My personal preference is lure fishing, not dry fly or nymphs. As a teenager, I learned the basics of fly fishing, and the art of seducing the local brown trout with a sinking line and the popular lake lures. Flies O ver the years, I've watched the fashions change with regard to spinners, spoons and wobblers.
Every year there is a new colour range, new shapes and sizes.
Strangely though, with wet flies it is different. The same Hamill's Killer and Mrs Simpson patterns I used as a kid some 30 years ago still perform with great effect on the trout of today. As a small boy, I helped my grandfather make spinners, wobblers, spoons and other arcane devices for tricking trout to strike. Those same little bait fish, crayfish, insects and snails are still there today, providing the trout with their nutritional requirements. Therefore, it stands to reason that is something worked well before, it still should work, seasonal variations notwithstanding.