“I’ll sometimes open my box and peer at the contents knowing the answer to the puzzle is right there, a fly I’ve made and used before or one that someone gave me even though I couldn’t see its usefulness, a pattern I use all the time or one that has languished for years. I sit there beside the water and search knowing the answer is there in my fly box, sure that I have seen all the evidence needed but in the end relying on faith to make the choice. That’s what my box is, a lifelong collection of faith.” http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/readerscast/rc218.php
Pleasant piece about life’s decisions and the fly box. A fly box is as reflective of a person’s life as a garage, car, bedroom, attic or desk. Usually things start off organized and the chaos of life incrementally causes anything from odd placements to an out and out mess. For the anally impaired this seems to matter not. But, for us ‘imressionistic’ fly tyers, life can start half assed organized and devolve into a mess in short order. Also, the tribulations of life such as illness, death, misfortune in general throws us off track for months or more at a time. Messes…messes. I do know that I will take the mess of a trout fly box any day over the tangled, grabby mess of a spey box. Tangles of wet marabou, stinger hooks, dubbing and the like are like trying to untangle a loose collection of Wiggle Warts, Kwik-Fish and Spinners. It is Springtime and a new beginning for most trout fishers. Time to marvel at how you left your fly boxes (unless you are anal) and to replenish from your stores or start tying. And, almost time to start on that garage too.
SwittersB & Exploring 
Would be a hell of a trauma if you were a fly angler with a bad case of OCD!!
Can you picture the scenario; sitting by the side of the river trying to decide which fly to take from the fly-box, would it spoil the pattern, if you take it from a middle line of size 16s, what would you put in it’s place? you could be there all day; forget the fishing, just spend the day, compulsivly tidying the fly-box!!
For the rest of us, it’s, where the hell did I put that fly that caught fish, last time I was here? I’ll have to sort this fly-box, cant seem to find anything!!
Bet that sound familiar?
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Chaos Rules…Give me marabou tube flies on a windy, wet afternoon and I can make a heck of a mess…throw in some stinger hooks as well and a tangled web I weave…..
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