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.
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.
