jb
Bronze Member
Posts: 12
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Post by jb on Apr 2, 2015 19:56:46 GMT
Over the winter months I've been rolling a few ideas around the old noggin, amongst them the idea that I should boil all my Tenkara flies down (not literally) into a smaller selection. Possibly just one pattern, possibly one 'wet' and one 'dry'. I've set out in these early season days to test in my own half-scientific way a number of favourite patterns that I use on the Dartmoor streams.
I began with a partridge and orange fly, dibbling it through some deep pocket water. A little trout came up from the bottom and grabbed it. So I changed to an old favourite, a purple silk body, peacock herl thorax, and hackled of either partridge ('wet') or grizzle cock ('dry'). I've caught quite a few fish on this fly across the seasons and in the course of my experimenting it did well again, with small trout taking it on the surface with a splash and the bigger boys below. I tried flies with pheasant tail bodies (a mix of natural and olive to create a barred effect), flies with peacock herl bodies, and plain black flies with a splash of herl here and there.
I caught a few fish with all of them, and of course this was a disaster. I had no way of discarding some in favour of others and was certainly no closer to selecting just the one fly to rule them all. But just now I realised something you guys probably figured out a long time ago. The 'one' fly isn't a particular dressing, there's no magic formula for the amount of herl in a pattern as there is for vermouth in a martini (answer: no vermouth). The 'one' fly can be any fly and all flies, using one fly isn't a case of choosing the most effective it's about removing the need to choose at all.
Phew, time for a cup of tea and lie down.
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Post by daves on Apr 3, 2015 7:44:23 GMT
There is no doubt in my mind that most of the time a simple fly with a few key trigger features is all that is needed to tempt trout. In summer I'd be quite happy to have online of any of the following: a Foam Beetle, a CdC Shuttlecock, an F Fly or Elk Hair Caddis or a Daddy. I winter for grayling it could be: an orange Utah Killer Bug, a silver bead-head Partridge & Hare's Ear Spider or an orange Gammarus. However there are times when choosing the right size or shape of fly can be critical. On my local Driffield Beck when the trout are focused on Agapetus sedge pupae you can be wasting your time using anything but a size 20 pattern that sits in the surface film (a scruffy unweighted Gold-ribbed Hare's Ear nymph greased on top or even better Stu Croft's Agapetus pupa.
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Post by cm_stewart on Apr 4, 2015 3:42:25 GMT
Over the winter months I've been rolling a few ideas around the old noggin, amongst them the idea that I should boil all my Tenkara flies down (not literally) into a smaller selection. Possibly just one pattern, possibly one 'wet' and one 'dry'. You could do that, but why would you want to? I've set out in these early season days to test in my own half-scientific way a number of favourite patterns that I use on the Dartmoor streams. I began with a partridge and orange fly, dibbling it through some deep pocket water. A little trout came up from the bottom and grabbed it. So I changed to an old favourite, a purple silk body, peacock herl thorax, and hackled of either partridge ('wet') or grizzle cock ('dry'). I've caught quite a few fish on this fly across the seasons and in the course of my experimenting it did well again, with small trout taking it on the surface with a splash and the bigger boys below. I tried flies with pheasant tail bodies (a mix of natural and olive to create a barred effect), flies with peacock herl bodies, and plain black flies with a splash of herl here and there. I caught a few fish with all of them, and of course this was a disaster. I had no way of discarding some in favour of others and was certainly no closer to selecting just the one fly to rule them all. Again, why would you want to? But just now I realised something you guys probably figured out a long time ago. The 'one' fly isn't a particular dressing, there's no magic formula for the amount of herl in a pattern as there is for vermouth in a martini (answer: no vermouth). The 'one' fly can be any fly and all flies, using one fly isn't a case of choosing the most effective it's about removing the need to choose at all. My take on the whole "one fly" business may be completely different from anyone else's, but it seems to me there are only two reasons to limit yourself to one fly. 1) You want to challenge yourself to catch fish with a fly that probably is not the best fly to use at that particular time (any one pattern cannot possibly be the best pattern all the time). 2) You really have no interest in flies and just want something fuzzy with a hook in it on the end of your line that catches fish about as frequently as any other fly. If the purple silk, peacock herl thorax fly is an old favourite, it makes no sense to refrain from fishing it. Same with the Partridge and Orange and all the other flies you mentioned. I find it hard to believe that choosing which fly to use is a burden or source of stress that needs to be removed. Phew, time for a cup of tea and lie down. If you are lucky, when you get up the feeling you need to fish with only one fly will have passed. |
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Post by flatsghost on Apr 4, 2015 7:56:16 GMT
I can fully agree with comments from Chris and DaveS. Whilst we all have a selection of 'go to' patterns which will serve us well in most circumstances I dread to think of being without a range of other patterns to call upon. Fishing can be tough enough at times! Fly tying in itself is fun and it can be easy to overload with all sorts of stuff but to go to the other extreme would be far too restrictive for me personally.
I would rather be concerned with which fly to put on rather than which fly not to put on!
I wonder if this 'one fly'approach stems from the fact that many years ago anglers had neither the equipment or funds to indulge in lots of patterns and therefore had to stick to one style using what was available to them?
Enjoy your Tenkara whichever way you go
Glyn
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jb
Bronze Member
Posts: 12
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Post by jb on Apr 4, 2015 17:03:08 GMT
Over the winter months I've been rolling a few ideas around the old noggin, amongst them the idea that I should boil all my Tenkara flies down (not literally) into a smaller selection. Possibly just one pattern, possibly one 'wet' and one 'dry'. You could do that, but why would you want to? The short answer would be; to experience something of the eastern philosophy attached to Tenkara and hopefully learn some things along the way. The longer answer is: there are plenty of reasons. In Western fly fishing we use multiple patterns and attempt to fool trout based on imitation, depending on whether you believe in size and profile as critical factors (I do) or precise naturalistic imitation, the focus is on the fly. I see Tenkara as differing from this in quite a significant way. A single fly, depending how it's fished, can suggest many different food items, and fishing a single fly (or a small selection at most) is part of what I see as central to the Eastern idea. Obviously it depends how far you want to take Tenkara, whether just a different way to fish 'western style' or to go all the way down the rabbit hole and adopt some of the 'eastern philosophy' part of which is the 'one fly' idea. I suppose part of what I like most about fly fishing in general is the challenge, we are, whatever style or method we fish, making things more difficult than they need to be. The question could be 'why fly fish, when you could use bait?' or 'why use a tenkara rod, why not just use a fixed line on a western rod?'. I guess it just seems to me to be strange not to at least try something like this with Tenkara. |
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jb
Bronze Member
Posts: 12
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Post by jb on Apr 4, 2015 17:12:33 GMT
I can fully agree with comments from Chris and DaveS. Whilst we all have a selection of 'go to' patterns which will serve us well in most circumstances I dread to think of being without a range of other patterns to call upon. Fishing can be tough enough at times! Fly tying in itself is fun and it can be easy to overload with all sorts of stuff but to go to the other extreme would be far too restrictive for me personally. I would rather be concerned with which fly to put on rather than which fly not to put on! I wonder if this 'one fly'approach stems from the fact that many years ago anglers had neither the equipment or funds to indulge in lots of patterns and therefore had to stick to one style using what was available to them? Enjoy your Tenkara whichever way you go Glyn Ah but you might find fishing with only one or two flies liberating rather than restrictive, I know that's the idea anyway. I think the 'one fly' approach is probably in part to do with Zen which involves minimalism and valuing the experiential over the material, and part to do with flies being hard to come by as you say. It's likely the philosophy element comes out of the practical circumstances I suppose. It is interesting that you 'dread to think' what it would be like to not have what must be quite a carefully chosen selection of flies that you use regularly. I expect a lot of experience and thought has gone into constructing your fly boxes and I bet you've discarded quite a lot of patterns along the way too. I suppose my thinking is that it will be interesting to 'step outside my comfort zone' as the cliche goes. Though so far I've never taken more than 4 patterns with me at any one time when Tenkara-ing (compared to a couple of boxes when out with the regular trout rods). I suppose there may have been a few fish here and there that I didn't catch but might have, but I don't really mind that as long as I'm catching a few! |
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Post by flatsghost on Apr 4, 2015 19:01:35 GMT
Jb
It will be interesting to hear how you progress with your approach as the season unfolds.
I guess we all see and view things differently and thanks goodness for that. It is also interesting that you, like many of us, go western style fishing with several fly boxes although I bet you stick to a few favourite patterns. Perhaps it is the philosophy of Tenkara that prompts you to potentially take this one fly approach and I respect that. Good luck with it all, as you say, if you miss a few it matters not a great deal.
Enjoy your fishing
Glyn
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Post by paul1966 on Apr 6, 2015 10:07:13 GMT
Does the one fly literally mean one fly, or do you change the size and weight of the hooks used and keep the same pattern? If that's the case I think I could narrow it down to 6 flies in the same pattern. This does appeal to me because I am a fly fiddler and probably miss more fish changing flies and being indecisive.
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jb
Bronze Member
Posts: 12
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Post by jb on Apr 6, 2015 16:17:29 GMT
You're spot on there Glyn. I think I'm helped massively in that when I take the Tenkara rod out it's on upland streams, so I'm not dealing with selective trout and stealth is the most important factor - at least in my experience. When I go western style then I'm probably fishing bigger, more lowland style rivers and so I would want a range of nymphs to open up various depths and of course a selection of dries to match the hatch. I could probably get by with just copper johns, prince nymphs, EHC, olive emergers and duns, and some F-Flies. But I figure if I'm going to carry all those I might as well take a few more as well!
Paul, I only use patterns in size 16 as it is. I know some of the Japanese masters use only size 12s but I don't think my moorland trout will have seen anything that big. I reckon I could get away with size 14s but I've already got lots of size 16 hooks! It can be whatever you want it to be really though, changing size would make sense if you've got trout that key in particular bugs?
I went out this afternoon with my one fly approach - I've chosen the soft hackle (partridge) with purple silk. I managed to release 12 with another 3 releasing themselves so I'd say that was a success. BUT purple flies always seem to do well for me early season and the real test will come later on in the year when I might otherwise switch to something less gaudy. It's fun to fish the purple fella though as I can nearly always see it when fishing sub-surface and that makes for a real visual experience with the takes.
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