What's in a name?

This is about an outing I had in early September. The Farmington river was in prime condition with flows that are to my liking. I had tied up a few soft hackles that I wanted to give a try. I saw the pattern for a fly called "grouse and flash" in Hatch Guide For New England Streams. The recipe called for pearl krystal flash for the body and grouse for the wing. At the time I had neither so I substituted pink holographic tinsel and partridge. What's in a name, and what difference does it make in what color or bird type is used. That's exactly what I thought when tying the fly. Then after reading some thoughts on the same subject I found out that others in the fly tying business and anglers as well came to the conclusion. It's more about what the fly represents, which is an insect struggling to hold on in an environment that's not letting it do so, than it's ability to match the insect precisely.

So I fished this fly and did so almost the entire time I was on the river. The trout responded very well and I enjoyed one of my better days on the Farmington that year.

The "grouse and flash" as pictured in the Hatch Guide. It is tied with the exact ingredients.

This is the fly I tied, "partridge and pink flash".

This Farmington river brook trout found the fly to interesting to pass up, as did many others that day, I might add so did the brook trout in Shenandoah.

I retired this fly, and as you can see it deserved it after the workout it received.