How Many Flies Do Yo Carry?

[Bamboozle]

After looking at the fly box post and some others I was wondering how many flies, ballpark, do you carry when trout fishing? And as an aside, how many of each pattern or size do you carry?

I "guesstimate" I have around 300 on average and maybe more when fishing new waters. I use a Richardson box that I modified to add trays to, so that number can change. There are many days I could get by with an Altoids box but I use the chest box to carry other goodies so it goes with me all the time.

I recently reduced the number of each pattern I carry since I keep ample restocking quantities back at the car. This enables me to carry more of a variety of patterns without adding flyboxes and I realized after years of fishing that the likelihood of me losing more than three of one pattern or size is small. Besides, a trip back to the car where the beer is stashed isn't all bad.

It looks like some of you carry 6-12 of a pattern in your boxes and a thousand or more flies; am I wrong?

[This message has been edited by Bamboozle (edited 26 January 2006).]

No your not wrong. I did an estimate a while back and depending on the time of year I carry on the river 750 - 1000 flies.

-ST

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[Darryl]

I carry way,way too many.

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"If we carry purism to it's logical conclusion, to do it right you'd have to live naked in a cave, hit your trout on the head with rocks, and eat them raw. But, so as not to violate another essential element of the fly-fishing tradition, the rocks would have to be quarried in England and cost $300 each."

~John Gierach

How many flies do I carry? Most of the time, a few that work, and too many that don't. Other times none that work! But whatever, it sure beats punching a clock, and selling your life away for a pay check!

~Parnelli

[Marco]

Since I do not tie my own, I carry fewer flys astream. BUT, I tend to concentrate those few I carry into those which are most likely to produce results.
I do envy y'all who tie and if I did, I too would carry " way too many".
I have the vise,feathers, thread and "stuff". I only lack the time and talent.

Mark


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I'd rather be in Wyoming!

[Dry Fly Guy]

Agree with Steve that I usually carry lots of flys that do not work. I normally carry 3 of each pattern, must total a bit over 1000 plus extras of what I feel might be hot. Three are almost always plenty for me but I give many away.

[nuthatch]

I try to keep it relatively simple and carry 2 to 4 of each pattern, a total of about 200 flies on the water, all in one C&F waterproof box. In the winter season I carry much less.

[gqualls]

When I go smallmouth fishing I usually have about 30-40 bugs that I will fish with.

When I go trout fishing I take a dry box, a nymph box and a midge box. I also have about 8 dozen woolly buggers tied up in different colors and sizes that I keep in small baggies in my vest. I do the same with some of my "go to" nymphs; must have about 7-8 dozen of thoe in little baggies. I get a big kick out of someone asking me "what are you catchin' them on?" and I tell them and ask them if they have the same fly. When they don't, I usually give them 3-4 and bid them good luck.

I guess the total number of flies in my vest would be somewhere between 500-600. I've not been doing this as long as most of you so give me a couple of years to build up my inventory. I got 1200 hooks from my children at Christmas and my birthday is just around the corner. Can a person ever have enough hooks and brass beads?

[foxxtrot]

well, last year I carried only a few dry fly patterns and forced myself to fish the wetfly. I carried 14 patterns at a dozen each. so 168, and then the dry flies.

[clarkman23]

as few as possible...I used to take 200-300 but I've got it trimmed down to between 25 and 50 depending on the water I fish. I usually take several of each size of my 2-3 "money flies" and then various other attracter patterns but that's about it. I've found that I spend more time actually fishing than rifling through my fly boxes trying to find that one "perfect" fly (which doesn't really exist)...plus, I catch more fish too...