Picture your flybox. Close your eyes and do it.
Is it messy? Is it full? Does the messy fullness bring you joy?
Okay: now picture the last flies that you’ve used. Picture the flies that you turn to over and over again.
Is there a disparity between the first and second image that came to your mind? I’d wager that is normal for most fly fishers. There’s our fly boxes and there’s the flies we use. There are plenty of good reasons for countless tubs stuffed to the brims with every pattern that could be possibly used in any given situation. But that calculation gets run infrequently.
You’d be surprised how few flies you can get by with. It might force some efficient packing. It will definitely force clearer focus in presentation.
Below I have three articles. The first shares my top three trout flies (and why I chose them). The second expands the list to six. The final is a podcast wherein I explore the method behind the madness – and I branch out from trout.
Boxes and boxes of flies just aren’t necessary. Consider your favorite high-gradient mountain creek. How many flies do you use? Outside of wild water conditions or sporadic hatches, is it four patterns? two? one? I’d like to propose that you can get by – and get by very well – with only three flies in these conditions. Here are three patterns that I’d carry… the three flies that I would be comfortable with if they were all I was carrying.
…what about the rest of the time? I haven’t performed any sort of actual data analysis. I do know that there are three other patterns that I will quickly tie on. And as you’ve probably noticed, my first list leaves off a significant type of fly. Of course, if there is hatch or some other seasonal opportunity I’ll carry what needs to be carried. But more often than not I’ll stick to what I know and what has brought me success. Check out why I picked those flies, and what you’ll find on the other side of my box,
While it isn’t for every angler (or every situation), cutting down the flies you carry on the water can actually streamline your fishing. It will certainly make packing and organization much simpler, but it can actually help you zero in and focus on fishing better. Today I share my reasons for slimming down assortments in certain circumstances, as well as some examples of how I have done it.