Are you one of those who uses a cheap plastic box or ancient tobacco tin to keep your flies in. Or perhaps you have no box at all and prefer to stick your flies in your hat.

For myself, I must admit to being a sucker for Wheatley fly boxes. I have 4 of them, two of which are over 40 years old and are still going strong. I keep my dry flies in them. I also own a most wonderful Wheatley wooden box with 4 layers in it. The wood is solid oak, it has a brass name plate and sold brass hinges. It is one of those things that you never own, you are a custodonian of items like these and they will be passed on down to my son.

Wheatley fly boxes might sound expensive, but to me they are the cheapest fly boxes in the world as they will last forever. And they do look good in a photo when displayed next to a superbly conditioned overwintered trout.

Exclusively C & F.

Pricey, but absolutely superb examples of style and function.

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www.paypalsucks.com

I had a C&F.

Plasticky and horrid - I trod on it and bust it second time out.

tis wheatley for me ....not a plastic peasant like ryan

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i once went flyfishing and caught a 7 pound bluebottle

There is just no comparison - it has to be Wheatley for quality, reliability and history. Richard Wheatley have been making fishing tackle for almost 150 years and are the oldest continuous makers of fishing tackle in the country. Still cutting edge with modern plastic boxes.

See www.richardwheatleymuseum.org to discover just what they have achieved during this time

...and those old Wheatley metal clip boxes could rust your flies in less than a week. Truly a great invention.

Still, they do represent less weight to carry than a plastic box.

Ron, the secret is, not to stand on them mate, I find they last ages if you don't.

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www.paypalsucks.com

used to have ***** shakespeare and daiwa ones- the foam gets ripped to shreds in a few outings. slit foam is the way forward, ive got a small C&F insert and a large orvis insert. i have to say i prefer the orvis for being solid, but the grip of the slit foam in the C&F is outstanding

one wheatley box with the slit foam inserts and one el cheapo box from sumo with the ripple foam, currently in the market for a few new boxes to store my ever increasing fly collection, and it looks like the wheatleys are the way forward.

T1Viper

Likewise, a Wheatley with a centre leaf is one of my favourites but I have some nice red Leeda Plastic ones which have really stood the test of time, twenty-five years so far and still really as good as new, very nice ...... Worst one, a Snowbee of about the same age and the plastic has deteriorated and become brittle and the inserts tend to fall out

.

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Duirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite

Nature is by and large to be found out-of-doors, a location where, it cannot be argued, there are never enough comfortable chairs. Franz Lebowitz

Many of the modern Wheatley boxes use ethafoam or a combination of ethafoam and those dear little compartments so that your dry flies don't get crushed and can dry out.

I have trodden on Wheatley fly boxes in my time and they are still OK. I agree that metal clips MIGHT cause your fly hooks to rust, but it's not happened to me yet.