Tuesday, October 18, 2016

WSJ - Fly Fishing Renegades Are Cleaning Up—With Kitchen Mops

This just in, art imitates life..........

In a tradition-bound sport, where purists lure fish with tiny ersatz insects crafted of feathers and fur, the mop fly doesn’t look much like a bug. In an affront to tradition, it instead looks exactly like what it is: a fuzzy strand cut from a cheap mop and tied to a hook. Mr. Egan uses fluorescent greenish yellow.

The above is an excerpt from an article published yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, again opening up the proverbial can of worms on what constitutes a fly and what doesn't. Read it here: LINK I encourage you to read the comments, too.

Mop Fly (Mop 'N Glo)

Who knows if the trout take these flies because they appear to be a food form, or if they just grab them as they drift by out of instinct to see if they are edible?  What I do know is that once they do take this fly, it is harder for the trout to expel it once they realize it is a fake because the material is made up of tiny, compacted loops of fiber that get caught by the trout's short, thorn-like teeth.  This often gives the angler extra time to feel the take and set the hook.  How do I know this?   I've been with folks that fish these flies and have seen how the trout's teeth catch the material when they remove the fly.    Does that make it less of a fly? No more than it makes the LaFontaine sparkle caddis with its fine antron fiber bubble less of a fly. In either case, the fly still has to be fished properly to get a trout to take it, and that's the point, isn't it?

In my opinion, this is just another example of a fly tyer being creative. It's not for everyone, as we all have our own perspective on what constitutes fly fishing, and that's good, it keeps things interesting.    

So what's my own take on this fly?  You won't find it in my fly box.  Not because I think it is beneath me to fish, but because I prefer to fish flies that I tie and that to me are more imitative of trout foods. Would I fish it if I forgot my fly boxes one day and it was the only fly available?  Sure, why not? Besides it would give my friends another thing to bust my chops about. 

And  finally, if you want to tie a version of this fly, here's Tim Flagler tying the Mop 'N Glo.



Sharpen your hooks!

1 comment:

Maheen said...

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