Dressed For Success (another glympse inside Doug's Fly Box)

[letumgo]

Doug sent me a few more pictures of his fly box & I gotta share them!





What can you tell us about these flies Doug?

[Brooktrout52]

Beautiful flies. I like the idea of marking the sizes in the box.

[DOUGSDEN]

Good Evening Guys!
Another huge THANK YOU goes out to Ray for posting pics for me! Very much appreciated my friend!
I had promised....someone?? (my apologies for not remembering who) on the last picture posting that I would show exactly where the Tups came from that I had such good success with on my Christmas day outing! I had set this box apart because of the unusual hooks hooks that I have collected (and been gifted with by most of you) over the years! Maybe unusual is not the right word! As you can see, some are short shanked and some have straight eyes and some have what is called a keeper bend and are barbless! This last one turns out to be a fantastic hook with great holding capabilities!
There is not a lot of variety (yet) of patterns in this box. It is scheduled to be filled completely this winter with some "new stuff" plus some smaller flies which always seem to be taken more readily! Show me fellows what you are currently working on!
Dougsden

[Variant]

Well done , Doug!

Good looking box of flies. The bottom photo , the yellow and partridge look like Alec Jackson’s North Country Trout Fly Hooks . Once again , great job my friend .

Lou

[Partsman]

Doug, do you mix your own Tups, or buy premixed? I love the fly in the above photo that has the Tups abdomen.
Thanks, Mike.

[Roadkill]

All good-looking fish magnets!!

[Mike62]

I would happily, gladly, gleefully, fish every one of those patterns.

[DOUGSDEN]

Hi again Guys!

So many great questions and positive feed backs from you-all! A sincere THANK YOU to all!

Brooktrout52 - I recently started marking my boxes in this way mostly for my own sanity! I do find myself putting them away in the wrong positions but I do make an effort to try and file them correctly! I think I'm OCD or AC/DC or.....

Lou - You have a great eye for hooks! You are exactly right! I bought them years ago but rarely tied on them. They are super strong and look pretty cool to boot!

Mike (Partsman) - Although I have been mixing furs for a couple years, sorry, no dice on mixing the Tups abdomen fur. I have been collecting various pink dubbings over the years and bounce back and forth from the very bright (like the pattern above) to the more subdued colors like the original stuff from R.S. Austin of Tups Indispensable fame! There was a thread several years ago on this forum that was a real eye opener! I believe that John "Greenwell" Shaner was the starter of that thread! I was amazed at how subtle the three ingredients were once combined! It was quite beautiful and looked nothing at all like the dubbings in my collection! Still, I search the shops and collect!
Bill - Soft-hackles really are fish magnets even from the get go in my career! I am still amazed at how well they are "absorbed" (A Skueism) by the fishes everywhere I go! Thank you so much for your kind compliment!

Mike62 - Thanks Mike! Do you suppose some brookies or browns or 'bows in your neck of the Maine woods would appreciate them?

Again Guys, THANK YOU! I get a kick out of talking about these things! Perhaps I talk too much?

Doug in the Den

[ronr]

love the box and the flies as always. But, I'm curious about the way you put the flies into the slots... I put mine in just the opposite direction...Am I doing it backwards, or do you prefer your way for a specific reason...

[DOUGSDEN]

Hi Ron,
That's a darn good question! I thought the hook bends and points were supposed to go in the slots at the tips of the triangles! I see now what you're saying! I have the box in my hands and I turned one or two of them around and they do seem to slide in and out better! I think you're on to something Ron! Thank you friend! I might turn them around and see how it goes!
Dougsden