Sounds funny saying "tie a Perfect Fly" after all everyone has their own idea of the perfect fly! Not everyone is the same but it's usually the fly that catches the most fish, the fly that is the go to when all else fails or those empty spots in your Flybox where every one either snagged a low limb, the bottom or snapped off with a fish on when you didn't check your knot after landing really nice fish.
So what I think is that you need a collection of real fish catchers and fill your boxes with them. Reliable flies that are simple to tie, using a couple of materials that can be shared with other patterns. Some times less than perfect works. The old adage is you tie a fly for other fisherman, the fish aren't that picky rings true.
Filling those boxes with every fly under the sun does create decision paralysis. We all suffer with that and planning an outing we stop by fly shops and there is always a giant chalk board with the Current hatches and a list of flies "that worked". I always called that list "flies that don't sell or we over ordered", or you should have been here last week flies. Best way to pick the perfect fly is to spend time on the stream, look in the cobwebs to see what's there. Bugs caught in its clutches overnight, scan the water and nearby foliage and turn over a few rocks. I've checked my boots and waders to see what's hanging on.
Spring is easy standard hatch progress from dawn to midmorning and spinner falls in the early evening. Summer is a bit tricky with ants and beetles the prizes fish seek. Other critters like leeches, small forage fish, tadpoles and even dragonflies can be useful.
Last bit of advice is get a book on entomology and learn to identify the species of aquatic insects in your local streams. The number of species and varieties will amaze you. Certain species are environmental indicators. Learning will not only improve your fly selection, but increase your awareness of the natural world.
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