100 Flys to choose for me

afishinado wrote:
Here's a suggestion, now that you bought some flies from the "Fly Shop", hopefully you chose more generic patterns like the ones mentioned above: HEs, PTs, WBs, etc. I suggest you buy the rest as from local fly shops as you fish during the season to meet some of the hatches on the stream. For example, you may never see a quill gordon or a black stone on your streams depending on when and where you fish, so buying flies to meet those hatches does not make much sense. But say for example march browns and big sulphers are hatching all over during your odyssey across the State, you’ll want to have flies to meet those hatches. Having a lot of flies is one thing, having the right flies is another. I guess “right” is not the correct word, since many different flies can work in many situations, maybe the “best” fly for the situation may be more accurate.

Anyway, an added benefit of buying flies tied at a local fly shop is that they would probably be a better to match the local hatches, and the shop can steer you in the right direction with respect to the hatches, conditions, and best places to fish. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, nothing can replace the info that can be gained from visiting a local shop. After fishing for a while you will learn which flies work best during different situations, and you can buy or tie flies to meet all the hatches you are likely to encounter. Good luck.


Thats great advice, and I definitely plan on (and have done that in the past) doing that. I have the book "trout streams of PA" by dwight landis and it gives an accurate hatch chart, and I have also done some reserach on a general central PA hatch chart. So I mostly went off those, but will definitely be stopping to buy flies as I see fit and I need them. I basically just needed to up my fly collection because I am using flys from a couple years ago that I bought without really knowing what they are. I am finding that doing everything ovr the 2nd time, on my own, with finding out all the information for myself, is really helping me understand everything a lot better. Again, thanks for the post, I will definitely "practice what you preach"


oh: and edit to say, I did some reserach on the fly stop and asked around on this site about it and it sounds like they are a reputable company and put out great products for a great price (55 cents a fly)
 
ErnieBall wrote:
jayL: tanked to get draft picks??? you dont "tank" when your team is made up of steve mckenna, milan kraft, rico fata, thomas surovy and your leading scoring is DEFENSEMAN **** Transtrom.


ryflyguy: just curious, how many flys - on average - would you say that you carry



Well to answer your question... I carry 4 boxes of flies at all times. One for dries, one for nymphs, one for eggs/steelhead, one for streamers and buggers. I bet I have close to 300 flies total. I try to tie about 50 flies to start the season, and replace flies as I lose them, or add a new pattern or size to my collection, so it gets bigger every year. I have been fly fishing for 3 years now and tying for 2. I am just now getting into matching more hatches, but use general patterns a lot. Once I get a bit more into the sport and more time (which no one has), I'll be more organized and have a different box for each month of the year. An ideal number of flies for me is probably another hundred more (specific dries for many hatches), but I'm pretty prepared for each trip. I agree with what was said before. I tie (you can buy) a few flies to match the hatch that I plan on going to atleast a few days before hand. That slowly adds to my collection, but can catch fish in almost any situation with what I have.

In conclusion... how many flies do I think I need... always atleast a few more :-D
 
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