It always amuses me to see posts on this forum in which the writer asks for the best patterns for a given water. At the end of the day we're fishing for rainbow trout that for the most part have only been in the water for a few hours. What on earth makes someone think that they will only take a certain fly pattern? You could chuck a banana skin at them and they'll take it.

The answer to the question is so obvious it's ridiculous. What fly works best at XXX water? Your favourite! Someone please try it. Leave all your fly boxes at home and go to a new water armed only with your two favourite fly patterns. Fish only with those, and when you get home chuck out all the flies you left there because the two you took with you caught all the fish you needed.

Complete and utter tosh.....................................

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Tight Lines.
Brian.

Have to agree with the above post !, sorry Bob .

Gee Wiz ! i'd like to see you in action on some of the small waters i fish

I would only agree to having confidence in the patterns you fish but i'm affraid to be at the top of your game you need a bit more in your armoury than two flies

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Hardy/Greys. Fulling Mill.

Very amusing Bob.....i actually did try your logic and have 2 patterns that fit the bill, but soon changed my mind on the subject when i wanted to catch the resident fish...( ones that have been in while and have adopted to natural feeding)..also full fins and tails and now target these with some new patterns i tie now, i actually tie more stuff these days than i ever did and its really enjoyable. Keep the freshly stolked fish im after the lean mean fighting machines.

Geordie.

I'm with you on this one BobP. Fish a heavily stocked stillwater like Arnfield and you'd only need a Cat's Whisker!

I used to fish with a guy called Derek Bennett (PBUH) who'd fished Ladybower since it opened in the 1940's. He used to argue that trout were intelligent and a great deal of skill and expertise was required to catch 'em! Then he'd contradict himself by only fishing an olive, or black, woolly bu99er and nothing else for the entire season - he would catch as many as any other season ticket holder too!

Catching resident fish on a hard-fished C&R water is a different kettle of fish.

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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*****©(

I think you are on a wind up
I have only fished for rainbows 3 times and caught on the same thing I would use for brownies.

BobP you could be right about fishing your favourites at least they would be fishing with confidence and not trepidation!

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[COLOR="Blue"]"A fish seen is a fish nearly caught"[/COLOR]

Agrre 100% with loopy. Confindence it the best thing to use in fishing. But sometimes its hard to find.

As regards patterns on large waters, I disagree with you Bob (sorry). Perhaps your theory might workfor someone who just fishes very small stillwaters and only on the day after they have been freshly stocked

There are a certain number of core patterns, for rainbows that should work regardless of where you fish them, but in my experience (and i cant explain why) a lot of patterns will be deadly on one water but catch nothing at all on another Ive even experienced flies that work well in one area of a large water but less well in another area of that water.

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Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate
YOU DONT NEED EYES TO SEE YOU NEED VISION

Hold on soft lad............. I've SEEN in your fly boxes and you have thousands of patterns in numerous sizes, so don't come that one laddie..........
Even after all your fly boxes got nicked a few years back, your current stock should still be described as 'more than healthy'........
The only exception I am prepared to accept is that you must fish at least 500 fisheries and have 2 patterns for each of them, heh heh......

Ian

All I can say is wherever you fish the rainbows must be incredibly unfussy!
I've fished Avington & Chalk Springs where you can see every reaction from the fish to the flies.
I can assure you 100% that on any given day the size/shape/colour & presentation (ie depth, rate & style of retrieve) of the fly you use will provoke very different responses from any fish.
Sometimes a fish will ignore a PTN or GRHE & immediately respond to a Mayfly or Dragonfly nymph.
Often imitative patterns are ignored completely in favour of attractor patterns.
Even the style of retrieve makes the difference between getting a follow & a take or getting totally ignored.

Having said all that, I reckon I could get by on any given stillwater with 2 dries, 3 nymphs & a couple of lures.