Fly Box Stocking

[Jason]

I've noticed a few of you mention that you stock your boxes during the winter months. So how many flies do you really tie? Which ones? I've tried to do the re-stocking thing but I just don't have the time. I mainly just tie the flies I need for an up coming trip/outing. How many of you really do this? If I did try to stock my boxes I'd be tying hundreds of flies and more than 3 dozen types of sizes. What gives?

[shazerblaze]

Boy, I try to stock it up completely with my favorite nymphs and soft hackles. As for dry flies, that usually comes with the coming trips. I'm still not as proficient as I want to be at dries, so I simply tie a lot of nymphs and soft hackles during the winter. I also tie a lot of streamers during the winter. I have noticed that I haven't quite caught up to where I should be with my stock. I've been terribly busy with school.
One funny thing for me, because of where I am living right now -- I have to stock up multiple boxes -- warmwater flies for bass and panfish, steelhead flies for my trips up to Michigan, and then the obvious favorite trout flies. I never seem to be able to keep up. Oh well, I guess that is the fun of it.

[RAW]

I do a little commercial tying so that cuts into my own patterns.

Then, I'm real big on experimenting so I waste a lot of time goofing around with strange ideas (yes they are all fly tying related).

This coming season I will be fishing exclusively with patterns tied with one technique, just to see how they work. I will be logging my success and failure. I will be trying to match most western hatches with these patterns.

I know I'm strange, but I get bored easily!

I think fanatic has the best idea. Your own little fly shop...now I know who to contact when I'm in a hurry for a particular pattern.

[Strike]

I just started tieing less than a year ago, so I am not all that experienced, which means I don't have a huge arsenal of flies. but I have found that I do best when I sit and tie at least 12 flies of the same pattern at each sitting, (1 1/2 hours at least) they can be different sizes, but I feel my flies turn out better when I do this. Plus it means I only have to get the matterials out once. The first few look like Charlie Brown flies, then each one gets progressively better. This is especially true with new pattens. I have been tieing a lot of emerger patterns right now. I too like to experiment with different colors, materials, sizes. I like that idea of having my own in house fly shop. Good idea fanatic!

[RHeppy]

I too spend alot of time tying during the winter, most of what i tie is buggers, muddlers, hoppers and dries. The biggest problem i seem to have is the other members of my family that fish are reluctant to tie there own flys. I can never keep up with there demand and my own.

[PowerBaitHeppy]

I never tie my own flies. I have a really nice brother that loves to tie, and he is really good. I really should give him a call and see if he can tie me up a bunch of flies......

[HookInMouth]

I always try to stock my fly box, when the weather is too cold to be out fishing.
I am not exactly the fastest tier, so I have come up with a philosophy on which flies I stock. Inevitably, I find myself each year on a out of town fishing trip and running out of a particular fly that is producing well, and end up restocking it at outrageous prices. These are the flies I always spend a lot of time tying in the down season. So far I have never ran out of the same fly twice, and hopefully my boxes are becoming filled with the more productive files.

[Larry S.]

Do you want C-c-c-c-c-Cold? It's so cold up here now that I don't think even Crosby is out fishing !!! (the KUTV Weather Bug says it is still MINUS 17 at the Logan airport at 1:30pm)

[Bonefish]

If I didn't tie like a mother I would go out of my head, even though I enjoy winter fishing and still go every couple weeks. I just love to tie, and usually when there is a Jazz, Ute, or NFL game on, I will go down, turn the game on, and tie the entire time. I live for it. Because I have tied for a while, I have my patterns more or less nailed down, so I know what I need to fill up. I also end up screwing around with "daydream" flies- saltwater, steelhead, or bass- just to keep the head happy. I bet I end up tying somewhere in neighborhood of 100 dozen each winter. I don't use anywhere near that many, but do end up giving quite a few away to fishing buddies. Here's what I've tied the last three weeks.

-Bass poppers- filled up a box with poppers and divers-haven't done much of this, but this is the year.
-Crappie/bluegill poppers- smaller for these fun little fish
-male/female PMD spinners and emergers-spring creek stuff
-coppersides- excellent stillwater woolly bugger type pattern (with props to coach Bud)
-about 5 dozen silver head zebra midges- Provo bug
-"knotted" (mating) trico spinners-size 20-24 for silver creek/MO,the spring creeks, etc.
-couple dozen size 14 royal wulffs- pain to tie, but I enjoy tying them and use a ton of these on the high country
-about a dozen ryacophilia caddis larvae- haven't really fished this pattern, but looked like a good one from Oliver Edward's "Masterclass" book.


Thank god for tying, or I would be a completely worthless couch potato. Or an even more worthless potato. Feel free to email me if you happen to want any of these recipes.

[Salmo]

Durring the winter months I usually average only one day a week fishing so I spend all my other spare time tying flies, building rods, tying leaders, repairing equip. etc. I find that I need to do this every winter just to give me a headstart for the warmer months.
I tie at least 2 doz. of each size and color of all my commonly fished flies. This does amount to a lot of flies that allows me to at least start the warmer months with most of what I need and means that I can spend more time when its good weather fishing instead of preparing to fish.
I still have to tie in the summer, just not as often.

[shazerblaze]

Does anybody have a favorite pattern they have a hankering to tie? Sometimes, when I get home from studying (usually around midnight) I see my fly materials and I want to tie something up. It is usually a clouser, since it is one of my favorites and it doesn't take a long time to tie.
Another funny thing -- I will tie almost anything else before I tie a "classic" dry fly. What does that mean? I guess most of my dries haven't turned out that well, and I almost always have better luck on nymphs, soft-hackles and wets, and streamers. I guess I need to stock up a little on the dries.

So what is the one favorite of yours that you seem to have a hundred of?

[mcgx2]

I do most of my tying in the winter months. I go in streaks of sometimes 2 to 3 weeks long tying almost every day for about an hour or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I will average between 6 and 12 flies per day. So the flies add up fast.

On my favorite patterns I will tie enough to last all summer, I also tie new and different patterns that I want to try. All in all I probably tie about 500 or more flies of different types and sizes.

I will also tie during other times of the year when I get the bug or hear of something new or am getting low on a particular pattern. Last summer I tied around 200 - 300 flies just because I felt like it. I have 2 sons that "rob" me of flies quite often too.

My trick is that I have built up my selection of flies over the years since I cannot use all the flies I tie. So each year I start with a little bigger selection. This makes it easy because now I don't have to tie to fish, I only have to tie when I want to.

mcg

[Jason]

Mike, who is Senorfish? Have I fished with him?

[Salmo]

Personally I love to tie classic dries, but if you dont or have trouble tying them then try Comparaduns and Sparkle duns. These flys are easy to tie, use no hackle and work great in most mayfly applications. I have several boxes full of these in many different sizes and colors.

[Jason]

I have to concur with most of you, tying classic dry flies can be time consuming and frustrating at the same time. I think it's all a matter of practice and having premium quality hackle. It's tough to fork out $80 for a good cape or saddle that has good quality stiff barbs and small hackle sizes for those tiny 16-20 dry flies. I've got two grade 1 grizzly and dun colored saddles, but my 6 other colors are grade 2. I just don't have the extra dough to blow on $80 hackle, so I end up buying a lot of my high quality dry flies. Plus I just don't have the time to tie them. I don't necessarily think they're hard to tie, it's just that I don't have the right hackle all the time. It's pointless to tie a dry fly if you don't have good hackle that is the right size. I usually don't fish dry flies that are larger than a 16 anyway, except for drake patterns, so those smaller dries are usually purchased. On occasion I will purchase those Whiting 100's in size 18 and 20's. I figure I'd pay just that much for a dozen flies anyway, why not tie 4 times that with the 100's.

Anyway, those that tie your 100's of flies each winter, do you keep them in your box or seperate containers? I do like fanatic's idea though. Well, back to the bench. TIE ON!

[Jeff Brooks]

Jason,

I've tied 6 boxes of flies this winter (about 500 flies) and my 13 year old son has tied 2 boxes of flies (180+ flies) so we should be set.

I do almost all of my fishing on Stillwater as you know, but even in the winter when I do river fish, I seldom waste time tying the really small stuff, nor do I tie any dry flies for the same reasons already mentioned. Its just cheaper for me to buy those flies.

I concentrate on:

· Leeches
· Buggers
· Damsels
· All Purpose Emergers
· Minnow patterns
· Midges

Come spring I should be set for the year… The Cabin fever this winter is especially bad since I hurt my back and neck and I can't get out to do any river fishing.

JB

[Curtis Fry]

I usually get the tying bug come mid January, hence I've been tying like crazy the last couple of weeks. Not sure why, but January just seems to get me. I'll still tie up any patterns before trips etc, but January is when I usually build new boxes, redistribute other boxes and build up a good supply of favorite patterns. Sometimes, I'll put together a "Green River Midge" box or a "Baetis" box. Then I'll also have multi-purpose boxes that contain lots of different flies. I'll also tie flies for storage purposes. I have bigger boxes that contain a lot of the same pattern. Then I just raid those boxes if I need more patterns for a given trip to go in my smaller boxes. I usually keep those bigger boxes in my gear bag rather than at home.

I haven't tied real classic dries for years. No-hackles and comparaduns are about my only dries now and they don't use hackle. For midges I usually only need grizzly hackle for griffith's gnats and other very simple patterns, so I buy good quality necks for that. Otherwise, my other necks and saddles just sit in the box waiting for some use.

fshfanatic has a good idea, though, of building a little fly shop. That way you'd have an emergency reserve at home. Could be fun to see how many you get.

Fishon!!
Curtis Fry

[Crosby]

Larry- it's not like I haven't thought about going--- but I am getting a new fishing truck and well first things first. But I don't think the new one will have the fish smell that the Toyota has. Guess time will take care of that.

[Ouzel]

It is best to first establish goals and then get organized to accomplish those goals.
The idea is not to tie lots of flies but to tie those flies for rivers you most often fish. Then tie first those flies that hatch out earliest.
Get some large multicompartment boxes you can use to hold your developing inventory.
Go to your own data base (hatch charts) and set up a list of flies needed. There will of course be duplications. Start at "A" for Adams (don't leave home without them) and tie up a dozen or two of each size needed, batching your work as the pros do. When you go cross eyed, leave the desk and everything will be there when your ready go at it again. You really ought to get a copy of A. K. Best's book "production Fly Tying"
Incidently I gave up buying full necks when I realized how many of the feathers on a neck I don't use and that I have some necks older then my grown son. I buy the 100's packs of premium feathers, save money buy not buying feathers I don't need and have plenty of feathers I do need.
As each year goes by you will learn which flies you really do use and your overall bench time (inventory building)will be less. In my carrying boxes I have only 2-4 of each size for each fly which means I'm not carrying a dozen of the wrong size.

[shazerblaze]

Salmo
I have actually started tying comparaduns, and have caught some pretty good fish. I think it presents a better profile on the water, with the body on the water. I haven't quite mastered the hairwing technique yet, but I don't tie many dries. I just don't ever get to it like I should, since often tie other patterns. I don't think I used the right hair. Which hair is best for the comparas?
Thanks

[jdubya]

Jason, everytime I sit down to tie anything I do at least a dozen of them. Usually I'll do the series (all sizes) and just have extras.

I have a series (12 at this time) of multicompartment plastic boxes that I stock to. I have all of my patterns in a loose leaf book ( 97 pattterns so far: each with a page of how to tie them and a plastic bag stapled to them with a sample of the fly in it) so I can remember how to tie them.

In the winter I just look through my stock boxes and see what is low and sequentially fill each box. I don't like to tie in the summer except for "experimental" patterns. I'd rather be fishing or doing something else outside.

[Salmo]

For tying comparaduns I like to use fine blacktail deer hair, But any fine deer hair will work. (whitetail works good too) Make sure you clean out all the fuzz at the base of the hair before you stack it. It is important that the tips are as even as posible this may mean you need to stack more than once. Dont be afraid to use what looks to be to much hair If the hair is fine the but ends will compact nicely and help to form a tapered body.

[shazerblaze]

I read something about that last night -- fine hair. Thanks Salmo. I will try some tonight or, maybe I will have to order some finer hair. Be good.

[Jason]

Comparaduns are best when tied with short fine coastal deer hair. Nature's Spirit brand has some good stuff.

[shazerblaze]

Thanks Jason. Be good.

[Curtis Fry]

Ditto what Jason said about Coastal deer hair. Just be selective on the hair. I'll pick through patches to find the ones I really like. Try to find patches that look even and that have less underfur (the fuzzy stuff) to deal with -- makes it easier to stack and handle. Also look at color pretty carefully. They have several different shades of browns to grays. You don't want the hair too light or too dark when compared to the natural's colors.

I'm a BIG fan of comparaduns, so I get really picky with that hair. Luckily I found a good supply a while back (can't remember where) and I've been using that for a few years.

Fishon!!

Curtis Fry