Besides wet and dry flies, there are imitators and stimulators. Whether salt water or fresh water fishing, imitators are designed to look like insects, nymphs, bugs and anything else a fish might want to eat.

Besides the creepy crawlers in the water, a fish might also enjoy eating things from land like worms, mice or shrews on shore, or caterpillars dropping off of overhanging trees.

But you don't start fishing with the adult stage of an insect when the fish are currently feeding on an earlier stage of the same bug. Your fly will probably go unnoticed.

"If I kill a fish," Les says, "I always check to see what's inside." So many imitations of aquatic larvae, pupae and crustaceans need to be made for your fly box before you head out.

Don't forget about the saying "use dark flies on dark days and bright flies on sunny days." (How big of a tackle box do they make for fly fishing?) If you are after a steelhead or a salmon in the river, you will probably want to use a stimulator since these species don't usually feed after reaching fresh water.

"So you want to try and stimulate them into grabbing it (the hook)." Les shows me his collection of materials: fluffy, rainbow-dyed maribou, the sparkling synthetic "extra limp" tinsel, shimmering nail polish (for finishing coats Les assures me) and other snazzy items used to entice a fish.