Sometimes, it’s fun to challenge yourself or other fly guys with something new. How about only one fly pattern?
Years ago, I fished all summer with just variations of a Royal Coachman fly pattern. I kept my box full of dries, streamers, nymphs, and terrestrials all resembling the classic Royal Coachman.
This pattern was one of the first fly patterns that I learned to tie as a kid. My first trout on a dry fly was using a sized 12 Royal Coachman, that I tied. During my Coachman Summer, my fish catch was way up. The trout loved it as I changed my presentations. The biggest challenge was thinking more about the fly’s silhouette and sizes. Presentation was also key. It fished as a nymph, dry, streamer, terrestrial, or just an attractor.
When you handicap yourself, you need to up your skills. Lefty Kreh always joked about how even a cigarette would be an effective fly if presented correctly. His book titled “Presentation” may be the best fly-fishing book ever written. His single fly choice would have been the ant! He swore trout would single out ants during the biggest hatches.
A single pattern allows you to save time picking what fly to use. Now you tend to select your fly based upon how you plan to present it. You also save space in your vest since you need fewer fly boxes.
Fish can’t see colors. They have no cones/cells in their eyes. The colors are more about what the tier prefers than the fish. Flashy, trashy materials certainly helped get the trout’s attention. At night, I tied my coachman patterns using dark/black materials. This made it easy for me to see the fly in low light.
At this time of the year, August-October, I would pick a hopper as my one fly pattern. Something durable and in a variety of sizes. Terrestrials are targeted by fish year around. Hoppers work exceptionally well when fished as a nymph. I think that they imitate crayfish or perhaps sculpins when fished slowly and deep. This technique results in huge strikes and fish.
What single pattern would you pick to fly fish for the next few months?
Tie One On!
Montana Grant
