Few fly patterns to me are perfect, I think a lot of us fisherman are in search for a go-to fly of their own design, something that ensures complete confidence. Your and my idea of the perfect fly may be different, but who's writing the article here? Ha, not you. Take a gander at my creation, criticize if you will, change it if you like, but either way keep your imagination open and come up with something perfect.
To me, perfection is this;
The fly must be durable.
The fly must incorporate only a few, inexpensive materials that are easy to find.
The fly must have an action of that of it's living representation.
The fly must be a color that works well in all environments.
The fly must be easy to cast.
The fly must not take long to tie.
The fly must sink or float without issue.
The fly must be easy for anyone to tie.
The fly must be simple and easy to be made off memory.
And the fly MUST catch near ANY fish that swims or eats the target living food source that the fly represents.
That's a lot of requirements, that last one is tricky. Few flies come close to that, the Clouser Minnow, the October Caddis, the Woolly Bugger. People rely on flies like these when all else fails, but they're not OUR patterns, Bob Clouser can claim his, and good for him. But what makes us feel special is connecting with a fish with a fly that is your brain child. Multiple species, different environments,different presentations, all help to convince us that our invention is something special.
Here is mine, the Murker, my perfect fly i came up with at 18, using marabou as a tail, hackle, and cut down like deer hair to a head it is to me perfection. A little rhea added for my steelhead version. Lead eyes and blam, done. Awesome movement, cheap, easy, and in olive it's just wondrous. From steelhead to tarpon, muskies to gar, trout, bass, catfish, tilapia, snakeheads, redfish, black drum, sharks, yea, you get the point. I've thrown the fly at everything. And it WORKS. I'm not saying it's the only thing I use, absolutely not. I love variety, but i also like having a fly that i can depend on when the going gets rough, I don't worry about the fly being right one when I fish it. Sure it falls a little short in the durability category, but low cost makes up for it
I love to see peoples ideas, and I'd love to see yours.
