“That Won’t Work.” The Great Fly Dilemma
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sent a friend to Andros with six dozen custom bonefish flies. I spent weeks working on the selection, creating what I thought was a diverse and multi-faceted selection of proven patterns with different sink rates, sizes, and colors. When I saw his call come through following his trip, I settled in, eagerly awaiting his report and excessive praise for my hand-picked selection and fly tying abilities. “The guides only wanted to fish Gotcha Clousers,” he recounted, “they told me that nothing else in my box would work.” I was in disbelief, having spent hours at the vise hoping to provide him with a bounty of options and something “new.” I tried to ignore the petty annoyance, telling myself it wasn’t my flies — only that the guides didn’t have confidence in patterns outside of their favorites. Opening your fly box for a new guide can be an anxietyinducing process. You study their face for any reaction: a disapproving frown, a confident smile, or a quizzical scratch of the temple. Often, the guide runs their hand over the flies as if they are translating braille. Eventually, they pluck out a single fly, bounce it in their palm to test the weight, and hand it over without a word. “He likes it, he likes it!” you think to yourself, waiting for a pat on the back and a “Way to go, Tiger!” that never arrives. Fly selection is a touchy process, with guides and anglers often opinionated or downright stubborn about the patterns they trust. Confidence in specific fly patterns (or the lack thereof) is influenced by a multitude of factors, ranging from generational knowledge, personal experiences, and, most certainly, how a
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By Aaron Wood
pattern has recently fished. Ask a guide what his favorite go-to pattern is, and it’s likely to be whatever fly fished well the day before. More specifically, if you ask a group of top guides from Cuba, the Yucatan, Belize, and the Bahamas what the all-time best permit fly is, you will likely hear a chorus of competing opinions. The chances of a group of seasoned and qualified guides agreeing on the same “best” fly is marginal at best. Sometimes, the factors that go into fly selection can feel like a complicated mathematical equation: water depth x clarity x tidal movement ÷ habitat x lighting ÷ angling ability - guide preference + bottom color … the combinations are endless. So how do you put together the most relevant, effective, and proven selection of flies for different preferences and opinions when angling abroad? Here are a few key pieces of advice when it comes to buying, tying, or sourcing flies for your next adventure:
1. Keep An Open Mind (and Don’t Get Your Feelings Hurt) Remember that a pattern that one guide swears by and loves, another guide may totally avoid. Suppose you arrive at a destination with a selection of flies you sourced after independent research or a collection you purchased through someone in the know. If that guide tells you that “nothing you have will work,” know that is simply not true. Fly “favorites” vary among guides, and a guide’s favorite pattern could simply be the last fly that brought a fish to hand!