Agree about the dual purpose of tying. To attract fish, and to make aesthetically attractive flies as well ;-)
And yes, this fly is not perfect. Perfect would be a naturally tapering hackle that followed the taper of the dubbing, which both defined and never crossed the line between the throat tip and the tip of the wing, which met the tail at the end of the curve of the hook ;-)
Basically I think fly fishing is about everything else than to catch fish. I guess an explanation is needed. But to catch fish is easy. Bring a seine net or use electricity and you will be able to catch much more fish in a shorter period of time than what we are accustomed to. So when we choose to present an artificial fly, not a natural fly, nor a writhing worm, but an artificial fly, we are lowering our odds at catching fish ... and that's the reason it is so much more prestigious and satisfying to lure a large fish against all odds. We choose to train the sophisticated art of presenting an artificial fly, often barbless, on a specialised line thrown with a rod, often much lighter than recommended and with a wheel without gears ... and have the audacity to thnk we can catch a fish doing this folly ... this train of thought increases the respect of a good catch, but also goes to show how undiscriminating the fish we try to catch really is ... so a noble art of true folly ;-)
Might stir some opinions on this I guess ;-)
