increase font size Outdoors in Maine: The school of sparse a study for fly fishers By trial and error, you do learn what flies entice fish and what flies do not, writes V. Paul Reynolds. By V. Paul ReynoldsOutdoors Columnist Read Article Like so many other dimensions of life, the fly-tying community has its disparate schools of thought. Which is better or more effective, a sparsely-tied artificial fly or a gaudy, heavily dressed creation? Since I no longer hover over the fly-tying vice, my credentials when it comes to debating the pros and cons of modern fly dressing may be open to question.