How Do You Keep Your Flies Organized?

[DarkShadow]

It took me about, oh, 25 years to finally get a system going for my conventional gear. Since I don't own a bass boat like most of my buddies, who use the countless storage compartments for, well, storage, I'm usually found on shore, or jumping on a buddy's boat, which means I don't have the luxury to keep all my gear on the boat.

I finally found a system where I loaded all my gear into Plano 3600 boxes and kept them organized at home, and then would move stuff from these boxes into other 3600s boxes that I would carry with me on the water in bags and backpacks that all fit the 3600 form factor, so I could grab any bag that could carry anywhere from 1 to 8 of these 3600s boxes and have them fit perfectly. When I got home after a long day, the boxes I took with me would get emptied and the items would go back to their rightful places in my closet inside the 'home' boxes.

But for flies? I think I made the mistake of going gung ho on buying patterns and boxes, and now I have about a dozen C&F boxes, yet I have no idea on how to manage them.

I'm usually bush whacking, which means the less amount of gear, the better. I bought a Tacky fly box the other day, and I'm hoping that I can somehow use 1 or 2 of them to carry my "go to" fly patterns, and leave all the other boxes at home. Much like conventional fishing, I found I was carrying 2 tons of gear, yet using 4 baits throughout the day.

How do you manage your flies, especially if you're a 'hike 4 miles to fish 100 yards" type of fly fisherman and a half day pack is what I usually use?

[fly addict]

I don't even carry a box most of the time, just a dozen nymphs in a small bead bag. Simple to pick one to use because they are all the same.

[DrCreek]

Organization is way overrated.

LOVE IT !!

To some degree, Joe's right. You can specialize yourself right into hanging it all up if you aren't careful.

I just went through the same thing with my salt flies. I fish salt three different ways... Surf, walk the shore, and float tube. Guess what.. I have three different Morrell boxes that are each loaded with what I think I might need for that particular method. My problem now is, I think each box MUST be loaded to the teeth in order for me to be both confident and to effectively catch fish. That means I'm spending mo' money trying to cover the bases for each box. Why buy just a dozen of whatever's working when you can buy two dozen at twice the price? I'm an idiot.

My freshwater stream boxes are even more ridiculous. I have an ETC box, a general Sierra box, a Bear Creek/SAR box, and a box dedicated solely to Hippie Chicks, Stimmies and Hoppers. And then there's the tiny little box I bought online for everything smaller than size 20 - both nymphs and dries. Its both disgusting and overflowing.

My response to your question... take a small box that has your best few nymphs in what you feel is the appropriate size for you. Add your favorite appropriate size dries to that. Add a few bigger flies that you can use as an indicator - something high-floating like Foam Hoppers. When they aren't good at catching fish, they're good at attracting fish. Fish (trout) are always curious regardless of how they may or may not respond to your offerings.

I can tell you this.. if its a Sierra stream that you're considering and it almost never or has never been fished that you know of, take BIG flies - like Rubber Legged Stimulators in orange, amber or yellow. Fishing my beloved "ETC" fishes best with Stimmies. The bigger, the better. And if you can get in the hidden/tougher water where 99% of fishermen decline to go, you can plan on having your flies literally tattooed by excellent trout hiding amongst the deadfalls, heavy brush and thorny bushes. Just gotta be willing to do it.

In the end, no matter what any one of us says or thinks, you will end up doing what YOU think is best. And that's the way it should be because only you know your comfort zone. It will come to you.

[Fishfreak911]

Organization is way overrated.

HIL-AR-I-OUS!!! This is me after every trip! LOL!

I have a number of boxes and it does seem daunting sometimes. I fish for everything so I have to have certain boxes. And that generally works for me (Even tho I typically take extras JIC, and never hardly use them!) So, I have a carp fly box, a trout fly box and a a salt water fly box for clousers and bass bugs. My trout box typically has a fair number of dries, emerges, nymphs, and streamers. I also have a fish pond oxbow pack that has a Velcro removable foam fly holder in the front. I have yet to buy extras but foresee this as a possible way to interchange flies as needed depending on where I'm fishing.

I have been curious about those tacky boxes. Would love to hear your review when the time comes.

G

[Rasputinj]

I have a a box for dry flies, nymphs, streamers, carp files. Over flow boxes. Then I have a few small boxes I will put a handful of flies in for a lightweight trip. Then I extra flies in a big ziplock bag. Every year I spent 30 min and try to organize my flies.


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[planettrout]

I break down my boxes to the hatch that I will be fishing. Usually, a box will encompass all the stages of the hatch. Attractors, terrestrials, streamers, stoneflies, scuds & sowbugs etc., all have their own boxes. As one might expect from that other thread I populate, I am not a minimalist...






PT/TB

[k9mark]

I break down my boxes to the hatch that I will be fishing. Usually, a box will encompass all the stages of the hatch. Attractors, terrestrials, streamers, stoneflies, scuds & sowbugs etc., all have their own boxes. As one might expect from that other thread I populate, I am not a minimalist...






PT/TB

Impressive

[Baughb]

No pics.
The "fly shop" is where all of the flies I tie or acquire in categorized (by class) Plano boxes and then, as I choose, they get put into the smaller boxes I carry in my vest. Usually roughly boxed by size and hatch. The Planos live in a duffel bag and travel in the trunk to be accessed as needed and shared if needed.

Bob

[DarkShadow]

I once wanted to carry one box with me all the time, but because I'm never near the car and I'm doing a lot of hiking, I always carry my Camelbak M.U.L.E. with me, which gives me the ability to have 100 ounces of water on me throughout the day.

And because the pack is medium sized, i can carry at least 5 small sized C&F boxes, so carrying only one box is impractical since I have all the space. l think I've only been in a handful of situations where I fishing near my vehicle (Yellowstone) and grabbing some tippet spools, a pack of leaders, my nippers, my forceps and one fly box could be done. But 98% of the time, I have the room for fly boxes.

[briansII]

I break down my boxes to the hatch that I will be fishing. Usually, a box will encompass all the stages of the hatch. Attractors, terrestrials, streamers, stoneflies, scuds & sowbugs etc., all have their own boxes. As one might expect from that other thread I populate, I am not a minimalist...






PT/TB

Hoe Lee COW!!!

briansII

[NorcalBob]

I think all of PT's flies would sink my drift boat!!!!

[fly addict]

PT, You have more flies than Marriotts.

[DrCreek]

I've seen articles about fly shops that had been broken into, and all that was taken were the fly cases.

[planettrout]

PT, You have more flies than Marriotts.

Maybe...but not more than Ken's Sporting Goods in Bridgeport...


PT/TB

[Ants]

It seems to me (but I may be wrong) that there is trade off between switching flies and altering your presentation. My tendency is to change presentation until I get results. For reference, I don't keep detailed logs or memory as to what worked at a particular time or location.

So, in my vest I have two basic fly boxes and usually one with oddball flies that I wonder how they work. The go to box has my heavily weighted nymphs, the usual midge trailers, and soft hackles / and stimmies / and hoppers / and streamers to cove the underwater or big presentations. My tendency is for good attractors instead of hatch matching.

Box 2 contain the standard dries (caddis, and other surface variants) that are usually not all that effective since matching a hatch takes patience, knowledge, or a bigger * of flies.

So, my goal ( success rate is never measured) is to get the fly where the fish are located (usually deep) rather than give an exact copy of what they are feeding.

I find it useful to keep my goal in mind, since the folks I may talk with are likely to have an entirely different approach.

It doesn't seem that an ideal approach is available. You just need to understand your own.

Ants