Beautiful flies vs. Not So Beautiful

"Peter A. Collin" wrote in message
...
Tom Nakashima wrote:
I just received my order of flies for the McCloud River that are well
tied, but not the greatest in aesthetics. I've paid 55 cents per fly,
which I thought was a pretty good price, and they do match the patterns I
wanted. I recently saw some very nice tied patterns at $2.80 per fly,
but they were near perfect and very aesthetically pleasing. I've never
fished with beautiful flies before, but was wondering if they do make a
difference in appearance to trout?
-tom
Less important than its looks are how it performs in the water. What I
mean is, do the dry flies float? Are their wings upright in the correct
position? Do the streamers sink properly, right side up, and retain that
attitude when stripped in, rather than spinning? Do the nymphs sink right
side up? Do they sink at the proper rate? Are the hooks strong and
sharp? Can the fly take many strikes before falling apart? You can have a
ratty looking fly that catches them fine.

Peter Collin

Peter, you seem to be very knowledge about fly-ties. You made me think
about things I haven't heard before or read in a book. Never knew about
nymphs sinking right side up, thought it didn't matter. If you can think of
other valuable information about flies, I'm always willing to listen and
learn.
thanks,
-tom