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3. Realism or Impressionism?, Page 2

Hey, like I said in my PM, the Rifle is a great stream. Lots of good hatches from the opening of the season all the way into October, with eager browns and the occasional acrobatic rainbow. Brown stoneflies early (like April if it's warm enough), then Light Hendricksons, caddis hatches (several of different sizes and colors), Isonychias, Light Cahills, and Nectoppsyche caddis ("White Millers") almost until it gets too cold to flyfish. And a lot smaller mayflies that I haven't seen hatch in large numbers but always seem to fly by you while you're fishing. An Adams works surprisingly well in there, I guess it's close enough to those random ones...also have gotten them on hoppers and crickets (black hopper with grey wings). And, when all else fails and you see a rising fish but can't figure out what it's eating? Pull out the "secret weapon": the Royal Wulff!! I've had fish pass up any other fly and then blast a RW like they can't stand it - including smallies on Cooke Pond!

Hey, that brings us back to our discussion on realism vs. impressionism. Attractor flies are completely out of this category! Anyone ever seen a real insect that looks like a RW? Or a Royal Coachman, or an Adams? I haven't, but fish sure seem to want to eat 'em! What it all comes down to is that fish are looking for certain cues in a drifting item that tell their brains, "PREY!!". Now, since an attractor doesn't imitate anything real in the way of a food item, it obviously gives the fish some OTHER cues that make it attack - and often times that attack is fairly violent. Do the colors some how PISS THEM OFF? Red is a color of aggression in many fish species, notice how much redder spawning brookies, browns, and sunfish get when its breeding season. Why? Because they are territorial, and probably the redder they look, the meaner they look! So does that little red sash on the "Royal" patterns just set them off? Or - pure curiosity? "I've NEVER seen that fly before, I wonder what it tastes like? Hmmm, it's red and green and white and brown..."

A friend of mine and fellow flyrodder once told me that he had read, "Yellow makes fish get excited, and red makes them aggressive." Again, with that combo of red and yellow in my hoppers...I do wonder!

Jonathon