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I was recently reading an article in the midcurrent newsletter on fly boxes.. and here is what I gleaned from it..
basic view is that the fly box is a means of keeping your flies in one spot just as some anglers look at a reel as a means of storage for your line.. with the line being the most important factor..
a fly box should do three things.. store your flies securely (so they dont flop around or fall out when you open the box), be waterproof (so that your flies wont rust away and so the box, if dropped will not sink), and be all but indestructable (to prevent damaging your flies in the normal wear and tear of a day of fishing)..
the article "rated" the Richard Wheatley "hinged series", followed by the C&F Design as the high end models, followed by the SA Sytem X box and a mid price alternative to the other two higher priced boxes..
now.. for me any way.. the foam morrel boxes fit my budget, store my flies and keep them relatively dry, and they float.. (yes Ive tested that one on the water a few times)...
soooooo what type of fly box do you use, and just out of curiosity.. why?
MacFly
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All of them...LOL I even have some of those BIG old plastic boxes...he, he, he.
Oh besides the wheatley, some custom WOODEN and allot of the BOOK style with foam on both sides plus a cartridge that hold more flies on both sides. Like the System X (which I have a bunch also) but foam on the lids also.
I find myself using the little compartment ones for the smaller sizes. Not sure why as the flies can fall out when you open them. I guess easier to just plop them in there rather than hook each one to foam.
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I agree on the compartmented one on the smaller flies.. especially the ones that you tie up.. :-)..
I like the looks and idea behind the system x one.. especially the way the foam is tapered for larger flies..
but again..my issue right now is cost.. I can afford the morrells easier for now.. :-).. but Id love to have the system x ones.. :-)
MacFly
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When you get ready, check Wally World. They are about $2. cheaper than fly shops. There are about 10 different cartridges too.
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because of you taking advantage of orvis deals I also have one of the boxes you pictured.. and I really like it.. this past trip to TN I put my smaller flies in that box.. except for a little extra bouncing around of the flies (knock on wood did not lose one).. it was a good box to use.. also.. because of its smaller size I was able to put that one in a smaller pocket on my pouch and that in turn left more room in the main pocket for my larger fly boxes..
MacFly
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I like the big 8'' boxes because most of my fies are big
for bass. See picture please.
I also have a small box or two that use if Im going
"for a walk" .
Peter
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are those wheately ??
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The blue one is Cliff bugger barn. Those two other ones Im not sure.
Peter
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The water proof boxes can rust your flies quicker than a non water proof one. Just put a wet wooly bugger into your water proof fly box and wait a week and see how all the rest of your flies in that compartment look. You effectively are sealing them all in what will quickly turn to a high humidity sealed chamber.
Now if you are falling into the river a lot or dropping your fly boxes a lot. Water proof boxes will be a big benefit.
But on the other hand I have wader across rivers before and continued fishing. By the time I get home my vest is dried out but unknown to me I had waded deep enough that the fly boxes in the bottom pockets of my vest got wet. I did not open the boxes to air them out. A week later I had three boxes of rusty flies. The one box that had a number of air gaps was just fine. No rusty flies. (none of my boxes are water proof)
Either way you go you are likely to end up with rusty flies at some point unless you routinely air them out.
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Being a cheap slob with lots of flies I go for the cheap boxes. I generally can squeeze more flies in the small cheap boxes, also.
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I always put the wet flies in "special" small box. Never put
wet flies in with dry flies. When I get home I put the
"special" box with wet flies on the sun (open) to dry
the flies.
On my float tube I have a "special" place to put the
wet flies again, so they dry as I go .
Peter
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so this is one of those times where being cheap is a good thing.. :-)
not being overly organized I tend to jam as many flies as I can in a box.. the problem I keep running into is that a lot of times larger flies cover the smaller flies in the box.. so there are times that I know that I have a fly that I want to use but it takes me a longer time than usual to find that one fly that I want to use.. :-)..
MacFly [cool]
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Why dont you put small flies in one box and big flies
in other box (see my picture of fly boxes).
It works that way good for me.
Peter
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Peter wrote: " always put the wet flies in "special" small box. Never put
wet flies in with dry flies. When I get home I put the
"special" box with wet flies on the sun (open) to dry
the flies.
On my float tube I have a "special" place to put the
wet flies again, so they dry as I go.
---------
My special place generally is my fly patch but then sometimes that gets filled up. Sometimes I loose some flies off the fly patch. I like the idea of a special box but I am not sure where to to keep the special box because all my pockets are filled with fly boxes.
Those special flies i tie for a trip generally end up in some odd ball location which I then forget where it is when I am on the water. Plus I generally can't remember why I thought they were going to be special.
Just need to change my ways so I don't carry so many flies with me. But for some reason that is a hard thing for me to do. I must be one of those FF horders. I am waiting for some fly fishermen to show up on one of those TV shows about obsessive horders.
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it sounds like you and I are the same way.. when I am on the water I take everything with me.. but.. just like this last time in TN.. the only flies I used and caught fish with were red or green chormids, a scud patter, small wooly buggers, black and red ants, and hoppers.. all totaled those flies would of taken up one half on one fly box.. LOL...the rest I had carried were for show.. :-)
MacFly
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000][size 3]I have probably lost more flies from the wool patch than to fish or brush. Probably because all my hooks are barbless. For the heck of it I checked my waterproof fly box [shown above] and not one hook had any rust. You guys must be using those cheap Chinese hooks. lol[/size][/#008000][/font]
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Ill have to check that box like that I have... I know there were some flies that got wet in TN..
I agree on the flypatch thing.. Id like to use it but I do lose the occassional fly off ot it.. and its usually the one that I want to use or try again..LOL...
MacFly [cool]
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Orvis makes a yellow box in different sizes that IS rust resistant, but also water proof. Some chemical? I don't know. I do know I have two of them.
On my boat I put all my wet flies in a open box on my boat. By the time I get to shore.....they are dry[laugh]
On the rivers...PATCH or Cork all the way
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