Somewhere along the way in my fly fishing journey, I found myself
making arbitrary judgments about right and wrong as it related to what
I was willing to do in the interest of catching fish. None of this was
black and white of course; it was more like what I'd rather do vs.
what I'd rather not, and I was and am willing to step over that line
without feeling terribly guilty. Yeah, I prefer dries, but I'm not
obsessive about it. Won't use live bait.

Though I have never even considered using them for trout, I have
nonetheless often used egg patterns for salmon & steelhead. Hell yes,
they catch fish. Every time I tie one on though, my mind replays
Howell Raines' book, "Fly Fishing Through the Mid-Life Crisis"
and I'm reminded of the Blalock Way. In particular is the scene
where Raines is catching fish with an egg pattern, yet Blalock eschews
them. "Why don't you use them?" "I don't need to catch a
fish that badly." "Then why did you give them to me?" "I
thought you did."

So I'm conflicted about these little balls of fluff. Do I need to
catch a salmon that badly? Yeah, I guess I do. My hesitation/guilt
was compounded recently when I went to buy some hooks to tie up a few
more eggs. It took me a few stores before I found the ones I was
looking for, the Mustad 9174. That's when I noticed their
description on the package, "Live Bait Hooks". Damn.

Joe F.