"snakefiddler" wrote
in the absence of a hatch, when fishing for trout in
lakes, does one approach fly selection differently than when fishing
streams?

Not knowing your lake and presuming you are shore fishing, my son "always"
has great luck using damsel fly and dragon fly nymphs indigenous to the
specific water body. His theory is that these nymphs are such a big meal
that they attract and invite strikes from the smarter medium and large sized
trout. Try strip fishing one of these bead head and/or weighted nymphs with
a sink tip floating line and see if you can get some takes.

Good luck!

John