Watching this forces me to face my terminal laziness & serious ineptitude:
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Going Deep (OCD????.....) w/ Fly Box Organization
- Thread starter Ron McNeal
- Start date
I spent perhaps an hour and a half pulling all the jig patterns out of a "balanced leech/jig" fly box - so I now have a fly box for balanced leeches and a box for jigs: I thought I was "organized" and just slightly OCD...... but 2.0 to 2.5 grains, 2.5 - 3.0 grains............ that's organized. One quote did strike a chord and that was something along the lines of Joe Humphrey's said the difference between a good fisherman and a great fisherman might be one small split shot. I know there's some truth (at times) to that but then that's for nymphing a river not stillwater angling.
Indeed.... and the difference between a good still-water fisherman and a great still-water fisherman might be having, and knowing how to use, a fishfinder.
Hmmm...I know a lake fisherman that on occasion has been known to clamp a few split shot onto his sinking lines if he doesn't think he's getting deep enough.
I organize my flies by pattern. I tie all my subsurface flies in three different weights (light/standard/bomb) and just put them all side by side.
I wouldn't get much value out of organizing my flies by weight, because I don't carry many flies and they're all very different. For example, a 3.2mm perdigon is going to behave very differently from a 3.2mm mop, even though they weigh (roughly) the same. Organizing by weight makes sense for these competitive dudes, though.
I wouldn't get much value out of organizing my flies by weight, because I don't carry many flies and they're all very different. For example, a 3.2mm perdigon is going to behave very differently from a 3.2mm mop, even though they weigh (roughly) the same. Organizing by weight makes sense for these competitive dudes, though.
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My fly boxes stay organized about 6-10 days a year….which is about how often I organize fly boxes. First trip out with them, they start looking like the lost and found box at your local bowling alley.
Here is my coho box. Last organized in mid September sometime. I’ll organize again before I start targeting them again in the salt in July.
Here is my coho box. Last organized in mid September sometime. I’ll organize again before I start targeting them again in the salt in July
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My fly boxes stay organized about 6-10 days a year….which is about how often I organize fly boxes. First trip out with them, they start looking like the lost and found box at your local bowling alley.
Here is my coho box. Last organized in mid September sometime. I’ll organize again before I start targeting them again in the salt in July
A kindred spirit!
This guy f…ishesMy fly boxes stay organized about 6-10 days a year….which is about how often I organize fly boxes. First trip out with them, they start looking like the lost and found box at your local bowling alley.
Here is my coho box. Last organized in mid September sometime. I’ll organize again before I start targeting them again in the salt in July
View attachment 51670
I have a personal flybox organizer 
RCF
Life of the Party
If someone is going to spend that much time organizing and maintaining the fly boxes and flies and tailor fly selection by grain weight they are going to spend a lot less time with a fly in the water trying to catch fish. With so many choices they will waste even more time trying to make a selection of which fly to use....
Fly fishing is not a science but an art. It is not rocket science to organize flies, well he thinks so, it is an art of casting and presentation of the fly with something that looks good enough to eat.
Fly fishing is not a science but an art. It is not rocket science to organize flies, well he thinks so, it is an art of casting and presentation of the fly with something that looks good enough to eat.
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I can identify...My fly boxes stay organized about 6-10 days a year….which is about how often I organize fly boxes. First trip out with them, they start looking like the lost and found box at your local bowling alley.
Here is my coho box. Last organized in mid September sometime. I’ll organize again before I start targeting them again in the salt in July
View attachment 51670
Or the ability to remain absolutely focused on a bobber despite its mind numbing monotony.
He's one of the best competitive anglers in the world. He knows what he is doing. None of us are at his level though, so this degree of fly organization is pretty far off our hierarchy of needs.
Ehh, I would imagine this dude is anal about a lot of things in his life, not just fly boxes. Not a bad thing. How he organize his fly boxes is not driving his success as an angler on its own. He has a system that works best for him and how he approaches things. It actually might be a detriment to a different competitive angler.
I'd also be willing to bet he isn't "on your level" standing on a coho beach either.
I'm sure he's very good competitive fly angler, but that doesn't mean a whole lot within the realm of real world fly fishing.
