Is Big Better?

Well is It? I would say no but I guess its irrelevant if it catches a trout.  How the subject came up, I was counting White Clousers for an up coming Weipa trip in May and the 2/0 hooks looked gigantic.  This got me thinking and that takes a lot, so delving into The Fly Shop data the hook size we sell most over the many patterns carried is #12.   Why this is so is a bit of a minefield as there are many myths and legends in the history and folklore of fly fishing.

Old school fly fishers liked big flies because the trout could see the fly easily and so could they and some thought that trout were aways hungry and wanted something big to eat.   However, other things helped this thinking ;  low fishing pressure, broad stocking programs, less water extraction, long gaps between droughts.   All these things made the fishing better and easier back in "the good old days"

Thanks to fly fishing magazines and the Internet the modern fly fisher carries with them lots of flies and lots of hook sizes but every fisher as our data showes still buys  #12 and so do I.  The main reason for #12s and bigger is they are being used as indicator flys.   For many the indicator flies are attractor patterns, Royal Wulff, Stimulator to name a couple.  Grasshoppers and Cicadas also fall into this grouping of big flys for Summer fishing.

Is big better,?   As a match the hatch and a bit of dry fly snob, I gathered the data from my many fly boxes and they are dominated by hook sizes #14 #16 #18 #20 and the stand out size from my diary for 2023-2024 season is #18.  This then brings me back to the feature photo Bushys Emerger Rust.  The big fly is a #8 and the small fly is a size #20.  It's the only fly in our fly range that comes in seven hook sizes

Is Big Better    No!

Daves Tip Size #8 lake fishing.