How many flies do you cary while fly fishing?
 

Just curious to know if there are any guys who can venture out confidently with only a handful of flies and catch trout! Post up how many flies you take on each outing and your favourites.

Mine...

Pheasant tail nymph
black wooly bugger
prince nymph
chernobyl ant

sure can
prince nymph
hemp string caddis
deer hair royal coachman streamer
bh olive stone fly (I bring a marker pen to make black if needed)
when I lived in the kootaneys I could fish march first to mid september with a black ant in a few sizes.

wet

GRHE
Woolly bugger - dark olive
Doc Spratley
crystal flash scud
San Juan worm

dry

Adams
elk hair caddis
midge emerger
grey wulff

-Stimulator
-Evil Weevil
-Mosquito
-Clouser/Double Bunny
-Intruder

10

9 X Red Ants.
1 x Hopper.
Float them or sink them they work for me.

Dodger.

I am usually weighed down with a few hundred flies (iirc, my one chironomid/nymph box has over 400 flies in it alone, and I have 2 boxes of small dries, a box of big streamers, and a box of big nymphs and wooly buggers).

Usually only use 2-12 throughout the day, but you just never know what those flies might be. If I had to say which I use most, it would be olive and dark rusty brown wooly buggers, GRHE, Prince Nymphs (usually BH), Lightning Bugs/PTNs, CDC emerging caddis, and chironomids / Ice Cream Cones (olive usually works best for me).

lol yes I am in the same boat I bring 3 or 4 fly boxes as a rule but on on the odd occasion I will take a small select group of flys to control my urge to change up at every missed fish,the above list is my confidence flys they produce fish time after time. they cover so many food items.my one friend uses a bead head leech 90% of the time and is seldom shown up on the water.our section of scots mans creek has very few bug munchers and an abundance of white fish fry yet my friend gives a fine job with one fly.

flies
 

The idea today seems to be that the fisherman with the most gadgets, fly boxes, expensive rod, reel, waders and vest, and the most pliers hanging off his beaded necklace wins the day. The boxes should contain 1 sample of each fly from WHS bins including the Copper John in every color available. You do want to win the day don't you?

when on the stram i have at least 50 flys on me you never know witch one is hot etc etc and you need at least 3 of each etc etc

when i started a few years back i carried a few fly boxes with flies in all shapes and colors for different situations.
Then after a few outings it became pointless.At different times of year the fish key on something different. and the same goes with the drainage and the stream or lake your fishing at. A quick check of the hatches on your local hatch chart and just carry a few of those flies giving the right conditions, also with me a few streamers and a few search patterns.Heres a list i carry but not all the times of the year.Adams,Leech,PT Nymph are 3 patterns i can fish just about every lake, stream or pond with.

back of my truck looks like a fly shop, i load up on what I need before I leave, I have everything, but don;t always have everything with me on the water, I don;t drag two streamer boxes to fish the Raven, and I leave my dries behind if I'm not going to need them, I fish for success. The hatch can change half a dozen times a day easy, why limit yourself? my 0.02

but to play fair, (without knowing where im going, time of year or weather)

#16 Cadillac Pheasant Tail
#16 BH Yellow Sally
#16 BH Prince
#16 BH Boatmen

i'm with these boys. a couple quick reasons i like to have a few extras around.

-big fish slurps and retreats to it's haunt with your bug. you're gonna need another fly.
-your fishing bud for the day is not catching on what's in his box. he's gonna need a couple of your flys.
-between the two of you on the water, the bugs of the hour are getting bit so hard and so often they no longer look like a bug. you're both gonna need a fresh fly.
-your son loves to rip heavy streamers all day, leaving more than you'd like in the bottom of the pools. he's gonna need another half dozen flys.

flys are light. i carry plenty and hope to have enough of the "right" ones for the days adventure.


Dace

I usually have a bunch of flies with me but then most of them are for testing, hatch specific or what have ya.

Core box though contains a few soft hackles in size 12-14, a selection of Stimulators, an Adams varient that works well, a few Wulff patterns, usually grey or white and of course a Royal Wulff, some elk hair caddis, Muddler Minnows in size 10, Alexandra in size 8 or 10, a few Mickey Finns, Bow River Buggars or similar sculpin.
Probably a couple others but day in day I use the soft hackles or Adams.
All subject to change of course!

I use to carry 4-5 boxes stuffed full but have minimized it down to 2 boxes now.

I carry a 4 page box that is stuffed to the max with nymphs and dries and the other box is stuffed with streamers.

I am terrible at dry fly fishing and really need to get more of a selection. When I get around to it I will carry a box full of just dries.

Oh good I'm not the only one
 

Its good to know I am not alone. I bring a TON of flies out and hopelessly try to match the hatch. When I give up on that and put on an old favorite is usually when the magic happens. In no particular order:

-bead head crystal bugger
-beach head price nymph
-black and green clouser
-stimulators
-foam ants

I kinda suck with dries really. It's funny because I carry a bunch with me.

When I used to be gung-ho into fly-fishing I carried 8 boxes on me and another 4 or so in the truck. Different patterns and sizes. Would have around 6 of each pattern and size at times. Tangles with trees, snags on bottom, fish break-offs etc. would diminish the fly supply. Have cut back a lot now, sold the fly rods, and just keep a couple boxes of streamers and nymphs around just in case. My favorites still are:

Black Wooly Bugger
Yellow Humpy
G.R Hare's Ear
Prince Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph

Just getting back into fly fishing, with both feet lol. So far this winter I've tied over 300, have damsels, dragons, may, leech, fresh water shrimp and most of caddis done.
Still haven't started chironomids, and buy most of my dries, so it's going to be alot. Seems like overkill but what the heck I'm having fun right. Most of them will probably never get used but i'll be ready. lol