[NativeCutt]

Question: It has been said that when you tie your own flies, you can tie patterns that cannot be found in a fly shop, and therefore, catch more fish because you are fishing a fly the fish have never seen before. Yet, when someone asks what flies to use fly fishers will answer, "you can get them on the standard nymphs like a Hares' Ear, Prince or sow bug; one top they will take a Parachute or standard Adams, an Elk Hair Caddis or Royal Wulff.

Do fish really remember from year to year what fly they've seen and then refuse it? Does this only happen on heavily pressured waters? Do fish really become educated?

I use my own creations year, after, year, after year and do quite well. I'm pretty sure I have fished over the same fish in the same places, and they still take the same patterns I present.

And this might be the same question, I've asked before. That's how repetitive fly fishing can be.

 

[Critter]

My brother in law tied his own flies, hundreds of thousands of them. When he passed away my sister just looked at all the jars and plastic cups that held them. He would go into a fly shop and ask around about what some good patterns were. He then would look at it and go home and tie up a couple hundred.

As for fish liking a certain pattern or another, there are some tried and true ones. But if you look at them they usually look like a bug that is active and pretty much looks the same all summer. Then there are the good flies for winter, but it is the same as summer.

I've never tasted a winged insect or a caterpillar to see what a fish would prefer, at least on purpose.

You just find patterns that work, day in and day out and most stick with them.

 

[TOgden]

Sometimes I look in my fly boxes and wonder what I was thinking when I tied that one up. 😕 I'm sure I'm not the only one that has hundreds of flies and fishes with just a couple of dozen. I've always said that the fly shops are in the business to sell flies and are constantly creating new wiz-bang patterns but the old tried and true patterns still catch fish and always will.

The one thing that has changed over the years are the new materials along with different shaped hooks.

I find a big advantage to tying your own flies are being able to tailor them to the waters you fish for size, colors, and weight. The other advantage is the durability compared to store purchased flies.

The best part about fly fishing - You never really figure everything out.

 

[Catherder]

Do fish really remember from year to year what fly they've seen and then refuse it? Does this only happen on heavily pressured waters? Do fish really become educated?

I think we sometimes give the fish too much credit for "smarts" they probably don't have. Which is probably why "old reliable" patterns consistently produce year after year.

I do know this though. It does seem that there are definite day-to-day variations in what they like the best and educated fish do seem to be able to tell when you screw up your presentation, especially in heavily fished waters.

 

[Vanilla]

The only advantage I’ve found to tying my own flies is I enjoy it, so it is another hobby to take my time and money. Anymore I find myself tying a very limited variations of flies, and generally those are in preparation for specific waters or a specific upcoming trip. That is half the fun: tying all the flies you won’t end up using when you go on this upcoming awesome trip! Of course there are some that work in general and I enjoy tying them too, but I really like the fly thing prep for something specific. It’s better than scouting elk and deer before the hunt!

It doesn’t save me money. I don’t think it gives me any advantage over store bought flies. I do it simply because I like to do it.

Oh, then there are the handful of “secret” flies I tie that you can’t buy in the shops and definitely catch more fish. But I can’t talk about those.

 

[caddis8]

I am a mixture. I will sometimes buy flies at a place I haven't fished before, especially if I have to travel. It's sometimes easier to do that. Then I'll come back ready and stocked the next time I fish it. I'm not afraid or ashamed to buy flies. Sometimes I'd rather be fishing than tying. Often people tie flies over the winter. I'm too busy shooting geese.

 

[PBH]

I haven't pulled my fly tying kit from storage since I moved in 2020. My supply of buggers is kind of ugly right now. I keep telling myself I need to pull the kit out, and tie up some buggers -- but I haven't done it yet.


I'd rather beg my amazing friends on UtahWildlife.net to send me some of their awesome creations that I'd be happy to test out for them! Just PM me and I'll get you my address. Thanks!



As for the original question: I don't believe fish remember. I think we, as fishermen, like to give fish more credit than their tiny little PLC brains deserve. Walt Disney did a huge dis-service to all of us by anthropomorphizing his characters.

 

[slapwater]

I tie way more flies than I use. I spent 8 days on a wilderness float trip in Alaska a couple years ago. I tied the flies for my Brother-in-law and myself. You never want to find the one fly that works and then not have enough of it so I went way overboard. I think I took between 300 and 350 flies. We probably used 25 of them the whole trip. Our guide finished the week with enough flies to not have to worry about clients running out for the rest of the year.

I agree that tying in preparation for the trip is a big part of the fun of the trip. My Alaska trip was incredible but the start of the trip was a bit of a letdown because I'd enjoyed the prep so much. Once we were on the river, the letdown went away. What an amazing week.

I think the fish become more educated to unnatural drifts, fly lines, and people hovering over them than they do individual fly patterns. I do think having a less common take on a fly can be helpful on very highly pressured fish but most of the time I don't think it matters all that much. There have been a couple of days in places like Railroad Ranch on the Henry's fork where I've done much better on something a little different. The shops up there know that though and stock 100 different varieties of the common bugs. You don't need to tie to get in on the action.

For me, tying flies is therapeutic. The fine motor skills make me focus to the point that everything else get's drowned out. I also love that I can do it it small increments at home. When I go fishing, I tend to leave my family and responsibilities behind. That's great but I can only do so much of that and be a good husband/dad. In between fishing trips, I can come home from work, play with my kids, tuck them in at night and then sit down at the vise for 5 or 10 minutes, clear my head, enjoy something connected to fishing, and not feel like I'm neglecting anyone or any thing.

Hmmm, what should I tie tonight? I really need to get a trip on the books.

 

[PBH]

Hmmm, what should I tie tonight?

I think you should tie some black, brown, and olive wooly buggers. I'm running low...

 

[backcountry]

I haven't tied anything in probably five years. I've made some fishing lures since then but for my spin rod.

I enjoyed the process and focus, as others have said. It also allowed to produce patterns in colors that worked in previous trips but were difficult to find locally.

And I intentionally buy locally whenever I go to a new area. I learned to do that whenever asking for advice in a shop as I can't afford guided trips and it seems to be a good profit for the them (or so I was told). I'm not sure I do better with those patterns as the same average caster is still the one tossing them wherever I go.

I was taught trout have a "search pattern" that greatly affects what they choose to eat & chase. They are pretty lazy fish and it's lower risk they'll waste precious energy that way. At least that's the gross generalization I remember 10+ years later. Ultimately the tried and true seem to reflect what's in that search pattern pretty well until you get into a heavily pressured "PhD trout" runs. Though that seems to apply more to aquatic invertebrates than piscivorous targets.

Who knows though, I've never been great at the sport and enjoy working a river feature as much as I do the trout themselves. It's why I exploded new stretches so often when it was my singular passion.