I have been tying flies for about thirty years and have learnt that the simplest patterns are (for me) the most effective.
I like to take a pattern and strip it down to its basic essentials and then rebuild it to make it (a) simple to tie and (b) effective. Any pattern I use will have been tested for at least three seasons. I prefer to fish with flies in the top two inches of the water. The only exception is the GRHE lure when fishing stillwater. My preference is for flies tied in the #16-#22 range.