Tom Littleton wrote:
I have to rant for a moment!! I just got the current issue of Fly Tyer in the
mail yesterday, and one of the features is an AK Best design of a "hovering
cranefly".
Now, old A.K. claims he sweated over this one for a couple years, but there is
ABSOLUTELY no functional difference from a classic Catskill Variant. See
Flick's
instructions for the Grey Fox Variant, and the final fly. All A.K. does is make
use of, and liberally plug, Whiting's Coq de Leon feathers. A similar type of
article/
advertisement trend seems to be creeping into Fly Tyer as a whole....The result
is a lot of re-inventing the Wheel, wrapping it in some tyer's ego and foisting
on the public. Rant mode off......
Tom


The magazines need to publish SOMETHING. Big names like AK, draw
readers. It's very hard to come up with something new all the time.
So you get things reiterated ad noxium.

To give AK some slack, there are techniques, flies etc. that are so old
and disused that they're "new" again. Although I think he should have
given the Variant as the source for his "inspiration", at least out
West, I can't remember ever seeing a Variant in any bin in any fly shop.
I willing to bet that most newer anglers don't know what a variant is.

It reminds me of an incident on the Bighorn. I hooked a good fish and a
guide and his clients came over to watch the fight. The guide was nice
enough to net the fish for me. He looked at my fly and asked me what it
was. I told him it was a hare's ear soft hackle. He asked some more
questions and it turns out he didn't even know what a soft hackle is.

I like to reread some of my "older" books paying attention to
techniques, flies etc. that anglers in the past have employed but have
for some reason fallen into disfavor. Some of these things can be VERY
effective because even though they're old ideas, they're new to the fish
because no one uses them anymore.

PS I think alot of it is because you just know too much and most
articles books etc. are written for people with less knowledge. In fact,
I remember you suggested a Variant to me when I wrote about fishing a
Cranefly hatch.

Willi
goldensfrii.com