Brendan learned this lesson one September weekend when a very large cutty was sipping bugs ever so gently at the edge of some fast water across the river from him. Cast after cast the fish rejected him and it didn't matter how perfect the presentation was, the flies he had been using just weren't on the menu. He had tried everything - every fly that was successful so far that summer.
Brendan sat down at the edge of the water and stared hopelessly at his fly box when finally he saw something new, he noticed some flying ants landing on his leg and thought, "hey! that must be it". Sure enough with a small foam black ant tied on the end of his line, he made his first cast into the water and the fish didn't hesitate to eat. It would turn out that this fish he patiently waited for would end up being one of Brendan's biggest cuttys to date.