fly guide

"snakefiddler" wrote in message
...
anyone know of a good web site that provides a printable version of a
guide
to flies, including information on the fish, and conditions best suited
for
their individual use? i've been doing a little googling, but so far i
have
not found what i'm looking for. a little pocket guide would be nice too,
if
they exist, and anyone has any favorites to suggest.


Whew, you'll probably get SOME leads, but this is the essence of the whole
thing. Its not a linear learning process, you gotta just jump into it and
find your own way at first for a while.

The simple overviews are too simple to really be any use (Dry flies imitate
surface bugs, usually mayflies. Wet flies imitate nymphs of surface flies,
usually mayflies. Streamers imitate baitfish.)

The more complex overviews are so detailed that they require quite a bit of
knowledge to make use of them. And they contain a lot if debatable opinions
of the authors.

I'd say not to worry too much about flies/conditions/what fish take what
flies/ until you have discovered a lot from trial and error, and just to
rely on a few standard flies until it all starts to make sense in its own
right. Get a few upwing dries (Adams, BWO, mosquitoes, whatever. They are
all rather similar) and get a few nymphs (PTs and GRHEs are all you need),
and a few streamers (wooly buggers in various sizes and colors, even though
I don't think they are technically 'streamers') and just fish them
everywhere all the time. Eventually, you'll know enough to start
assimilating more information as it comes.

--riverman