Paint by Number Fly Fishing
Matching the match is really a two-part process. The angler must first observe the insects in, on, and around the water and be able to identify which family of insect and life cycle each falls under. Secondly, they need to be able to go into their fly box and choose the fly patterns that are closest in size, profile, and COLOR to the insects sampled. For many fly fishers, it isn’t the lack of knowledge that prevents them from effectively matching the hatch, but the need to take out a second mortgage on their house in order to purchase the diversity of fly patterns in different COLORS needed to match the various hatches on the water.
Fear not! Your fly fishing therapists from Ascent Fly Fishing are here to bring financial harmony to you and your significant other and relief to your besieged wallets!
With a handful of Sharpie markers and a few key fly patterns, you can MULTIPLY your fly selection without stepping a foot back in the fly shop! Welcome to Paint by Number Fly Fishing!
Fly patterns with light dubbing or thread bodies and white wings or tails are like a blank canvas for the innovative fly fisher willing to think outside of the fly box. With a few key fly patterns such as the Gold Ribbed Hares Ear, Beadhead Flashback Hares Ear, Light Cahill, Parachute PMD, Hi-Vis Parachute PMD, Miracle Midge, and White Mercury Midge you can match ANY mayfly and midge with some creative coloring and a few permanent Sharpie markers. Equipped with red, orange, green, brown, and black markers you can quickly turn a Parachute PMD into a Red Quill, a Light Cahill into a Hair Wing Green Drake, a Gold Ribbed Hares Ear into a Damsel Fly larva, and a Miracle Midge into one of the nearly 17,000 midges found in our waters.
Here are the 4 steps to help you Paint by Number and multiply your fly selection:
- Collect a sample of the bugs in and around the water you are fishing
- Match the size and profile of the natural insect with the closest "Blank Canvas" fly patterns in your box
- Use your different sharpies to color the wings, body, legs, and tail to match!
We’ve all heard that the pen is mightier than the sword. Well, for the creative fly fisher the pen can also be mightier than the (fly) vice!
