If you could only carry one fly box....

[Sportsman Matt]

what would you have for flies in it?

Reason I ask is that often I go through my guide pack and pull out 2 or 3 boxes of flies and my rod and leave the rest in my truck while fishing for the 15 to 20 minutes I found I could get during the day between appointments and other things. But carrying 2 to 3 fly boxes at times isn't necessarily a good thing, especially if one falls out and you miss it.

So I'm setting up a "go to" fly box of essential flies, small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, but I've got sooooo many different patterns that I'm drawing a blank as to what I really should use. (Blame old age or lack of sleep on this one)

So far I've got:

Bead Head Wooly Buggers
Wooly Buggers
Wooly Worms
Royal Wulffs
Usuals
Pheasant Tail Nymphs
Hare's Ear Nymphs'
Moby Dicks
Miller's River Specials
Hornbergs

So what else am I missing?

[fisher205]

Around here, Elk hair Caddis and Hopper patterns, maybe some stimulators

[Colorado David]

Adams
Soft Hackles
Prince or Bead Head Prince nymph
Some kind of ant pattern

[xtatik]

PMD's
BWO's
Adams Chutes
EHC's
Maybe some small Stimmies, and a dark emerger pattern....nothing particular comes to mind...that's it. Don't need no steeenkeeng nymphs!

[KG6BWS]

Hmmm.....

Yellow stone fly nymphs
Elk hair caddis
Adams
Prince and BH Prince nymphs
Kern emerger
Olive and Black wooly buggers with and without BH

Those are all ones Ive caught fish on with the most luck so those are the ones I gravitate to first, or when Im not having luck with others. All of them in smaller sizes, 14 and smaller except for a few 10 or 12 elk hair caddis to use as indicators for the nymphs. Buggers in size 10 or 12 typically.

[CSG]

I was talking to a buddy of mine who's a guide here and head of our local club the other day. We were talking about how crazy things have gotten with flies (we both tie) and he made a crack about how if his clients just carried an assortment of Adams and nothing else they'd probably catch more fish. It's really more about presentation 90% of the time anyway.

FWIW, I carry way too many flies and never know what the hell to use.

[KG6BWS]

It's really more about presentation 90% of the time anyway.

FWIW, I carry way too many flies and never know what the hell to use.

LOL!!! I do the same thing.

My problem though is that Im still learning, so my presentations arent the greatest. Carry enough flies and Ill usually find something that I can present well enough to catch fish. Besides fishings all about having fun...I dont try for the trophy fish, I just try for the stupid ones.

[Mike S]

Your selection depends almost entirely on the location, elevation and type of streams/rivers you fish.

Here in the west I like to have attractor dries for fast water - Humpies, elk hair caddis, Adams, and Wulffs - a couple of stoneflies - golden and little yellow stoneflies (dry and nymphs), and caddis imitations to suit the streams I fish - larvae, pupae, and emerger/dries. Also carry PTs, black and brown bombers (weighted) and GRHE for nymphing pocket water.

Unless you fish a lot of flat water, you only need sizes from 10 to 16.

[Hill, Bill E.]

If I could only carry 1 box? Hmmmm...For me, that's easy.

WORMS! Love them little anglebugs

(sacreligous, I know!)

I only have (I think I still have) about 5 flies. They work great for trout streams and lakes around here, when I could get out.

We don't have a lot of 'open' streams where fly fishing works well, but I did love it!

Hope to get out again someday. I can't walk the streams like I used to, but even a short time fishing is worth it.

[Bowhunter]

For trout my go to box would have:

Wet Flies
Muddler Minnow (various types)
Mickey Finn
Dark Montreal
Royal Coachman
Smelt Imitations (Grey Ghost etc)
Leach patterns

Dry Flies:
Dark Dun
Adams
Green Drake
Midge pattern's
Elk or deer hair caddis
Stimulator (or another hopper pattern)
Brown deer hair body orange hackle bug (Atlantic Salmon bug)

Nymph
Hairs ear
Pheasant tail
Prince
Caddis imitations