Unplanned opportunity through misfortune

[a23fish]

Got out today for about 3 hours on my local stream. Good sized rainbows feeding aggressively on top almost the entire time, but could I hook one? No. I am still a newcomer, having had a fly rod 14 months, and almost all of my fly fishing has been with streamers or some kind of nymph/egg under an indicator. I believe I have a total of 6 dry flies, which were given to me over time. The fish today didn't want any of them. Nor were they interested in any of my more-or-less "reliable" nymphs/eggs/streamers. Finicky devils. In short, I got skunked.

On to the misfortune. Upon getting back to the car, I discovered my fully packed Tacky Day Box, chock full of various flies, was missing. I had it while on the water no less than 30 minutes earlier, but it was gone. Not in the wrong vest pocket, not in a jacket pocket by mistake, not on the ground anywhere near the car. I said bad words.

Now for the opportunity. I had an extra, empty, fly box at home. And due to a neophyte buying addiction during my first year of fly fishing, had many extra flies. I am now ready to begin filling the new fly box. I decided I should be more judicious this time, since frankly I had the old one stuffed with about 90 flies and often spent considerable time trying to decide which one to use or use next. So far, I've got some small midges in it, a few pheasant tails & hare's ears, several other generic nymphs in darker colors, a couple colorful nymphs, and a couple bigger flies like the stoneflies. So far the new box has about 40 flies in it, and taking a quick look, it still reminds me of my old, now lost, box. Seems like there are too many flies that look too similar. My opportunity is more of a challenge. How do I sort through which specific flies go in, and how many of each? This will take time.

The real misfortune however is that my lost box contained maybe a half dozen custom-tied flies that were gifted to me while on the water and were proven performers. I'm gonna miss those. If in fact that box fell out while climbing up the bank or scrambling through the rocks & brush on the way back to my car, whoever finds it is gonna be one happy camper.

 

[JimNovo]

Got out today for about 3 hours on my local stream. Good sized rainbows feeding aggressively on top almost the entire time, but could I hook one? No. I am still a newcomer, having had a fly rod 14 months, and almost all of my fly fishing has been with streamers or some kind of nymph/egg under an indicator. I believe I have a total of 6 dry flies, which were given to me over time. The fish today didn't want any of them. Nor were they interested in any of my more-or-less "reliable" nymphs/eggs/streamers. Finicky devils. In short, I got skunked.

On to the misfortune. Upon getting back to the car, I discovered my fully packed Tacky Day Box, chock full of various flies, was missing. I had it while on the water no less than 30 minutes earlier, but it was gone. Not in the wrong vest pocket, not in a jacket pocket by mistake, not on the ground anywhere near the car. I said bad words.

Now for the opportunity. I had an extra, empty, fly box at home. And due to a neophyte buying addiction during my first year of fly fishing, had many extra flies. I am now ready to begin filling the new fly box. I decided I should be more judicious this time, since frankly I had the old one stuffed with about 90 flies and often spent considerable time trying to decide which one to use or use next. So far, I've got some small midges in it, a few pheasant tails & hare's ears, several other generic nymphs in darker colors, a couple colorful nymphs, and a couple bigger flies like the stoneflies. So far the new box has about 40 flies in it, and taking a quick look, it still reminds me of my old, now lost, box. Seems like there are too many flies that look too similar. My opportunity is more of a challenge. How do I sort through which specific flies go in, and how many of each? This will take time.

The real misfortune however is that my lost box contained maybe a half dozen custom-tied flies that were gifted to me while on the water and were proven performers. I'm gonna miss those. If in fact that box fell out while climbing up the bank or scrambling through the rocks & brush on the way back to my car, whoever finds it is gonna be one happy camper.

If you PM me your address I’ll tie and send you an assortment of flies.

 

[a23fish]

That is a most gracious offer. I never cease to be amazed at the generosity of fellow fly anglers. For the record, I did not start my post to subtly solicit free flies, just to relay a "one of those days" experience and the challenges in picking which flies to take and which to use while on the water. The only other fly fisherman I saw today was fishing dry flies and although he caught a few, he did say the trout were being "very selective." Amen to that.

 

[JMP]

Before your next visit to the stream, place a return address sticker on the inside of all of your fly boxes. You may get lucky and the individual who finds your box will contact you.

 

[Paul Barci]

Got out today for about 3 hours on my local stream. Good sized rainbows feeding aggressively on top almost the entire time, but could I hook one? No. I am still a newcomer, having had a fly rod 14 months, and almost all of my fly fishing has been with streamers or some kind of nymph/egg under an indicator. I believe I have a total of 6 dry flies, which were given to me over time. The fish today didn't want any of them. Nor were they interested in any of my more-or-less "reliable" nymphs/eggs/streamers. Finicky devils. In short, I got skunked.

On to the misfortune. Upon getting back to the car, I discovered my fully packed Tacky Day Box, chock full of various flies, was missing. I had it while on the water no less than 30 minutes earlier, but it was gone. Not in the wrong vest pocket, not in a jacket pocket by mistake, not on the ground anywhere near the car. I said bad words.

Now for the opportunity. I had an extra, empty, fly box at home. And due to a neophyte buying addiction during my first year of fly fishing, had many extra flies. I am now ready to begin filling the new fly box. I decided I should be more judicious this time, since frankly I had the old one stuffed with about 90 flies and often spent considerable time trying to decide which one to use or use next. So far, I've got some small midges in it, a few pheasant tails & hare's ears, several other generic nymphs in darker colors, a couple colorful nymphs, and a couple bigger flies like the stoneflies. So far the new box has about 40 flies in it, and taking a quick look, it still reminds me of my old, now lost, box. Seems like there are too many flies that look too similar. My opportunity is more of a challenge. How do I sort through which specific flies go in, and how many of each? This will take time.

The real misfortune however is that my lost box contained maybe a half dozen custom-tied flies that were gifted to me while on the water and were proven performers. I'm gonna miss those. If in fact that box fell out while climbing up the bank or scrambling through the rocks & brush on the way back to my car, whoever finds it is gonna be one happy camper.

If you did not notice any visible flies on the water the fish were probably taking midge emergers and also blue winged olive emergers. Try a soft hackle bwo fished in the film size 18 or 20.
I caught lots of fish on Saturday that way.
Usually if the fish are taking emergers the take will usually be aggressive and very visible because they tend to porpoise on emergers as opposed to sipping dries floating on the surface.

 

[a23fish]

Paul - Thanks for the info. I didn't know that. The fish certainly were hitting the surface with gusto, including several that basically rolled on the top exposing their entire side. Some big'uns in the creek.

JMP - good idea.

 

[a23fish]

UPDATE:
Believe it or not, I was out fishing today and ran into only one other angler, a young man who had given me one of the custom-tied flies that I had in my lost fly box. He asked me how I had done with it and I told him the story of the missing box. He reached into his pocket and said "Is this it?" Yep, sure is. Yahoo!

We fished together for the next hour. He caught one fish on a dry fly, I caught none. But I was not disappointed. Very nice young man. He would not take a reward for finding & returning the missing fly box. The world needs more people like him.

Now I have to figure out how to winnow down the number & type of nymphs in two fly boxes. This could take a while. Back to the original question/opportunity: How do I sort through which specific flies go in, and how many of each?

 

[Paul Barci]

UPDATE:
Believe it or not, I was out fishing today and ran into only one other angler, a young man who had given me one of the custom-tied flies that I had in my lost fly box. He asked me how I had done with it and I told him the story of the missing box. He reached into his pocket and said "Is this it?" Yep, sure is. Yahoo!

We fished together for the next hour. He caught one fish on a dry fly, I caught none. But I was not disappointed. Very nice young man. He would not take a reward for finding & returning the missing fly box. The world needs more people like him.

Now I have to figure out how to winnow down the number & type of nymphs in two fly boxes. This could take a while. Back to the original question/opportunity: How do I sort through which specific flies go in, and how many of each?

My first question is
Where are you fishing
In the winter time midges are pretty much the prevalent fly
Streamers are also a choice
On warmer days bwo could be present.
The nymphs of the hatches that are native to the stream are there but they are growing through the winter
I was watching midge emergers floating about 12 inches below the surface a few days ago and one of the flies on my line was a perfect match complete with the air bubble
It made me laugh

 

[Paul Barci]

UPDATE:
Believe it or not, I was out fishing today and ran into only one other angler, a young man who had given me one of the custom-tied flies that I had in my lost fly box. He asked me how I had done with it and I told him the story of the missing box. He reached into his pocket and said "Is this it?" Yep, sure is. Yahoo!

We fished together for the next hour. He caught one fish on a dry fly, I caught none. But I was not disappointed. Very nice young man. He would not take a reward for finding & returning the missing fly box. The world needs more people like him.

Now I have to figure out how to winnow down the number & type of nymphs in two fly boxes. This could take a while. Back to the original question/opportunity: How do I sort through which specific flies go in, and how many of each?

Check out this midge emerger pattern
It works well

 

[a23fish]

Paul - Thanks for the info, I learn something every day. I didn't know there were midge emergers. At my stage of fly fishing, I considered anything not a dry fly or a bugger/streamer/worm/mop/egg was a nymph. I have much to learn. Nice pic too.

 

[Paul Barci]

Paul - Thanks for the info, I learn something every day. I didn't know there were midge emergers. At my stage of fly fishing, I considered anything not a dry fly or a bugger/streamer/worm/mop/egg was a nymph. I have much to learn. Nice pic too.

Look at this fish and you'll see a midge emerger on his upper lip
The white dot is the foam sighter

 

[lestrout]

Yo A23 - great update. With those aggressive rises, I would bet those were to the Early Black Stone, especially the egg-layers.

 

[phiendWMD]

I've never considered it before, but I think I'm going to write my phone number on my fly boxes with a sharpie. If I lose it, at least the person who finds it has a chance to do the right thing.

 

[dryflyguy]

You were very fortunate indeed!
But still look at it as a learning experience - so that hopefully it doesn't happen again.

I once lost a box of flies in the stream when I was quite new to the sport.
But wasn't as lucky as you were.
It taught me to always zip my fly box back into the vest, immediately after every fly change. No matter how hot the action is.
Well worth the extra few seconds it takes to do.

 

[afishinado]

I pin a lanyard (could use an old shoe lace) to the bottom of the compartment of my pack, and attach heavy-duty Velcro to the end of the lanyard and to my fly boxes. I can remove fly boxes and/or change them out by using Velcro. Never lost or dropped a fly box in the water since..... Give it a try.

 

[Tigereye]

Now I have to figure out how to winnow down the number & type of nymphs in two fly boxes. This could take a while. Back to the original question/opportunity: How do I sort through which specific flies go in, and how many of each?

Here is a start on how to winnow down your fly inventory. May not work for everyone but it works for me.

Trout focus on size, shape, and color mostly in that order or preference.

There are 3 major shapes ie stone fly, caddis fly and may fly.

Most nymphs are in the 14 to 18 range with the exception of the large stones.

The colors of nymphs are shades of tan and brown to dark brown almost black. Olive and in the case of caddis bright green.

If you focus on generic nymph ie Pheasant tails, hares ear, walts worm, and vary their colors, you can match most hatches.

I also add 3 attractor patterns for sluggish fish. Rainbow warrior, Prince nymph, and egans blow torch. You can always add a Hotspot to your generic flies if you like. Best colors on my waters in Poconos are orange, pink, and shrimp (which is a pinkies orange. Hmmmmmm?)

So here is a quick check list for you.

Hares ear. 12-18
Olive HE. 16-18
PT. 12-18
Walts worm 14-18
Green caddis. 14-16
Tan caddis. 14-16
Prince. 12-14
Rainbow W. 14-16
Blow torch. 14-16
Pat's rubber legs. 8
Zebra midge. 20

If you have favorites or prefer a hot spot, by all means add them, if you dislike or find certain flies unproductive, trash em.

I believe tweaking fishing depth and presentation is more important than pattern. The above list should catch you fish in 80% of PA streams.

Hope this helps.
Good luck

 

[a23fish]

Tigereye, thanks for the advice. I have some of those already. Just need to spend more time on the water, and probably more time thinking about what I'm about to do and why before I actually do it. Fly fishing would be so much easier if there were only 4 flies in 1 size and 2 colors each.