying to think through the places the fish are most likely to be holding and how best to reach them there, and better overall fly selection. My best "fly" for the year, was probably just better patience and perseverance.

[troutcharmer]

Since 08 was my first year of fly fishing, I would usually start with whatever someone suggested, or I would copy the pattern used by those I fished with. Once that didn't work (was was the norm), I would begin to try flies I just had good feelings about. My very favorite fly of 08, regardless of success with it, was a hopper. I loved the look of it sitting on the water. And, I probably did catch a few with it!

Monica

[rstaight]

Well let's see.

If I'm fishing a pond for gills, I usually start with a Sulfer and then go to a white Panfish Charlie.

In streams for bass, an olive Panfish Charlie. In a trout stream, Partridge and Orange.

In saltwater, this past year was with out a doubt a False Pilchard.