Primarily, flies are designed to catch fish. At least they should be. Although we have all heard the old saw that more flies are tied to catch anglers.

To catch fish then. Obvious? Yes, but some of the other essential design characteristics are far less obvious. Things like hackling and winging designs, durability. Materials used, styles, whether sparse and thin or more heavily hackled, or bulkily dressed. How does one find the best material or the best style?

This can be a very difficult process. Basic recipes, instructions, and tying techniques do not normally cater to anglers with such questions. It may be that the basic recipe will suffice for your purposes, but if you wish to "improve" it for your specific application, how may you go about it?

Well first of all, before you can "improve" something, you must at least be able to tie the original basic pattern correctly. This site has a collection of exemplary tutorials which will be of great assistance to you in such endeavours.

Now I have no doubt at all that Harry has developed his particular styles of dressing to suit his particular applications. He could doubtless vary his patterns at will, simply by using more or less material, altering hackles or wings slightly, using feather instead of hair, substituting other materials to achieve specific effects, and so on.

This would depend on how and where these flies are to be fished. One of the main reasons for the development of regional "styles" was the suitability of particular techniques and materials to certain waters, or styles of fishing. It may well be that such a style of fly may not be very effective on your home water, or suitable for your style of fishing.

Trial and error is one way of finding out the best styles for you, but it is a long and involved process, and is much easier if you have help.

Local patterns and styles are rarely haphazard developments. They may be the result of one inspired tyer´s genius, or more usually are the result of a great number of anglers fishing over many years, and gradually distilling the best style of fly for a particular river or stream.

Materials used in these flies will usually reflect the properties required of a fly in that locale. Of course there are "General" flies, in the meantime quite a few, which will work almost anywhere. But if specifically tailored to a water, they can work even better.

Tailoring these flies to suit your exact purposes is a fascinating process, and will reward you well. This site will show you how to tie very good flies. Stick to the techniques and materials shown until you can tie the pattern perfectly, then, take a good hard look at your local flies, and try to see where you might modify the pattern you wish to use to suit your area or water better.

Some things are obvious here as well of course. Slow flowing water requires less hackle or hair to float a fly than fast flowing water. Streams with high detergent content will also require modifications, and it may be difficult to get flies to float properly for long in any case.

You may well be surprised at the results of such experiments. You may catch more fish on some patterns when more sparsely dressed. on others when more heavily dressed. You will discover ways and means to catch more fish, and more easily. Simply by modifying your flies to suit.

The basic patterns remain the same, the basic techniques as well, simply the dressing style, or amount of material used, changes. Sometimes one is bound to substitute materials. This must be carefully done. The material properties are by no means always obvious, and may be an integral part of the fly´s success. Changing them without giving the matter sufficient thought may well result in a less effective fly.

Somebody remarked to me, after I had directed him to Harry´s site, that he thought the tutorials were very good indeed, but left no romm for experiment or creation. I disagree most vehemently, and I am sure Harry does too. These tutorials are designed to help you aquire a set of skills and knowledge. How you use these is entirely up to you.

However you decide to use them, I am sure you would like to join with me and many others in thanking Harry for a most excellent site, representing as it does a great deal of knowledge, skill, and hard work. Simply in order to help others.

Regards and tight lines!

Mike Connor