are there special boxes for specific fly types?
remember guys… im new to this lol…
i have 2 boxes, both have 100 slots,(50 on each waterproof side) the slots are 1/2 inch, with 1/4 inch triangles at the bottoms, the box itself is basically a bubble… i assume what i have is a nymph or emerger box… i can put dry flies in, but if they are not in the middle few spaces they get distorted almost completely out of recognition… kinda defeats the purpose… and ive been finding myself limiting what flies i tie, no one likes putting a bran new mangled fly on!:mad:
i guess i need to be educated on fly boxes, i know there are slanted foam,(not sure the purpose of that) ones like mine, individual compartment boxes… as u all know the list goes on.
can anyone help explain this unexplained nightmare? ive got flies i wanna carry!
spoof
ps. i know there are special boxes for streamers also…
hey spoof…I have been fly tying and fly fishing for over 30 years now. At one time I even collected fly boxes and I think I have seen and used them all, at least all of the older tyes that were on the market lets say 10 years ago and back. I am a big fan of the Richard Weatley of England compartment window boxes, they are super cool and start around $90 and up. Okuma makes one just like it and they are very nice and of great quality too, they start at $30, and I carry one on occasion. But, with all of that said, I carry all of my dries in a Scientific Anglers foam stepped fly box, the steps are for letting your dry fly hackles to hang down in to, thus keeping them from getting all smashed. There ya go, my 2 cents worth, with a couple more cents thrown in for confusion lol.
I don’t think it matters what you put where but, what I do is this. I have a separate box for each catagory fly. Dries in one, Nymphs in another, Streamers in another which makes it easy. I can then pick and choose which flies I want to fish that day. You can set your boxes up however you want. The preference is yours. You could put dries on one side and nymphs on the otherside. However you decide. Those triangles are for when you put your flies in the slot. not only does it show you where your slit is but when you put your hook in you put the bend of the hook in the triangle and push and your hook should push right in the split. Good luck and tight lines.
Dai-Riki hook boxes make just dandy fly boxes. And several of them fit nicely in one of the small zippered pockets of a Fishpond chestpack.
I think these boxes were made specifically for people who don’t like to tie flies, to discourage them from going overboard, and so they only carry the fewest number of flies they know will work on a given piece of water under given circumstances.
John
P.S. I’m sure a lot of folks would consider these boxes and their contents BORING. But they’ve provided a lot of good fishing on a beautiful river several times a week for the past couple months. If you’re bored with that, you need to spend all of your time at the tying vise.
I like Cliff Super Day’s Worth although I’ve been pretty bad about keeping it organized. I also like these:
Lots of places sell them (got these on EBay for about $12); the waterproof gasket seems to work well, they hold a lot of flies and don’t crush the hackle on most dries. I’ve got one for caddis, mayflies, tailwater; not quite big enough for hoppers/big attractor dries.
Only bring as many flies as you are likely to use. Unless you are after troutzilla, you will not need 20 of every pattern. If you are in cold water (trout) you may need ten patterns with 3-5 of each. But…contacting the nearest fly shop can help you cull down to just what you need. If you are in warm water, you may need only a couple of patterns and only a few of each.
Don’t use a compartmentalized box that doesn’t have covers for each compartment. We have all dropped a box at one time or the other and having 100 flies jump out of the box and into the water will make you say things that cause the stream to boil.
You can jury rig cheap boxes that work just fine. A travel soap dish with foam glued into the bottom, or an Altoids tin, or any cheap small plastic box can be adapted to carry flies. If you are in the three prescriptions a month club, you can use your prescription drug bottles. The bottles are usually amber but have a white top you can write on with a Sharpie to identify the contents.
Don’t put big flies in a small box. Stimulators and poppers need a lot more air space than nymphs, and a crushed dry is not a good fly.
Have a fly patch (foam, wool, etc.) on your shirt or vest. Fill this with the most likely suspects to use on the water. You have probably seen pictures of fly fishermen from the 40s and 50s with a hat full of flies. That wasn’t just for the picture. You can still get wool hatbands that will hold a lot of flies, or pin patches onto your hat. You may not make the cover of GQ, but it’s a great place to keep flies. Once you have done any of the fly patch approaches, you will be amazed how extra fly boxes seem redundant.
If you use compartmentalized boxes, make the best of the compartment’s space and pre-rig flies on tippet. There is nothing wrong with a loop to loop connection for attaching tippet to leader, or droppers to dries. Simply prep a few flies, coil the tippet and put the whole thing in a compartment. When troutzilla takes you fly, you can put on a new one in seconds.
so basically what all of u are saying is its user preference… gotcha.
i agree with… someone above…(cant remember) you guys are a bit nuts, i find 2 of a particular fly is sufficient, however, conditions being a factor… i cant see a need for more then 5…
thanks everyone, i love coming home to a full board:)
I have mine mostly organized by places I fish. One main box with my “standards” in it, and then will supplement that with another box specificially filled with what I may be fishing for that day. Soft hackles, big foam bugs, small nymphs…
Something no one has picked up on. If your flies do get mangled out of shape, there is an easy way to restore them. This is for flies with bent hackles wings and tails, not damaged ones.
Back at home put the kettle on, Make a cuppa, then, while you drink it, using hemostats, forceps or fine nosed pliers (don’t use your fingers) hold each fly in turn in the jet of steam from the kettle. You’ll be amazed how they spring back to their former glory. Leave them out to dry overnight to dry, then return them to your box (not the one that mangled them, if it did).
As for boxes, the ones with compartments that open individually are my choice for dries. These days most of my fishing flies are wet flies. These go in a slotted foam box with a swing leaf. I use one side for each position on the leader (Top middle and point) and one for still water dries. What I would like to see is a box with a built in tippet dispenser. Just to hold a couple of spools.
$90 for a Wheatly Box. Wow thats excessive. They start at about 30 UK pounds here ($40 - $50). Though the double compartment one is expensive.
Steam is great for reviving natural materials like hackle, deer hair, bucktail, etc. but not synthetics; for them, I use a hair drier.
There’s a stream I’m going to be fishing in a few weeks where I normally go through a dozen, and sometimes more, caddis (CDC & Elk, Iris, Clacka, X2, Tabou) and or rusty spinners every evening. The problem I have is that as it gets darker, a fly that’s been fished for a while gets harder to see and if the fish are biting that compounds the situation (not that I’m complaining); if things are hopping, I usually have to change flies every few minutes. At some point it gets too dark to really see much of anything and then it’s fishing by feel. The good thing is any flies I still have at the end of the evening can usually be used the next night, although if they get too mangled they’re not much good for more than a few casts. For a week of fishing there, I like to have at least 3 dozen of each in #16 & #18 (in case they get picky).
the steam trick works amazing on flies that went through the mail as well…
So much so it is on my packaging!
Once drew up a design for someone who was looking at making them. In the end it didn’t happen. If I had the bucks to invest I would do one. The Chinese makers will do them for less than $2 each if you commit to buy 1000.
I am also a minimalist, and only carry what I know I will need…if you fish the same water enough you should know what insects are there, it isn’t brain surgery (and in truth if you know where to cut that isn’t so hard either S) Usually I will carry one box for a day or evenings fishing - unless we are fishing new waters.
my two cents: the compartments in my Wheatley box purchased over 40 years ago are too small for me to get my fingers in. Maybe I should have bought a larger Wheatley but are the compartments that much larger than their smaller boxes?
