Bill Grey wrote:

In the past, I've been asked by novice fly-tiers "what flies should I tie?"

I usually tell them to ignore the majority of patterns shown in the
magazines as each week/month there is always the latest killer fly.
Tying every fly on sight will mean the novice will end up with a box of
too many useless unwanted flies. I normally advise asking around the
locals which flies are "good" on our local waters and then tie a few of
those. Most likely I'd suggest no more than about 6 patterns and then
tie them in a few different sizes.

To lose a box of these flies would be a sad thing anyway but to lose a
box full of unwanted/unused flies costing quite a bit of cash would be
just a total waste of resources.

Of course the box might have sentimental value anyway.

I fish in a lot of different places, Bill -- freestone rivers, spring
creeks, tailwaters, lakes. Instead of trying to guess what flies I might
need, I carry a pretty wide selection in my vest. The weight and bulk
are negligible, and you never know what what finicky trout might desire.
I use maybe 10% of the patterns 90% of the time, but sometimes the best
catching comes with a little-used fly.

--
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