I’m just getting into fly fishing and I don’t know much about individual flies at the moment. Are there any flies I absolutely need to stock up on for fishing in Oregon, and should I organize my fly box any differently?
I got about a dozen flies from the fly shop I did a guided lesson with, and then got this variety pack from Cabelas (never doing that again)
Posted by Nice_Occasion5254
11 Comments
My personal preferences are Wooly Buggers, Elk Hair Caddis, BWOs, Sowbugs, and Midges. I’m still a learner, but I’ve caught a lot of fish on these and if you’ve got these in a few colors and sizes I’m convinced you will have success in most waters.
Short answer is go ask your local fly shop what they might recommend. They will be stoked to give you recommendations (if it’s a good shop). Coloradan here so not super familiar with PNW bug life but this seems like a pretty good start. I would maybe suggest some midges and/or smaller nymphs for dry dropper setups, zebra midges and baetis are usually my go to for dry droppers. I also never leave home without an olive wooly bugger. As far as organizing your box you’ll just have to play around and see what works best for you. Personally I like to have a separate box for my streamers to keep my dry flies dry, other than that I just organize by size, color, species, and fly type.
I see two Parachute Adams flies, I would have a couple more. But then I would have the midge of that (May Fly) and get some Baetis nymphs.
Pat’s Rubber Legs. TJ Hookers.
And then Under a dropper I love Duracell, Peaches and Cream, and Spanish Bullet. All in that 16-18.
When Shit isn’t working Size 18 Rainbow Warrior is my “Day Saver” Nymph.
No two of us have the same set of patterns in our boxes. You learn over time (years to decades) what patterns work for you and which don’t. After nearly five decades I’ve boiled my boxes down to something like a dozen patterns total for everywhere I fish and the 20+/- species per year I catch. Some years I fish half that many. I can certainly catch fish on other patterns, of which I have boxes at home, but I just seldom bother to try.
Puke fly by Ian Colin James. For carp and trout of course
Knowing nothing about where/when you plan to fish this looks like a solid collection. I agree with everyone else’s additions. Maybe throw in some size 8-12 stimulators.
Pats rubber legs. But this is a solid selection!
Couple of San Juan worms will come in handy.
It’s a good start. No glaring holes.
Poppers
I’d say you are missing 14 more flies. lol