My fly box is a time capsule of every river I've fished in the last decade

[theHunt2.0]

At this point, my fly box is less of a tackle box and more of a scrapbook. There are flies that worked once and earned a permanent spot because I'm convinced they're lucky. There are flies from little shops in places I'll probably never visit again but I can't bring myself to throw them out. Every now and then I'll find one and instantly remember the river, the weather, and whether I caught anything worth bragging about.

One of my favorites was tied by a guide who handed it to me and said, "Cast it under that willow on the far bank."

I did.

The fish ate it almost immediately...that fly has never touched the water since. As far as I'm concerned, it retired undefeated. Most people would probably look at my fly box and see a pile of old flies. I look at it and see years of trips, good days, bad days and stories I forgot I remembered. The flies are great but it's the memories attached to them that keep them around.

 

[Bane]

I can relate to that. After a while, the flies start carrying more memories than fishing value. Some of them stay in the box long after they're useful simply because they remind you of a particular river, a great day on the water or a fish you'll never forget.

 

[Supa_bobby]

That fly has more sense than I do. I'd have thrown it back in on a slow day and probably lost it to a tree. Retirement was the right call..some legends stay legends.

 

[call me Kraven]

A well-used fly box tells a better story than a photo album sometimes, every beat-up fly has a memory behind it, whether it was a trophy fish, a tough day, or a favorite stretch of water.

 

[FatDog]

So nice to know there are fellow fly fishermen here. I enjoy shooting but it can't hold a candle to a day on a cold trout stream. Lord at the memories.

 

[Jack_Bauer]

I usually just toss mine in a drawer and forget about them. I never got why people keep flies until a friend showed me his box and then it finally clicked.