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3. To Many Flys

To my fellow fly fishermen, please for your own sake don't take to many fly boxes with you when you go fishing, I've always carried some where around 4 to 6 boxes with me, but not any more, while out fishing the other day I pulled into a spot, I had taken trout at before, and honestly I don't know exactly what happened, if the boxes fell out of my pocket or if I set them down by the back of the car while I got my other gear. I walked up the creek maybe 50 yards when I heard a car stop, then the sound of a door closing, and the car leaving.
Not thinking anything about it I started thinking what fly I should start with, when I decided I was shocked to find I was missing 2 fly boxes, I raced back to my car, that's when I remembered the car stopping for a few seconds.
I seriously don't think it was another fly fishermen as I had my name address and phone number on my boxes, its been over a week and no one called yet, I'm thinking I probably had somewhere around 300 flys between the 2 boxes, bottom line I learned the hard way, hope my experience keeps others reading this from loosing ( STOLEN ) there flys

Yeah, I can't imagine a true fly fisherman taking someone else's flies. Most would call you to return them. But I lost a vest years ago, left behind by mistake, with my name, phone number etc. in it, and never heard a word. Sorry to hear this happened to you. With flies you tied, that is your time they took, something that can't be replaced at any cost. We'll all be more careful in the future--but almost everyone I know has lost something on the stream.

I was lucky once. I fish upstream, and I accidentally lost my box while in the river. I had no idea it happened.

About half an hour later a fellow fly fisher shows up and asks me if I lost a fly box. I felt my pocket and my eyes got big and said I apparently did. He said he was down below tying on a fly and here came this fly box just floating right to him. Nice gentleman he was.

If he didn't return my box, I would have been finished because I don't take a lot of flies with me. Maybe 20 at most is all I need for a day on the water.

That's the kind of behavior I expect from most flyfishers.

I found a small inexpensive fly box on the Upper West delaware once and posted my find on a local catskill forum but no takers....and it was a rather modest box. My favorite story is I lost a really nice wooden net about 5 years ago on the Farmington....and I told a guy named Pete that I would routinely run into and chat up on that stretch....dont know his last name - don't have his number, etc.......fast forward a season later....I run into him and he states he was waiting all season to see me again....he not only found my net.....but over the winter he refinished it and stained it and its in his car.....we excitedly get there and he presents me with the net to which I reply there is good news and bad news.....the bad news is that is not my net.....the good news....Pete you now have one beautiful net. Ill always remember his act of kindness however.

Yeah it’s inevitable, been there done that; sorry that happened to you ☹️

Two years ago on the lower end of Penns Creek, just uo from Weikert, I lost a beautiful Brodin "Gallatin" net with the "Ghost" bag. Posted my loss in a couple of forums, stopped by the fly shop on the river, and offered a $50 reward. Never heard a work.

I don't know why but over the last ten years I have lost five fly boxes of dry flies on the West Branch of the Delaware. The first loss was a Myran plastic box about 1.25" x 4" x 6". It was full of Hendrickson & Red quill emergers, duns, and spinners. Also over a dozen Para leps. Well over 100 flies. Then I lost a large ripple box 4" x 7" just crammed full with GD & BD nymphs, emergers, duns, and spinners. Next a small Myran box filled with over 100 Trico duns and spinners #20 - #24. Then a C&F box filled with freshly tied #16 & #18 Sulfur emergers and duns. Lastly another small Myran box with about 80 ants of various colors, winged and unwinged, and various bettles.

I re-tied all the flies except the ants and beetles. Now I am constantly checking to see if my vest pockets are zippered shut.

Matt,

After losing a fly box many years ago on the Beaverkill, I figured a way for it to never happen again. I attach a lanyard to each fly box (you can use anything, even a shoe string) and attach it to the bottom of my pocket or bag with a large safety pin. The lanyard is attached to my fly boxes using heavy-duty velcro so boxes can be removed or changed out. I've never lost a fly box since.

That’s a great way to make sure you don’t lose the box!

Great idea to affix a lanyard to the fly box and vest pocket. All of my C&F fly boxes already have a little appendage molded in with a hole in it to attach a piece of either heavy leader material or a piece of fly line and attach the other end to the pocket in the vest.

The attachment/cord/lanyard thing does sound like a good way to keep from losing boxes. Although knowing myself, I'd find a way to get the cords tangled and then lose the box or the contents while trying to untangle them.

What I tend to do is head for the bank and have a seat if I'm ready to change flies. This at least minimizes the potential for accidentally dumping the box and by that time, I'm usually ready to sit down for a while anyway. But I'm a smaller water guy and I can understand why it isn't always convenient to wade clear the hell over to the bank to change flies if you're fishing bigger water.

I've lost 2 boxes over the years. One containing about 150 nymphs which I simply walked off and left sitting on a streamside log in GSMNP. The other (and this is what got me in the habit of making for the bank..) was many years ago when I fumbled a full box of attractor dries while standing in the middle of the East Fork of the Sinnemahoning. That one cost me about 100 flies. I just went home and made more...

Guys, I lost a CAMERA once...didn't check to make sure I zipped up the main compartment on my Orvis sling pack, waaaay back in the Pine River, probably slipped out while climbing over a log...however, it is a waterproof camera, so if I ever do find it, it might still work!!!

Never lost a fly box yet - they float!

Jonathon