# Dream fly box?



## scientificangler (Aug 13, 2008)

Hi all. I am new to the forum, but not to Utah fishing. I spent much of my childhood in Utah fishing the Provo river from "DI" to Vivian park with spinners. In college I took up fly fishing with an affinity for big dries and small streams. After several years in the land of no trout (Midwest) I am headed back West. So, enough for the introduction, here is my question. I have an opportunity to make a bulk purchase of flies (by the dozen). I am looking at buying 40-50 dozen flies. The selection is broad and includes all the flies you might find at a place such as Cabela's or Sportsman's Warehouse. If you don't mind I would love to hear what you would purchase (styles and sizes) if you were filling your fly box from scratch.

Thanks!


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

Where in the west are you going to relocate ?


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## scientificangler (Aug 13, 2008)

Sorry, meant to say that...Utah Valley. I will be making time to fish everything within a few hours of Provo Canyon.


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

For rivers, here is a big list of flies that will do well for you.

Dry Flies
Parachute Adams Sizes 18, 16, 14
Parachute BWO Sizes 18, 16, 14
Parachute PMD Sizes 18, 16, 14
Yellow Humpy Size 14
Red Humpy Size 14
Olive Elk Hair Caddis Sizes 18, 16, 14
Tan Elk Hair Caddis Sizes 18, 16, 14

Emergers
Adams Quigley Cripple Sizes 18, 16, 14
BWO Quigley Cripple Sizes 18, 16, 14
PMD Quigley Cripple Sizes 18, 16, 14
BWO RS2 Sizes 18, 16, 14
PMD RS2 Sizes 18, 16, 14
Olive X-Caddis Sizes 18, 16, 14
Hare's Ear X-Caddis Sizes 18, 16, 14
Olive Sparkle Pupa Sizes 18, 16, 14
Tan Sparkle Pupa Sizes 18, 16, 14
Hare's Ear Soft Hackle Sizes 18, 16, 14
Olive Soft Hackle Sizes 18, 16, 14

Nymphs
Hare's Ear Sizes 18, 16, 14
Olive Hare's Ear Sizes 18, 16, 14
Pheasant Tail Sizes 18,16, 14
Sow Bug Sizes 18, 16, 14
PMD Nymph Sizes 18, 16, 14
Olive WD-40 Sizes 20, 18, 16
Black Zebra Midge Sizes 20, 18, 16
Red Zebra Midge Sizes 20, 18, 16
Olive Zebra Midge Sizes 20, 18, 16
Brown Zebra Midge Sizes 20, 18, 16
Olive Caddis Pupa Sizes 18, 16, 14
Tan Caddis Pupa Sizes 18, 16, 14


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

Forgot to add Terrestrials

Hopper Patterns sizes 12-6
Ant Patterns sizes 20-14
Beetle Patterns sizes 20-14


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

Dang, RnF, thats a pretty fine list. The only things I may add for rivers would be some egg patterns (good for use with small droppers sometimes) and some streamers. Sculpins, zonkers, leeches and buggers can all be good on rivers from time to time, especially on brown trout. Oh, and some stone fly patterns depending on which rivers you may fish - not so much for the Provo but these are needed in Idaho and sometimes on the Green. Now if you plan on fishing lakes, well here are a few patterns to look at:

Krystal buggers in brown, green, black, sizes 6-10
Brown or black leeches, sizes 6-8
Damsel nymphs, size 10-12
Chironomid patterns: You can use the zebra midges here but may want a few larger sizes, especially in black and olive. I fish pupa up to size 10. Also may want some blood worms in sizes 16-10.


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

Forget PMDs in 14 and BWOs in 14 and 16. Most of the dries you will need will be in smaller sizes, size 16-22. Come to think of it, scratch most flies in anything larger than a size 16 other than hoppers and streamer patterns if you plan on fishing the lower. Make sure you have golden stones 10-14, green drakes 10-12, yellow sallies 16-18. For attractors all you will really need are size 12-16 Swishers PMX and Stimulators (preferably ones with the white calf tail above the elk hair wing for visibility) and for subsurface attractors - copper johns 16-18, prince nymphs 14-16, and flashback pheasant tails in 16-22. I would focus on more imitative patterns for the rest of the lot such as bwo nymphs (barr emerger, wd-40), PMD nymphs (barr emerger, split case PMD, Hunchback) sow bugs Caddis pupa (hot wire caddis, greenie weenie, chamois caddis) etc. etc.. I would not recommend getting your flies at Sportsmans wharehouse (terrible flies) or Cabelas (poor selection) I would recommend either fish tech or western rivers to find your flies.


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## scientificangler (Aug 13, 2008)

Thanks for the advice, you guys are great! Any other bit of wisdom?


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

If you're nymphing, be sure to use flourocarbon tippet instead of regular mono. It is slightly more dense and will work better with flies that sink.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

scientificangler said:


> Thanks for the advice, you guys are great! Any other bit of wisdom?


Welcome back. Get some good breathable waders and wading boots too.

AND, when you get here, we DEMAND some nice fishing reports with photos from you! 

Rnf's list is suburb.


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## scientificangler (Aug 13, 2008)

Many reports to come...I hope! Here is a picture from the past that I hope to repeat! Caught him on a hopper fly in a high mountain lake. The lake was VERY deep in the middle, but had shallow shelves near the shore. This fish was circling a little track from the deep to shallow water. I threw the hopper while he was out deep the patiently waited for him to come back. When he did I gave the hopper a few twitches and BAM! He put up a great fight and fortunately there was someone around to take a picture!


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

El Matador, i've fished Fluoro vs Mono head to head for years and have not notice any difference in the amount of fish I catch. I don't think it matters. A good drift with the right setup will catch more fish than any fluorocarbon tippet.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

scientificangler said:


> ..................................When he did I gave the hopper a few twitches and BAM! He put up a great fight and fortunately there was someone around to take a picture!
> 
> Wow, that's a pig!


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## eightstrings (Sep 4, 2008)

I know I'm way late on the draw here, but something just seemed to be missing. For a "fun" drill awhile back, I outlined the flies I use regularly in an attempt to streamline things a bit for the sake of simplicity. Keep in mind I am generally crawling on my belly amongst the stones on some obscure creek. I generally don't have to match hatches with precision given the fishing I usually do. For me, there are some flies IN ADDITION to those mentioned above that are must-haves:

- Griffith's Gnats sizes 18, 20
- Black Gnats sizes 16, 18, 20

There are prolific winter/spring midge hatches on some of our more popular waters. While you can catch fish using other flies if you're patient and lucky, the gnats will serve you well when you need them. There is nothing like sight-fishing to medium-sized know-it-all Green River Brownies that have lost their fear of humans because they think they're safe in the film!

Another fly that was mentioned earlier was the stimulator. Sometimes these will work when nothing else will. I ALWAYS have them on hand, just like the variety caddis, adams, BWO etc. I have done well with them during hopper season when my other hoppers are not producing, and I have used them during various stonefly hatches. If there were Swiss Army flies, this would be one of them in my book.

I tend to stay away from mosquitoes, along with a few other "specialty" flies that could be covered by another fly. My reasoning is fairly simple. Mountain trout tend to hit a BWO as eagerly as they would a mosquito, Adams or even black gnat, but the reverse is not true.


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

Man, no idea how I forgot those flies, great suggestions. Welcome to the forums.


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