so I did a little experiment with my flies where I swam them in a bucket to see how they looked and I was quite surprised by the results.
most of my flies didn't swim hook point up but sideways. maybe this is why its better to tie flies like craigs interceptors rather than having a top and bottom colour.
the clousers tended to swim hook point up but not always. this may depend on the material used.
loop knots tented to help the fly sit the right way up
flies with dumbells and rubber legs like shrimp or crab type imitations ride the right way up as the rubber legs float and lift the point end to sit up. This would seem to make it look like the legs and moving around the current.
so I think I will be testing all new flies in the sink now first before trying them on the water.
also considering that most of what we are imitating is supposed to be wounded or vulnerable does it matter which way they go so long as they part lots of movement.