So, which do I prefer, fly-fishing or fly-tying? The truth is that I love them equally. The real thrill of catching a fish on a fly is to make a wary trout believe that the fly you are fishing is a natural. To do so you must be aware of a fish's environment, what he is feeding on, the life cycle of the fish and of the aquatic insects that are his natural food source.

Tying the flies you fish completes the circle, it makes you part of that pattern of nature. I still remember the first fish I caught on a fly I tied myself, an elk hair caddis on Wissahickon Creek in Philadelphia in the 80s.

The elk hair caddis is a favorite dry fly during summer's abundant caddis fly hatches, not just here in Maine but on trout streams around the world. There are a number of fly patterns that have achieved worldwide popularity because of their universal effectiveness. An Adams is perhaps the most popular mayfly imitation followed closely by a quill Gordon. The most popular mayfly nymph without question is the pheasant tail, developed by Frank Sawyer on the River Avon in the 1930s.

A gold ribbed hare’s ear is probably the most common caddis fly imitation.

While the patterns listed above have withstood the passage of time, there are tens of thousands of other fly patterns fished by fly-fishermen around the world. Some are local, meaning flies that work on a specific river or a specific region or even a specific species of fish. Atlantic Salmon flies are a perfect example, these flies have risen to an art form. On the great Salmon rivers of Ireland, England and Scotland flies like the Green Highlander, General Practitioner and Thunder and Lightning, are steeped in fly fishing folklore going back over a century.

Everyone develops their own arsenal of favorite flies, some are closely held secrets while others are shared with anyone who wants to listen. My favorite of named nymph flies include; pheasant tail, green caddis pupa, brassies, rainbow warriors and prince nymph. For dry flies I like, Adams parachute, red quill, Hendricksons, CDC, Klinkhammer, stimulaters, x-caddis and PMD. For streamers I like Barnes special, Garthside's soft hackle, Colonel Bates, black ghost, gray ghost and bleeding minnow.

This is a list that changes constantly, but they are flies I always have in my box. I also have dozens of unnamed flies, patterns swapped with friends streamside, experiments, adaptations and midnight inspirations.

See you on the river.

Related stories:

• Brook trout by Don Abbott

• Catch and release — Kill or conserve? by Roy Hitchings

• Grand Lake Stream by Jeff Space

• Tactics for trout by David Williams

Terry Walsh is a member of the Georges River chapter of Trout Unlimited, georgesrivertu.org.

The Georges River chapter of Trout Unlimited is a local chapter of a national nonprofit organization whose mission is "to conserve, protect and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. Trout Unlimited has 147,000 members across the country. This is the fifth in a series of articles written by members of GRTU.