Confidence flies, confidence water, confidence weather, the list goes on and on. It's no secret that confidence is addressed frequently in fly fishing, and even often regarded as one of the most important aspects of the sport on any given day. But what exactly do people mean when they talk about their "confidence flies"? I'll give it my best shot, and try to explain a concept so frequently addressed in the sport.
I think what it boils down to is the ability to feed a fly to a fish, and then detect a strike, set the hook, play the fish quickly, and land the fish efficiently. Put simply, if you are fishing a fly that you genuinely do not think will entice a fish, you won't be expecting an eat, you probably won't be setting the hook frequently enough, or at least at the right times, and you consequently won't be landing many fish. When you are fishing a fly that you have confidence in, the opposite occurs. You're constantly expecting an eat, and prepping yourself to set the hook, play the fish, and land the fish. That's all there is too it in my opinion.
More hook sets at the correct depth and drift = more fish in the net
I believe that cracks the code. There's no secret recipe, no magic wand, no signature move, just hook sets occurring on correct presentations.
Now, this idea doesn't mean that pattern isn't important at all, because it certainly is, but I strongly believe that pattern is far less important than presentation, and always will be. A large range of files are proven to catch fish in so many situations that you really can't go wrong.
Caffeine. Drink caffeine. It gives me confidence, so maybe that'll help you too haha.
Stay fishy, and set those hooks,
-Brighton