New flyfisher. Help me fill my first fly box.
 

Howdy to all who know more than I do...pretty much all of you. I've been spin fishing since I was 6 years old with out much guidance, It's only in the last few years (I'm 33 now) that I've really figured out what I'm doing and become far more passionate about fishing. I was just given my first fly rod by my wife for christmas. My past experience with fly fishing is almost zero. I plan on spending some nice afternoons over the rest of winter standing in a park practicing my cast.

What I'm looking for now is basically a rough starting point to fill my fly box. I know that the right fly to use will be dictated by the hatch, that I will have to learn over time how to pick the right time and place for which fly etc. I'm just hoping to put together a list for my first fly order, some of the basic, most used patterns and sizes for what I plan on doing, that I can build off of in the future as a grow into and learn the sport (art?) or fly fishing.

I'm planning on concentrating on nymphing and dry flies for the time being. I typically fish 3 places/types of fishing. 1) mountain/foothill creeks for brook trout 2)ram river or oldman for cutthroat 3) Bow river. So if you were just starting out....What would be the first things in your flybox? Thanks!

Read Jim McLennan's "Trout Streams of Alberta" and you will get >95% of th info you need!

A couple that I would put on my list would be

about a size 14 or 16 gold ribbed hare's ear

about a size 14 or 16 pheasant tail nymph

about a size 10 black wooly bugger

Another good read if you plan on fishing stillwaters for trout is "The Gilly".

I just ordered the "Trout Streams of Alberta". After 37 years of fly fishing and tying, I'm still learning too. That is one of the beauties of fly fishing.

And then add to that a bead head prince nymph and a selection of brown woolly buggers size 10-4 with a cream tail some with flash , some without.

Then a decent assortment of Elkhair caddis, a couple H&L Variant, a sofa pillow and a few Adams and you have a pretty decent start:sHa_shakeshout:


Watch your indicator , stay as drag free as possible and hold on.. Good luck partner :thinking-006:

brook trout creeks:
#12 adams dries, #10 black weighted wooly buggers, las vegas leeches

Cutthroat rivers:
chernobyl ants, elk hair caddis, pheasant tail nymphs #10-16, PMD #12-16, prince nymphs #10-12

Bow river
san juan worms, copper johns, kaufman stones, elk hair caddis, PMDs, large leeches, hoppers

Start frequenting a locally fly shop to get some month to month info throughout the season, many good ones in Calgary. A small book called western hatch guide is a great start, it have photos of bugs and flies. Minimal info and can be kept in your pocket. Don’t buy alot of flies that look or sounds cool, just stick to some general attractors and a nymph/dry to match whatever is most available each month.

San Juan worm #8
Prince nymph #16
Parachute Adams #16
Elk hair caddie #12-16 tan and brown
Red brassie #16
Barrets Golden Stone #6
Jimmy leg stone #6

Has anyone mentioned #8 -12 Stimulators yet?

Agreed.

Thanks for all the tips! Especially the book suggestions.

Ickyflyworks (sponsor here) has a top 10 top sellers list on the right hand side of the homepage... they are the most popular for good reason, I'd say. I'm still pretty novice myself, but have found the more I fish, the fewer types of flies I actually use throughout the course of a typical day. I have many patterns in my boxes that never get used, but I feel better knowing I could if I had to :)

My go to dry fly this year was a parachute Adams (easier for me to tie and see than the regular). Nymphing, probably had most success with Prince and Copper Johns. Streamers, black or white woolly buggers. Several folks who fish the Bow rave about the SJW... personally I hate the damn thing and never have had success with it where I fish.

Cant credit the person as i cant remember where i read it,but he/she said about 90% of what trout eat is around 5/8 long,brownish colour and fuzzy.
Maybe why a Hares ear seems to work so good. Just sayin.

You'll also have to decide where you're going to fish most, rivers or lakes? My lake boxes look very different then my stream boxes. If you get into Chironomid and Micro leach fishing fishing in lakes like I have for many years, you'll need to do a lot of tying. More reasons to tie....:sHa_shakeshout:

Hey, I bought a box of flies from a gentleman in the states last summer. He is a beauty who ties everything by hand and will send a mixed box catered to your preferences for about a buck a fly. I will look up his name and let you know. He is a regular on fly fish USA forums.


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New to Fly Fishing
 

What a golden opportunity you have... Living in Calgary (a destination known world wide in the fly fishing community), being an experienced fisherman, and having the desire to learn a new style of fishing. I have been fly fishing for a few years now (having a similar fishing background as you) and love it, by far my favorite way to fish. Do lots of reading: where to find fish, presentations/hardware, some entomology. Definitely get your hands on a copy of "Trout streams of Alberta". Good luck on your journey. Oh yeah: Morrish Hopper.

Thanks again everyone. I'm about half way through "trout streams of alberta" right now, once i'm finished i will come up with a list and post it to be critiqued. I also found a box of 20 or 30 flies i was given long ago in some of my old gear! I just need to figure out what they all are!