[Liam Stephen]

Guys 

Please use this thread to share any new and improved or old reliable patterns coming off your vices this close season. Sharing is caring! 

To kick things off here's a couple of old reliables with a funky twist:



 
Liam

[James Abel]

How u getting on with tying the ceramic buzzers Liam. When I get home got a fly that worked well for me over the summer I will post a photo.  Ah the best james

[Liam Stephen]

Hi James 

They are still a work in progress........ I've tied a good few and caught on them but I'm still not 100% happy with them yet.

 

[Mike Barrio]

Looking forward to having a go at topping up my fly boxes over the winter ..... and seeing if my eyes are still up to the job

I'll post a few pics Liam, even if they turn out to be as poor as I suspect they will

Cheers
Mike

[Sandy Nelson]

My version of Paul Proctors APT.



This fly in a couple of slightly different versions (including this one) took my 2 biggest fish of the season, among many others.
Pauls dressing leaves loads of room for personal tweeks and has to be one of the best general purpose patterns ever created.

Sandy

[Mike Barrio]

I'll be receiving some nice Gallos De Leon feathers from Spain soon ..... looking forward to putting them to good use

[Liam Stephen]

An update on the nymph box.  Should be full in no time then it's onto the ceramics.



Anyone in tying mode yet?

 

[Hamish Young]

Anyone in tying mode yet?

Yup 

[Euan Innes]

Me too!
Salmon - I have a dozen Stoats Tails to do on singles and about half a dozen odds and sods and that's it done.
Trout - No more than a dozen or so mixed and that is that done too.
Salt - A few more Crazy Ivans and some "prototypes".
Orders - I have one order coming in for sure for about two dozen trout flies but I might have a few more after that.

And of course there is the whisky factor - Two or three drams, the creative juices start flowing and there you are back at the vice making a sure fire killer! 

 

[Liam Stephen]

Do share Hamish! 

Ewan it's sounds like you are either a man with confidence in a handful of patterns or you don't give your flies up to rocks, trees, weeds and friends in need like I do.......? 

Liam

[Euan Innes]

Liam,
Yes and yes!
I used to have boxes and boxes and boxes of trout flies and after keeping a diary for two years I found out that I only used a handful of flies to catch all my fish. Now I have a Loch box and a River box, with some crossover flies in the Loch box.

My Salmon flies are one box of doubles and singles and one box of tubes. To be honest I don't use that many patterns, just ones that I have used for a very long time and have a lot of faith in. There's a black one, a silver one, a black and blue one, some yellow and some orange ones, and some little Scandinavian ones. (There is a spares box for bad days but it usually stays in the bag unless I am having a really bad day)

I used to spend a lot of time sitting looking at all the pretty flies and not having one in the water, which kinda defeats the purpose. I do lose flies in trees and on rocks but when I get home I usually replace them pretty quickly. I carry three flies in each size that I use. I will get some photos posted this week.

[Euan Innes]

Liam,
This is what I normally carry.
Salmon 1


Salmon 2


Loch 1


Loch 2


River 1


River 2


There are times that I don't have the right thing but it still beats carrying too many and scratching your head. I find that the salmon fishing in particular is simpler with a lesser collection and you will not find me changing flies half way down a pool.
I only fish for Rainbows maybe twice a year so not too many Rainbow flies. The Brown trout flies for lochs are all old favourites and the river flies are what gets me by. Now if I did a lot more river fishing the selection would probably change. The size of the box wouldn't change, just the selection.
All my boxes are Caimore double sided clear views, which, for the money, are just excellent.
Maybe I am just odd!

 

[Sandy Nelson]

Maybe I am just odd!

Nah! i would never say that..................

[Eddie Sinclair]

Euan, those of us  who fish and tie are all odd to those who dont,

however i took your one box idea to the next level up in Sutherland during the last week of the trout season. I tied on two flies to fish with on the first day and promptly misplaced the box that they came from.

even though I had other boxes I just fished with the same two flies apart from one day of flat calm when a CDC emerger did the business.

4 days with the same two flies and my catches were still ok.

Maybe the one box principle is the way forward.

I will still continue to tie and carry way too many as it is just the way I am.

Eddie.

[Euan Innes]

Eddie,
The "One box" project sort of worked as long as it was one for lochs, one for rivers, one for salmon, one for tubes and one for salt!
The salmon doubles and singles box was the easiest to do. The tube fly box was not so easy but after a season it got pruned back brutally and I am now happy with it. It doesn't get used a lot and on the last couple of days on the Dee, Beauly and Ness it stayed in the bag and the doubles box was my only companion.
The trout loch box was easy but rather than carry a separate Rainbow box I amalgamated the two, something that might change for next year. Another wee box full of buzzers, lures and reservoir dries might have to happen. This would free up space in the loch box for a couple of "prototypes" 
I do think that if you present two flies to Highland trout and one of them is black and the other is claret then you can't really go wrong (most of the time)
Right now I am very happy with where I am and feel that I could go anywhere in the UK and have something that would catch most species. Maybe not specialised, but able.
I have also sorted out a lot of my tackle for the tail end of this year and the start of next year to suit the simple box approach, but that will be a different thread.