Quote Originally Posted by oldfrat View Post
I carry way to many patterns. Your article got me to thinking about what I would do if I could carry only 6 patterns for a year. Here's my list:
Adams
RS2
Hopper (Charlie Boy)
Infamous Pink Worm
Egg
Muddler Minnow

That would mean giving up on some more specialized patterns that have been very effective for me, but I wouldn't feel handicapped.
I think we could all boil our trout fly boxes down to a 1/2 dozen to 10 fly patterns in various sizes and no more than 3 variants and be just fine. It's just a matter of picking multi-purpose proven performers. And flies like the Adams are definitely on the short list. But think how boring fly tying would be if that's all we did.