Hi Graham/all
I have very little experience to call upon, only having fly/trout fished for a year. Of course when you first get into the sport you want to catch, and with that I was advised to reach for the lures as they are somewhat easier to handle for abeginner...
However, on my 3rd ever trip I was adopted by a wonderfully experienced angler who made it his personal task to get me my first trout on atraditional dry immitation. Thankfully it was late may and the Mayflies werecoming off the water in a steady stream for most of the day...
After a few hours, and ironing outafew casting and presentation issues, I finally struck into my first immitation caught trout. It was probably the smallestrainbow I have had to date, but by FAR the most memorable, enjoyable andinspiring fish I've had...!!!
In a nut shell, while I would love to purely fish immitations, I simply don't get enough fishing time tolimit myself so much,m and when the going is toughI will use lures. However, I like nothing more than the idea of fooling a wairy fish with what it thinks is a true food item. The next step for me is to learn to tie my own flies, and nobody will need to tell me how wonderful I'm going to feel when I catch on a self-tied immitiation!!!
CHeers,
Jeff