Three years ago I was at work, sitting at my desk, when I realized something was off. I had gone for a run that morning, but it wasn’t a route that was particularly long or rugged. Nevertheless, my ankles, knees, and hips felt like they’d been through a rough game of football.
By no means am I a hypochondriac. This, however, was not normal for an active man of around 30 years old. I did have a previously scheduled doctor’s appointment that I was able to move to that afternoon.
“Have you found any ticks?” was her first question. I hadn’t.
“Well, we’ll run the test,” she said, “And take a few doses of doxycyclene, just in case.”
Again, I hadn’t found any ticks on myself. There was no bulls-eye rash. I was just exhausted and sore.
I went home that afternoon and slept until evening. Waking up, I felt a little better and decided to take a shower. Sure enough, there was a clear bulls-eye rash that had developed on my thigh. Within an hour, I got a call from the lab saying I had tested positive for Lyme disease.
On a positive note, I felt great the next day. I went back to work, did some chores in the yard, and even was back to running. That was a blessing. Many people aren’t that fortunate, either due to a late diagnosis, a misdiagnosis, or simply their reaction to the bacteria.
While you don’t need a book to get out and fish flies size 22 or smaller, having a comprehensive resource is going to be incredibly helpful. 
You need to put your flies somewhere, obviously. And while any old box will work, it won’t work well for midges. In my experience, tiny dry fly hooks aren’t well suited for foam or silicone slots. Thus, compartment boxes are the way to go. Risen Fly makes a 
