What kind of fly box for saltwater?

Fishing Saltwater Fly Fishing
1

I am planning a 2-3 week trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida (from Minnesota) in March. So far I have been tying clousers and deceivers in sizes 6-2/0. What do you salty guys use for your fly boxes? I think we will mostly be fishing from kayaks and wade fishing. I am thinking I should have a large box and a smaller box to carry. Maybe a couple regular plano boxes with spare flies? I have about 17 dzn saltwater hooks on my tying desk and a Minnesota winter to tie them.

Also could use so hints on what else to tie for that time of year. If it eats flies, I’m game to chase it.

Any insight would be great.
Mike

2

im using a Cliffs Bugger beast box but im working out of a boat all the time and i have assorted shallow multi compartment boxes—ill usually pack for the species that im likely to encounter—no bonefish stuff while tarpon fishing----gummies and clousers for albies—no toads

cliff’s bugger beast:

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3

For most of my fishing I use a nubby tack fly box thats about 4x6x1.5.I can get between 2 and 3 dozen flies in them which is plenty to carry.This size box fits nicely in a shorts pocket for strolling the beach also.I have larger boxes but I use this size most of the time.

4

Make SURE, your fly box FLOATS!

5

I only carry one box
One of those large inexpensive, flat foamed, fly shop logo ones
I ‘feed it’ out of a bunch of the Plano style boxes that I carry in my tackle bag

You can make a suitable box by gluing craft foam into an old VCR box

Flies that are too large for a fly box, go in zip-lock bags

Be sure and write you name and phone number on your fly box just in case

6

Mhedlund-

You’ve gotten great advice, and it sounds like you’re going to have a great trip and maybe even a lot more fun just getting ready for it.

The C&F SW Flyboxes are great, but very pricey. They have a couple of different models, (scroll down to bottom of link), and there may be knockoffs out there for less:
http://www.bearlodgeangler.com/c_&_f_fly_boxes.htm

If you go that route, either the Tarpon (to hold both big stuff and smaller stuff ) or the Permit for redfish sized stuff plus something else to carry larger stuff (like a bugger barn or other plastic box with flat sided foam on both sides) might be the way to go… The Bonefish one would likely be better if you were carrying a lot of relatively smaller flies and going somewhere else (sizes for Florida bones are typically bigger than other destinations)

One thing that seems to work for me is an unbreakable clear 6 compartment plastic box about 8? x 12? with adjustable dividers from a hardware store, and a box of plastic fly sleeves about 1?? x 9? to store larger flies like Deceivers
http://clouserflyfishing.stores.yahoo.net/plflysl.html

The sleeves keep the deceivers from getting all tangled up with each other, and you can really pack them in the those compartments. You can use this to restock the boxes you take with you on the water (or throw it in a bag if you go on a boat).

As far as flies go, local folks can give you a better idea of what to use, and Deceivers and
Clousers probably would cover a lot of bases. Depending on what you?re fishing for you might want to consider some of these, just to throw out some ideas:

Clousers- 2-1/0 chart, chart over white, tan over white, pink, brown (from wrong side of natural bucktail)

Deceivers 1/0 - 3/0 light ones for clear water (white, blue over white or olive over white etc), some for stained water (2/0- 3/0 black or chartreuse)

Some stuff for dredging deepwater cuts, channels and offshore oil platforms etc if you might do any of that. 3/0 Half and Halfs, or rabbit strip stuff in chart, white or black

Topwater some crease flies or simple hardfoam poppers with bucktail tails on long shanked 2/0 SW hooks. Throwing these can be a blast for ladyfish, jacks, specs etc.

Crittery looking things like Kwans, anything by Borski, or simple takeoffs on clousers with marabou and cactus chenille etc. in root beer and olives in redfish sizes

Crab patterns like a Del Brown Permit fly in size 1 in tan

Spun deerhair head ?muddler? looking flies or divers are fun to fish on the surface in the back country for snook etc. Examples might be 2/0 Snake Flies for ?v waking?, Dahlberg Divers etc.

Weedless stuff- a few smaller 2 or 1 bendbacks might be good, and tie some of your other flies with a mono weed guard. Divers should probably get a loop and Borski stuff a V type guard out of stiff 20lb mono.

Stuff for toothy critters pre rigged with a short wire leader. Maybe a red white 3/0 Seaducer for sharks, and/or a 2/0 barracuda braided ?needlefish? looking thing?

One thing you should add to your kit, if you don?t have one, is a yellow handled Luhr Jensen Hook file (about 6 bucks) to pre-sharpen and touch up hooks, along with polarized sunglasses, hat, good spf stuff, etc.

Hope some of this this helps,
peregrines

7

Craft foam in a VCR box why didn’t I think of that? Great! Especially the clear plastic boxes. Might want to drill a hole in the box and add a safety cord and a clip of some type.

The idea of “feeding” your carry-along box from other boxes is also a good one because it keeps your new flies in pristine condition instead of salty, wet and grungy. Nothing grunges up stuff like saltwater. I feed my LMB flies carry-along box from my car truck and the potential for damage is even greater in salt. 8T :slight_smile:

8

They make great boxes, both the bugger beast and the bugger beast junior. I think they even have a boat box.

http://www.cliffoutdoors.com/products.php

Also check out flambeau’s waterproof boxes.

http://fishing.flambeauoutdoors.com/otdrs_fishing/fly_boxes/blue_ribbon.asp

9

Make sure ya open that box at night and dry the flies out.
If the box is watertight it is prob airtight as well.
I rinsed mine out and put it under a fan for a while.

10

Usually just take small fly boxes, some of which have the o-ring waterproof closures that will fit into the pockets of Columbia fishing shirts or into the old Columbia flats shoulder-chest pack when fishing. That doesn’t include the big tackle bags with lots of Plano plastic lure boxes from which to select the stored flies to take for a day. The old FAOL Florida Fish-In pages should have a recommended selection of flies to choose from for gulf coast waters.:cool:

11

Peregrines… great response, thanks. When I am going to be fishing from a ‘flats’ boat for bones, cuda or whatever I throw every fly box I have with me into a ‘dry bag’ and carry it onto the boat. Almost always let the guide select the fly to use. He HAS to have confidence in it too. At the end of a trip I give my flies to the guide (he can use them to supply other clients who do not have the right ones) or just to fish himself. That way I can start fresh the next trip. No, I don’t give him all of my salt flies, just ones that would be appropriate for the area. A tip is for sure necessary, but flies might be hard for him to get. :slight_smile:

12

I no longer carry more than one fly box when traveling for saltwater angling or any other angling that requires larger flies.

I use a lure binder of the type used by bass anglers for worms, spinner baits and other lures to store my flies. This is a soft sided binder with many zip lock bags that are held in the binder with locking rings. These binders come in various sizes and are available from most places that cater to bass fisherman. You can find these bags at Bass Pro, Cabelas, as well as a host of other big box or smaller specialty sporting or fishing stores. Depending on the size of the binder and the number of bags, I can carry from dozens to hundreds of flies. I have a couple of different sizes that I use, depending on the amount of other gear that I need for an adventure. The flies go into the ziplock bags. I also use the bags for spools of tippet material, line repair kits, mini first aid, pre tied leaders, etc. Some of these binders may have smaller pockets integrated into the interior and usually have a mesh pocket on the outside. If present, the interior pockets get small items or flies. I typically have a pair of pliers in the exterior mesh pocket.

If needed, I will take a single fly box that I will load or re-load each day as necessary if it is not convenient to carry the binder. There have already been several good suggestions for boxes in this thread.

A couple of years ago I put all of my flies, leaders, tippet, tools, extra fly lines and other tackle for a 3 week trip to Australia into a larger model of tackle binder. Since all our angling was from boats, I didn’t even take a fly box.

I have used the same set up for a week in Canada, week long lm bass fishing trips, striper trips.

Also, I didn’t have to worry about fly boxes being damaged by rough baggage handling. And since the binders are not rigid they are easier to stuff into baggage and take up less volume for total number of flies carried.

13

Mike,
My buddy shorthaul lent me his loaded Cliff’s Bugger Beast to take to North Carolina’s Outerbanks this past summer. I put my morning/evening’s selected flies in a floating, soft foam flybox which I carried in a pocket. That, coupled with my lanyard was all I needed in the surf. The Bugger Beast was my “fly suitcase” & I was set for the week. I will most certainly buy one before my next trip.
Mike

14

I’ve been carrying a Scientific Anglers System X box for the past year or so. I like the concept of the box, but I’m not crazy about it for saltwater. The primary problem is that the larger hooks tend to back out of the foam in relatively short order. This is especially true if you crush your barbs. Few things are more frustrating than opening your box to get a new Clouser and having 4 of them drop into the water. Also, due to the layout of the box, you tend to be able to use only a couple of the foam rows on each side - the others are too close to the edge of the box to be useful.

Now for the positives - I really like the box otherwise. It is waterproof, and will keep your flies dry when you wade a bit too deep. I like the idea of the removable center leaf - I have several center sections and swap them out depending on what I’m fishing for (allows you to buy 2 or 3 outer “shells” as part of a $20 box and then only buy $10 center sections for different conditions)

I’ve read that Scientific anglers has brought the C&F “microslit” foam over to the System X boxes this year. I’ll be buying all new center leaves. The part I really missed from my C&F boxes was the slits. That should address the problem of flies backing out. We’ll see if Scientific Anglers has managed to lay out the rows a bit more intelligently.

15

Plano Stowaway 3500.

Most people carry way too much stuff for saltwater fishing. I carry a single Plano Stowaway 3500, which is about 9" X 5" X 1.5". It will carry all of flies you need for a day and will fit in a fanny pack or in the tackle tray in kayaks.

Depending on where you are fishing, you rarely need over 5 patterns. For saltwater flats, in central Florida, I would recommend:

A dark and a light colored kwan
Chartruese gurgler
Chartruese/white and brown/tan Bendback (Prince of Tides)
Baitfish immitation (deciever or bunny)
Chartruese/white and white clouser

For south Florida, you would want to substitute a crazy charlie for the bendback.

16

Save a night or 2 to fish around some lighted docks

17

On another perspective, the Florida Fish-In Week is usually scheduled sometime between the middle of February thru the beginning of April, depending on the maximum # of participants & the long range weather forecasts :cool:

18

Wow, thanks for all the great tips. I visited my local fly shop tonight and ordered a Bugger Beast and a Cliff Crab Shack. The crab shack is supposed to have more room to not squish taller flies. I still might look into a plano box or binder for xtra flies. 3 weeks of fishing and my fishing partner doesn’t tie so I think I better have lots of extras.

I am greatfull for the pattern tips too. I think tying and prepping WILL be as much fun as the trip itself.

Thanks again,
Mike

I’m sure I will be asking more questions in the next few months…