Following my previous post on simplifying my fly boxes but having a versatile selection for rivers and small stillwaters I have pretty much settled on a selection. (Now I just have to tie them!). Any glaring ommisions or suggestions from the experts here? 5 boxes to fill, no more than 8 types in each box with range of sizes/colours etc of each.

Please be gentle if there are any classified incorrectly by group I am still learning the patterns!

Dries/Emergers Box (varying sizes and colours - about 12 of each pattern)

F Fly
Shipmans Buzzer
Griffiths Gnat
CDC Shuttlecock
CDC & Elk
Klinkhammer
Parachute Adams
Paraloop Emerger

Wets/Nymphs

GRHE (some beaded, olive etc)
PTN
Diawl Bach
Red Tag
Black & Pennell
Cruncher
Montana
Teal Blue & Silver

Buzzers

Quill Buzzers (varying colours)
Buzzers with breathers
Skinny Buzzers
Suspender Buzzers
Beadhead Buzzers
Bloodworm patterns

Above in varying colours & sizes

Spiders

Black & Peacock
Greenwells Spider
Partridge & Orange
Snipe & Purple
Black Spider
Stewarts Spider
Waterhen Bloa

Terrestrials/Randoms

Hoppers
Daddies
Beetle
Ant
Shrimps
Czech Nymphs
Stalking bugs

Any thoughts/refinements or killer variants welcome please

Cheers

__________________
Around the steel no tortur'd worm shall twine,
No blood of living insect stain my line;
Let me, less cruel, cast feather'd hook,
With pliant rod athwart the pebbled brook,
Silent along the mazy margin stray,
And with fur-wrought fly delude the prey

If you are going to fish all year round you need a lures box, too.

Charlie

PS. You only need about three buzzer patterns by the way, in two or three colours.

__________________
Sonik Sports Team Pitsford Pirates

A specific Sedge pattern?
I know the Klink or CDC and Elk kinda covers them but you could really do with a Balloon Caddis. It serves the same purpose on running and still water.

I would also not venture near running water without that F fly variant the Cul De Canard (a F fly on a buzzer style hook in dark green, yellow and black in sizes 14,16 and 18).

Hope thats food for thought.

Cheers Buzz

I had Sedge written down on my notes before typing it up (honest guv'nor!) so that will go in too.

Will put the Cul de Canard variant in there too.

Charlie - trying to avoid lures but may well be a necessary evil - it is not a class I know well or have tied. Any recommendations?

__________________
Around the steel no tortur'd worm shall twine,
No blood of living insect stain my line;
Let me, less cruel, cast feather'd hook,
With pliant rod athwart the pebbled brook,
Silent along the mazy margin stray,
And with fur-wrought fly delude the prey

Dries:
How about a black gnat? I guess your ant might do the same job.
Olive upwing pattern for the rivers perhaps? Maybe a grey duster.

Great selection though. I'd be happy with those in my fly box. The question is do you have the dicipline to stick to that list, or do you satrt adding to the randoms? Greenfly #22 would be one I'd not be without on the rivers. I guess a tiny griffiths gnat would do the trick though.

Dunk
Do you not think the para Adams would cover that or are you concerned about colour?
Serious question.
Mark

Crikey, you could start a business with that lot!! My selection for both stillwaters and rivers come to no more than a dozen and a lot of those see no use. Some 'specials' (like mayfly) see only a couple of weeks service a year.

Cut it right down to the bare minimum and fish those sensibly and you will catch more fish. You will spend less time worrying about your fly choice and a lot less time changing one ineffective fly for another.

This is down to the bare minimum - 8 patterns of each class to cover all my fishing for all species (bar pike) all year round - you should have seen the motley assortment of flies that I have binned in the last couple of days!

__________________
Around the steel no tortur'd worm shall twine,
No blood of living insect stain my line;
Let me, less cruel, cast feather'd hook,
With pliant rod athwart the pebbled brook,
Silent along the mazy margin stray,
And with fur-wrought fly delude the prey

Good point Buzz! I do like the profile of an upright pattern though. I like to see those little wings sailing down! haha

A fly box without a blob or a booby
Thats like walking down the high street with your bobby out , and no one does that do they