Fly Fishing the Stock Market: How to Search for, Catch, and Net the Market's Best Trades

THE SYMMETRICAL TRIANGLE: AN ALL-AROUND GENERAL-PURPOSE PATTERN

Ask any fly fisherman to list the three most productive fly patterns in any and all situations, and one of the three mentioned will be a caddisfly. If you fly fish, you know the caddisfly. It is probably the best all-around fly in an angler's arsenal because of the insatiable appetite that trout have for this insect. The caddisfly is effective in any season, and for that reason, it is one of the most widely used flies.

The caddisfly larvae are fascinating. During their development, they form a wedge-shaped case around themselves for protection from their surroundings until they are mature enough to advance to the next stage of their life cycle (Figure 8.21). When ready, they break out of these cases, morph into pupae, and begin rising to the surface.

FIGURE 8.21 Example of a caddisfly casing.

Symmetrical triangle patterns are as versatile in the markets as the caddisfly is in fly fishing: these chart patterns are effective all-around general-purpose trading patterns. In addition, by virtue of the characteristic price behavior within the borders of the triangle, they, too, are protected from the outside influence of general market volatility.

I have included, for review, a thorough summary of this important chart pattern.

Symmetrical Triangle

Regarded as a continuation pattern, the symmetrical triangle is fairly common ...