[thumper]

I spend a day organizing everything and cleaning/lubing items as I'm putting them away, but most importantly, I make labels and notes. My memory's not so hot anymore and I find that if I don't label the types of line on my reels, which fly boxes are set up for which lakes/rivers and details like that, I'm not going to have success in sorting it all out next spring.

I finally learned to take a photo of the successful fly(s) of the day when I'm on the water, - usually a soaking wet fly displayed on my knee, and a snap of it in the fishes jaw (while in the net). Later, in my photo editing "notes/description" section for each photo, I make notes of how they were fished on what specific water. I file my photos of each fishing trip under the lake or river name, so before I return to those waters in future trips, I can quickly check to tie up the flys I've had success with there before. Off-season is when I clean up my photo albums, toss out duplicate photos and record important details while still relatively fresh in my mind, - with the goal of making them organized for quick reference in the future.

Throughout all seasons, I keep a running tab on fly tying and other materials I need in 'NOTES' on my phone, so I can efficiently fill in my needs should the opportunity arise at a fly shop .... There's no way I can remember every tungsten bead size, UV hackle colours or hook details that I'm running low on! I'm presently on the hunt for orange ostrich herl ....

Works for me!