For me, part of the whole enjoyment of fishing is learning, and paying more attention to the environment. (I always want to know what's around the next bend in a stream.) So I got interested in matching the hatch and got a little book on it. Man! I've taken less intensive graduate courses! So I got online and ordered these little bug boxes. They have a 4x lens for the lid and a grid on the bottom. I use an old aquarium net (I've been into fish one way or another for a long time) and drop stuff into the box, then put the lid on it and take a look.
Now this hasn't done squat for my fishing, but it's really made identifying the hatch easier (of course, I never have the corresponding fly) and you can use the lid to tie on those itty bitty flies, too.
Now this hasn't done squat for my fishing, but it's really made identifying the hatch easier (of course, I never have the corresponding fly) and you can use the lid to tie on those itty bitty flies, too.