Author Topic: DryFly Box Simplification (Read 219 times)

Dejon Hamann · « **on:** August 30, 2010, 04:35:01 PM »

So many of us spend ample time simplifying our Nymph selection. We cut and prune until we end up with a selection of versatile nymphs we trust and can use in varying situations around the world. With that in mind - what work have you done in this regard to your dry fly "Box". What flies do you trust? And for what reason? Do they float well, cast a good profile, easy to tie, imitate several bugs well, etc? What colors do you find you need to carry of each fly? Is olive close enough to black for your box or do you need both? What sizes?

I'm just starting to reassess my dry box again and I'd like to hear what you guys think.

Aaron Laing · « **Reply #1 on:** August 30, 2010, 07:54:33 PM »

Most of my dries are actually wets. They hang well in the surface film and look suitably buggy to cover a range of insects. It's nice when flies turn out to be "dual" or "triple" purpose. That said, I fish faster relatively un-pressured water so I can get away with a bit more.

Currently I always carry two dry boxes when I hit the river: one with small stuff, and one with big naturals

and foam uglies. I always carry EHC in emerger and high floating varieties, along with various catskill ties in a limited range of colours. While I always have Klinks and various other parachutes, I don't fish them much because most of that ground is covered well enough with my soft-hackles--also I find they take longer to tie on than other styles (sounds a bit silly, but that hackle is always getting in the way).

I've tried to standardize my dries for competition, but I find that if I focus too closely on one style or another I inevitably arrive at my destination to find that the best fly is the one that isn't in my box

. The one thing I will say is that the EHC is the woolly bugger of the dry fly world.

Aaron

Dejon Hamann · « **Reply #2 on:** August 30, 2010, 08:31:58 PM »

I totally agree. The ElkHairCaddis (EHC) is probably one of my favorites. Right now I'm trying to decide what sizes and colors to carry it in. 10 starts to straddle the Stimulator range and 18 is just a pain to tie IMHO. I'm thinking 12-16 in Olive and Tan as those two colors seem to straddle the other variations well enough from Black to cream. For instance, I had great success with the only size 16 EHC I had in my box this past weekend - it was a dark olive - the naturals were tan!

Mark Ferringer · « **Reply #3 on:** August 30, 2010, 10:42:05 PM »

I love to fish nymphs, I love to tie nymphs, and they are my bread and butter. But... I am a dry fly nut underneith it all. I tie for all of the hatches I know I will face during the year. D, you are right about the caddis though. I fish this hatch the most each year and color is definitely secondary. Its all about a fluttering, downwing-lookin, spastic imitation. Caddis are meant to move, skip, dive, and buzz around the inside of your truck cab on the way home because you took too long to get your waders off at the end of the night and left your door hanging open. What I mean is fish rarely get time to check out the abdomen of a caddis. But of course I still carry sizes 12-20 in light tan, dark tan, cinnamon, yellow, bright green, with and without hackle, trailing shucks, cdc, etc... but I have a problem.

Jason Hearle · « **Reply #4 on:** August 31, 2010, 01:02:25 AM »

I have to say, BWO sparkle duns in sizes 14 through 20 have covered a lot of hatches for me, including mid day caddis on pressured spring creeks.

Chris Galvin · « **Reply #5 on:** September 01, 2010, 10:23:45 PM »

I'm a big believer in the Parachute Hare's Ear in various sizes. Has covered a lot of surface bugs for me on trips. (Umpqua makes a good one if you don't tie)