# Ugly Flies Work



## Outearly (Oct 20, 2015)

Pretty fish!


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

I'm convinced of 2 things as regards lures. fish don't see that clearly and unless they have learned the hard way they assume anything moving is alive. they have no other frame of reference unless they've been fooled enough times.


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## Andrew Jones (Mar 22, 2016)

I think us fly tiers are much more technical than fish are. At least with most species most of the time.


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## 7WT (Feb 12, 2016)

Well,
In some cases I agree with any thing that moves. It seems though that many fish can become extremely selective. Trout for instance targeting one mayfly or say a spinner. I have found stripe bass who at times require specific color and size. Somehow they can determine a select species whether combination of sight and lateral line or something else.


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## eightwt (May 11, 2017)

Just think of the fish you catch after a fly has caught a few and it becomes tattered. It keeps on keeping on. Seems to work just fine. The first flies i ever tied were gold ribbed hares ear and the book i was following (was long before the internet) said the scragglier it looked, the better.


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## Stormy Monday (Mar 27, 2019)

I left a fly on my roof and drove off, a day later driving to work I saw it and grabbed it. It had been run over multiple times, pretty beat. I got 5 stripers on it in 30 minutes, so much for stressing out if my flies are pretty enough!


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## 7WT (Feb 12, 2016)

Wow, some rod! I think its like when you have the munchies it doesnt really matter that much, chips, pickles, leftovers, prety much anything, but then when you want mint chocolate chip ice cream, that's what you want.


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## Snakesurf (Jun 18, 2019)

I have always found that, in saltwater at least, if it looks too real it won't work as good as that weird shaped unnatural colored fly.


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## fishnpreacher (Jul 28, 2018)

I started out fly fishing for trout, and trout can be picky as far as size and pattern. Then, one of the top trout producing patterns is a "royal" pattern that can be tied dry or trude. Either way, it resembles nothing in a trout's diet. The only thing you can say for sure when it comes to "matching the hatch" is there is nothing definite. Perfect flies will catch fish, as will nasty looking trashed out flies like I tie.


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## Shallow Expectations (Jun 11, 2019)

I think most of the time we over think how smart the fish we are targeting are. I've had a few different species hooked multiple times pull off and then eat the same fly again right away. Hell their is a video of a GT eating a sandal.


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## Andrew Jones (Mar 22, 2016)

Shallow Expectations said:


> I think most of the time we over think how smart the fish we are targeting are. I've had a few different species hooked multiple times pull off and then eat the same fly again right away. Hell their is a video of a GT eating a sandal.


Definately! When fish aren't feeding so much, they are smart as a whip. It's when they really get hungry is when they get stupid dumb!


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## Scott Kor (Feb 3, 2019)

Hmmm, you guys are hurting a lot of good fly tyers feelings with this thread.

OK, here's my two cents. (disclaimer: I am an avid fly tyer, so I am not impartial )
Certain factors matter, but not always. So, the GT eating a sandal may happen, but not consistently enough for us to be carefree about what fly we throw.

1)Certain species are more consistently selective than others. Trout can lock in on a fly size, color and type to the exclusion of all else. Permit didn't get caught on flies consistently until great crab patterns were developed. But try using the same crab pattern on a milkfish and see how consistently it works. Other fish are so aggressive, that they often seem to hit anything that moves. But not always. Sometimes even these aggressive species need a certain fly pattern.
2) Presentation may matter as much or more than the fly pattern, but a poor fly pattern often limits the presentation. For example a top water fly that won't float, a sinking fly that is to heavy to throw, the streamer fly that spins or lists to one side, or a fly that needs an effective weed guard.
3) The fly that is closest to the size, color and shape of the most abundant prey, will more often than not produce the most strikes.
4) Angler confidence is a huge factor, and a fly that you think has all the right stuff, is the fastest way to building confidence. A confident angler, seems to make better casts, is more focused, and more persistent than an angler that is unsure whether what they are throwing will work.

So, those one off situations where the fish seem to hit any snot fly that you throw are great. But that means that they will also hit a well tied, well thought out pattern too. Why not just use the best fly that you can, just in case those fish suddenly get finicky?


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

A couple years ago I gave my gunsmith a couple of my Buggy Shrimp flies for his trip to fish for reds near Saint Joe Fl.
He caught so many Reds the fly was just thread but he kept catching fish


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## sidelock (Jan 31, 2011)

These get my vote for some of the ugliest flies, but they're black and they work. LOL


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

those are some big jacks.


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## tcov (Apr 7, 2018)

GT’s are a bucket list fish for sure!


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Can you catch GT in Hawaii


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## Andrew Jones (Mar 22, 2016)

permitchaser said:


> Can you catch GT in Hawaii


I think Yes! They call them ulua or something like that. I am sure they are the same fish.


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