Tenkara flybox

[Roadkill]

Ray,

Here is my finished box you asked for...

IMGP1173 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

IMGP1181 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

IMGP1175 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

IMGP1177 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

IMGP1176 by William Lovelace, on Flickr

24 different patterns for next year tied in sizes from 8 to 18 to go in my Tenkara chest pack.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Nice looking fly box and really great looking flies. You have some time invested in that box. Mine start the season looking all neat and pretty, but after a couple of fish on, they look a wreck.

[ronr]

Bill I wish I had your discipline to tie multiples of each fly... My attention span is stretched after about the fourth of any fly... But, if I find a fly that really works, I can manage a few more at a sitting. So after all the time you 've invested in all those flies in this box... what do you do with the ones that don't seem to work?
Do you deconstruct the flies to save the hooks.. or do you donate those to some worthy charity.... I've got boxes full of flies that I don't think will ever see water, and a pretty good investment in perfectly good hooks... but to deconstruct them is a tedious and slow process... any ideas how to speed that up?

[Fishnkilts]

Wow! What beautiful flies. If I had a box with flies that looked as good as yours, it would be just my looki'n at box and I'd fish another box that has not so good looking flies.

Bill I wish I had your discipline to tie multiples of each fly... My attention span is stretched after about the fourth of any fly... But, if I find a fly that really works, I can manage a few more at a sitting. So after all the time you 've invested in all those flies in this box... what do you do with the ones that don't seem to work?
Do you deconstruct the flies to save the hooks.. or do you donate those to some worthy charity.... I've got boxes full of flies that I don't think will ever see water, and a pretty good investment in perfectly good hooks... but to deconstruct them is a tedious and slow process... any ideas how to speed that up?

You can donate your flies to Project Healing Waters. That's what I do every year with all my left over flies that I never got to fish with.

[Roadkill]

what do you do with the ones that don't seem to work?
Do you deconstruct the flies to save the hooks.. or do you donate those to some worthy charity....

ronr,

I will repeat what I heard from a great old time flyshop owner when asked by a novice customer "Why do you have so many flies in this shop?" He replied "They all catch fish sometime!". Finding that sometime is the key to flyfishing. You will be my Tenkara Guru on the Met next year.

Just like John Shewey says about faith in your fly while in steelheading, I just know my fly will catch a fish on the next cast. I have faith in all the flies in the box, many are proven styles in Japan and elsewhere, many are slight variations of proven materials, colors, combinations, or imitations of some of the most common insects we imitate with flies. Some may fit into the category of attractors tied for different lighting or water clarity conditions. I agree with the that fish feed in several modes of behavior: selective feeding, where they are very particular in insect, size, shape, and color; opportunistic feeding, where they will bite anything that comes by that might be food; and out of aggression defending their territory or attacking a fly you are brushing on their nose.

I also believe that the presentation is most of the game. Some of these flies will be used as tool flies to attract attention or vary depth to get a trailing one into the right feeding lane. I often say that it is easier to catch a fish with the wrong fly fished the right way than with the right fly fished the wrong way.

I have not deconstructed a fly for about 40 years since I became a born again fly tyer after getting my first graphite rod. Living out where there were no fly shops, I cut up some of the crude flies that I had tied 20 years earlier with materials from mom's sewing basket bought from Herters, or supplied with my .22 or 20 Ga.

I agree with Fishnkilts that Healing Waters ( or Casting for Recovery) are great places to donate flies. I have about 20 proven patterns that I donate to or have tied with Healing Waters participants.

[DOUGSDEN]

Bill,
These patterns are outstanding! I am in utter awe of their beauty and your talents! Please keep feeding us!
Dougsden