Re: comp flies
DB, The sooner you forget about 'competition' flies and magic flies, the better. Apart from the fact that there really isn't such a thing, trust me, the very best comp anglers rely on nothing that isn't already known to you. In fact, Id go as far as to say that the better/more consistant the comp angler, the fewer patterns they use. You'll also find very few if any 'secrets' in their boxes.
Sure, there are good flies and there are very good flies. We all have our favourites, and fly tiers love tinkering and searching for the holy grail; there isn't one. What we can achieve at the vice are flies that give us confidence, and sometimes flies that work slightly better than others in certain situations. It's all about faith and confidence in your fly, not magic.
Next time you see someone catch when you're struggling, you'd be well advised to ask them what line they're catching on. Forget about the fly, more often than not it's largely irellevant. What the best comp anglers do have is a knack of getting on the right line, with the right presentation and retrieve.
I've got more fly boxes than Sportfish, rammed with pretty wets, dainty dries, snazzy lures and tasty looking buzzers, but I'd trade them all for that knack that the top boys have. Sometimes getting on the 'method' (you'll hear that expression a lot if you're planning a comp 'career', and a damn site more often that you'll hear talk of a magic fly) can take me hours, if I manage it all, as opposed to minutes or an hour or so for the top boys.
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. This is where it becomes interesting and skill, watersense and entomology come into play.
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