How do you organize your fly boxes?

[Dawg Vet]

I know this is about as personal as taste in women, but how do you guys organize your flies and into what boxes? I mainly fish mountain streams and northern DH waters. Will likely make separate box(es) for tailwaters. Right now I'm carrying about 5 medium size boxes but would like to trim down. I know I'll have to figure it out for myself, just looking for ideas on how other folks do it.
Thanks,
Jedidiah

[narcodog]

I usually just carry two boxes with me depending how I am fishing.

I carry a C&F box with nymphs which i always have. The second box which is a small Orvis box with adjustable compartments will have the flavor of the day. Which will include s/h's, drys and emergers or elk and cdc.

My other boxes are separated into s/h's. drys. western flies, terrestrial, streamers more s/h's, midges and on and on. I have gotten away from carrying a ton of flies. there is no use in carrying QG's if it is May just as it is not necessary to carry October caddis in May.

[Buck Henry]

I have a double sided SA fly box; nymphs on one side and drys on the other. I carry my streamers / WB's in a Filson fly wallet. And I have a very small fly box hanging off my lanyard with my soft hackles and teeny tiny midges. Easy-peezy lemon squeezy!

[Swamp Angel]

Organize? I have no idear what this word means. I generally have three fly boxes that are filled in order of purchase or bumming from other fly-fishermen. Those purchased or bummed most recently generally go in the box that sees the most use.


(I'm not kiddin' here.)

[JOHNKIES]

That's almost an oxymoron, but I have a general division of cold water, warm water and salt water. Below that, pretty much dries in one box, ity-bity-teeny-wenny flies, streamers and boogers, nymphs, and one DH "geez-these-stockers-are-dumb!" box. I have a great bag I use when I go, so I throw all the boxes in the bag, then decided when I get to the water which two or three I will take out with me.

Same bag has reels, net, gloves/hat in cold weather, two way radios, and all that other clobber we use.

[STIXMAGILL]

In my vest I have an egg box, a small nymph box, 2 dry boxes, a midge box, a streamer box, a medium nymph box, and a large nymph box. Yeah, it's a bunch, but my vest is comfortable and I like having what I want.

If I am hiking in any distance, I have a small 2"x3" lanyard box that I stock with essentials and seasonal flies and leave the vest.

In the boat, I carry my vest and my Boneyard "meat" box.

[KnotSlippin']

I have three fly boxes: one just for subsurface flies, one for dries, and one is my flies for the day/trip. (Well really, I have four; the fourth is full of salt-water flies, but they're in storage as I've not used any of them since moving to Montana.) When I head out (from the house, car, wherever) for the day, I check to make sure that my traveling box has a broad selection of stuff that will work. That way, I don't have to take my "supply" boxes and potentially lose a boatload of flies.

Within a given fly box, I organize flies primarily by type (e.g., buggers, prince nymphs, etc) then by size.

I also just moved from a fishing vest that I had used for 10 years into a waistpack/fannypack-type carrier. I like the mobility I get with the waistpack but it is limiting in the amount of stuff that I can carry. What I've found recently however, is that a lot of that stuff I didn't need.

Steven

[driftwood]

I have three boxes: One has nothing but dry, One has nothing but wooly buggers/streamers/sj's/y2ks/eggs and then I have one with nothing but nymphs.

[knot trying]

One word:

Poorly!