Re: SLR Flies
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Posted by Dan Blanton on 2012-03-29 12:30:40
in reply to Re: SLR Flies posted by Tony P on 2012-03-29 11:39:56
Tony,
A agree - Confidence is EVERYTHING - most of the time. But I've always said that you catch the fish on the fly you're fishing and if you use only one fly - well...
I've got a fews years on me chasing stripers, SL since the late 60s. I've found that just a few styles and colors of flies are needed to be consistently successful; but I have had experiences when "the" fly and color made a profound difference. Sometimes it's size or conformation - long skinny vs. shorter and fatter, depending upon the bait.
When they are feeding on yearling American shad, for example, they may want a larger, longer fly; and if that fly has some stimulating action, like my Darting Jig Hook Sar-Mul-Mac (Lead Ass Mack), you may find yourself out-fishing everyone. On the other end of the spectrum, a smaller, sparser fly that suggests smelt, may be the winning ticket. Dave Sellers used to kick our butts with one of his small, size 2 SST flies - he caught huge fish on it. They were eating smelt not shad. And, Lee Haskin has reported to me many times that they only wanted sculpin patterns. I too have experienced that scenario.
I've also seen color play a roll depending upon water and light conditions. Accordingly, I carry several styles, color patterns and sizes in my box and I change up when I think the fly may make a difference.
One of the ways Dave Sellers and I used to check each other was to swap rods when on of use was out-fishing the other to determine if it was the fly, the line or retrieve that was making the difference. Often it was one of those contributors. It's an easy way to narrow down the variables. For example if the flies we both were using were identical, then what was left was the line and retrieve and the question of which one was the winning factor was quickly resolved.
Bottom line for me is: don't get hung up on just one fly, retrieve or line. Experiment! It's fun as Tony says and you may just learn something.
Dan |
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