Does anyone have a source for Cortland/DeWitt fly boxes?

[TimMurphy]

Dear Board,

Does anyone have a source for the old clear plastic fly boxes with multiple compartments and metal hinges? I have a bunch of them from Cortland and DeWitt Plastics, but I would like to get some new ones. DeWitt Plastics still has website but it's from 2016 and whenever I try to navigate it I get sent to the Thomas Registry so I'm not sure they are still in business.

Any leads or am I looking for the Holy Grail?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[dryflyguy]

The Dewitt boxes aren’t made anymore
And that’s too bad
I use them. But some of them have cracks now.

I think there are other compartment boxes out there though.
But haven’t seen any as nice as the Dewitts

 

[TimMurphy]

The Dewitt boxes aren’t made anymore
And that’s too bad
I use them. But some of them have cracks now.

I think there are other compartment boxes out there though.
But haven’t seen any as nice as the Dewitts

Dang, I was afraid of that! There just don't seem to be any decent boxes for dry flies anymore?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[krayfish2]

You are being redirected...

Is this what you're looking for?

 

[falcon]

I saw a few at the Dette's Fly Shop on closeout about a month ago. There were only a few left.

 

[TimMurphy]

You are being redirected...

Is this what you're looking for?

Thanks for the heads up. I ordered a few clear plastic multi-compartment from the Fly Shack but I think the ones at Bob Marriots are a little smaller and more like the 40 plus year old boxes I have.

I ordered a couple from Marriot's too. I should be all set once everything arrives.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[wildtrout2]

After reading your post, I looked into these boxes and came to realize that back in the 70's I bought two Dewitt boxes at what was Eylers Fly Shop, when it was in Ardmore. They were my first fly boxes. It's been so long ago, I had totally forgotten about them. If my memory serves me now, I recall them having a funky odor to them?

 

[TimMurphy]

After reading your post, I looked into these boxes and came to realize that back in the 70's I bought two Dewitt boxes at what was Eylers Fly Shop, when it was in Ardmore. They were my first fly boxes. It's been so long ago, I had totally forgotten about them. If my memory serves me now, I recall them having a funky odor to them?

Dear wildtrout,

In the '70's anything that didn't smell like BO, Copenhagen, cheap bug chasing cigars, or wet canvas waders that a fly fisherman possessed smell odd.

Yes, they had a bit of a smell, but I wouldn't say it was funky and it never seemed to cause flies stored in the boxes to be ineffective. To me they smelled like new plastic, and all new plastic still smells to me to this day.

I like the boxes because they weigh next to nothing and with multiple compartments and various sizes you can store zillions of flies in them. Between the ones I still have and what I ordered from Fly Shack and from Marriot's I should be able to reorganize and be set for the rest the rest of my life.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[dryflyguy]

Regarding the Dewitt boxes:
Besides being light with steel hinges, the sizing and way the compartments were laid out, really accommodates a lot of flies well.
Been using them from the get go.

Never really noticed a funky smell

 

[Bamboozle]

Dewitt boxes were great and there was a time when Dewitt Plastics would do custom work like the number of compartments in a particular size box. I ordered a bunch of custom boxes for bulk fly storage from them years ago.

While definitely not as light or with as secure a closure as Dewitt boxes, I am a huge fan of Myran Boxes made in Sweden which boast brass hinge pins and are almost indestructible.

They come in more sizes and configurations than Dewitt boxes did, however like Dewitt boxes, they are almost universally out of stock everywhere including at Angler Sport Group (ASG) who is the US distributor.

I have been calling ASG every other month now since the spring hoping their restocking shipment has finally arrived but the last time I called I was told maybe November...

It will be a shame if they are discontinued too...

After reading your post, I looked into these boxes and came to realize that back in the 70's I bought two Dewitt boxes at what was Eylers Fly Shop, when it was in Ardmore. They were my first fly boxes. It's been so long ago, I had totally forgotten about them. If my memory serves me now, I recall them having a funky odor to them?

If you recall, Tom had a bunch of large flies stored in stacks of Dewitt boxes, many with that yellow color the boxes would get as they mellowed with age.

You can see a bunch of them in this photo of the old Bryn Mawr store:

 

[TimMurphy]

Dewitt boxes were great and there was a time when Dewitt Plastics would do custom work like the number of compartments in a particular size box. I ordered a bunch of custom boxes for bulk fly storage from them years ago.

While definitely not as light or with as secure a closure as Dewitt boxes, I am a huge fan of Myran Boxes made in Sweden which boast brass hinge pins and are almost indestructible.

They come in more sizes and configurations than Dewitt boxes did, however like Dewitt boxes, they are almost universally out of stock everywhere including at Angler Sport Group (ASG) who is the US distributor.

I have been calling ASG every other month now since the spring hoping their restocking shipment has finally arrived but the last time I called I was told maybe November...

It will be a shame if they are discontinued too...



If you recall, Tom had a bunch of large flies stored in stacks of Dewitt boxes, many with that yellow color the boxes would get as they mellowed with age.

You can see a bunch of them in this photo of the old Bryn Mawr store:

View attachment 1641227382

Dear Bam,

I ordered a half dozen Myran boxes from Bob Marriot's Fly Shop. The link was provided by kray in the post above with the redirection notice.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Bamboozle]

Dear Bam,

I ordered a half dozen Myran boxes from Bob Marriot's Fly Shop. The link was provided by kray in the post above with the redirection notice.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Tim:

I'm glad you found some that you could use.

I use a lot of the smaller Myran boxes for everything from holding tiny machine screws to bulk fly storage of midges to split shot, hooks & small lures for conventional fishing. 20+ years I ago I even made one small Myran box into a six spool tippet material dispenser. They are great boxes for a lot of things.

Unfortunately Marriot's doesn't the box I am after. Because I always find a use for them, I always like to have a few of different sizes and configurations in my basement until I need them so I can wait until ASG restocks.

Thanks for the tip regardless!!

 

[TimMurphy]

Tim:

I'm glad you found some that you could use.

I use a lot of the smaller Myran boxes for everything from holding tiny machine screws to bulk fly storage of midges to split shot, hooks & small lures for conventional fishing. 20+ years I ago I even made one small Myran box into a six spool tippet material dispenser. They are great boxes for a lot of things.

Unfortunately Marriot's doesn't the box I am after. Because I always find a use for them, I always like to have a few of different sizes and configurations in my basement until I need them so I can wait until ASG restocks.

Thanks for the tip regardless!!

Just a heads up. Marriot's called me today and told me the boxes were on back-order with no idea when they will be available.

I'm going to look overseas for them because there really aren't any fly boxes made to store dry flies anymore, at least not for under $ 35.00.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[falcon]

Go to a sporting goods store. The last time I looked there were boxes to store lures, fishing hardware and whatever. They are not vest size but good for home or camp storage until you find the boxes you like. Cheap too.

 

[dryflyguy]

I just finished reading the classic book " Trout" by Ray Bergman.

It contains a whole chapter on dry flies.
And in it, he talks about how he had a hard time finding good compartment boxes to carry them in.
However, he finally did find a box that he liked, and had a nice drawing of it in there.
And it looks just like the eight compartment rounded corner Dewitt that I - and perhaps Tim - have been using for a long time.

Can't recall him giving the brand name.
Now the first edition of this book was written in 1938. But got me wondering if Dewitt boxes possibly go back that far?

 

[TimMurphy]

I just finished reading the classic book " Trout" by Ray Bergman.

It contains a whole chapter on dry flies.
And in it, he talks about how he had a hard time finding good compartment boxes to carry them in.
However, he finally did find a box that he liked, and had a nice drawing of it in there.
And it looks just like the eight compartment rounded corner Dewitt that I - and perhaps Tim - have been using for a long time.

Can't recall him giving the brand name.
Now the first edition of this book was written in 1938. But got me wondering if Dewitt boxes possibly go back that far?

Dear dryflyguy,

"Classic Trout" by Ray Bergman? My brother Michael stole that book from me when he moved to Colorado almost 40 years ago.

To his credit, he did send back my 7'6" Sceptre 5 weight rod. I bought it from Steve Sywensky when the Flyfisher's Paradise fly shop was an 8'x 16' room at the front of the Lemont PA Post Office. I worked long and hard at my work study job at PSU to get the money for that rod!

I was lucky enough to befriend a number of fly shop owners more than 30 years ago. They let me become friends with some of their customers that were 20 to 30 years my senior at the time. The things they taught me and the stories they told made this all more worthwhile.

Jesus, I miss the old days, a lot!

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[Bamboozle]

Just a heads up. Marriot's called me today and told me the boxes were on back-order with no idea when they will be available.

I'm going to look overseas for them because there really aren't any fly boxes made to store dry flies anymore, at least not for under $ 35.00.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

I hate it when Internet retailers use other sources to fulfill orders or just are too lazy to have accurate inventory levels posted on their websites...

If you can wait a month, I'll PM you when ASG gets restocked which is a also when the rest of the retailers will as well.

I just finished reading the classic book " Trout" by Ray Bergman.

It contains a whole chapter on dry flies.
And in it, he talks about how he had a hard time finding good compartment boxes to carry them in.
However, he finally did find a box that he liked, and had a nice drawing of it in there.
And it looks just like the eight compartment rounded corner Dewitt that I - and perhaps Tim - have been using for a long time.

Can't recall him giving the brand name.
Now the first edition of this book was written in 1938. But got me wondering if Dewitt boxes possibly go back that far?

When I stared fly fishing the book that had the biggest influence on me was “Fly-Fishing for Trout : A Guide for Adult Beginners,“ by Richard W. Talleur originally published in 1974 that I found on closeout in a long gone department store in my home town.

Just about everything **** suggested or product he recommended in that book I sought out as being absolutely necessary to my success which included the Dewitt–type fly boxes he described as “Tenite” fly boxes. Tenite is a type of cellulose plastic and that pretty much describes a Dewitt box.

Cellulose plastic has been around a long time so it isn’t inconceivable they were making fly boxes out of it when Bergman’s “Trout” was originally published or at minimum they were available when updated editions of “Trout” were published.

An anecdote to this story is I had the pleasure of chatting with **** Talleur a few times before his passing. I told him how much I learned from the book in my formative years and I had him inscribe my copy.

 

[dryflyguy]

Tim - I've had that book for years.
And just finally got around to reading it.
Really enjoyed it, despite it being published so long ago.

Like you, I miss the old days too.
Fishing was so much simpler then.

No worries about tick bites, spreading Lyme and other newer, even worse diseases now.

No concerns about mud snails and didymo.
Keeping track of which stream has what now, and trying to do my best to not help spread it.
Which is seemingly getting to be more futile

 

[kbobb]

Dear Board,

Does anyone have a source for the old clear plastic fly boxes with multiple compartments and metal hinges? I have a bunch of them from Cortland and DeWitt Plastics, but I would like to get some new ones. DeWitt Plastics still has website but it's from 2016 and whenever I try to navigate it I get sent to the Thomas Registry so I'm not sure they are still in business.

Any leads or am I looking for the Holy Grail?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Tim - with all the difficulty finding clear plastic boxes there just might be a little cosmic voice whispering "Richardson" in your ear

 

[TimMurphy]

Tim - with all the difficulty finding clear plastic boxes there just might be a little cosmic voice whispering "Richardson" in your ear

I have a Richardson knock-off that is in perfect condition. I got away from wearing a vest and a fly tray as I got fatter and older!

I like the idea of a chest pack and a separate storage bag with multiple fly boxes with different flies. I can add or remove boxes based on the time of year. If I'm fishing in October there is no need to carry early season flies. I'm old and I'd like to get more organized.

If I lose some weight, I might go back to the Richardson knock-off. Fat chance of that happening!

Regards,

Tim Murphy