Fly-Junk Bag

I am finally free from cows for the next several days. Meanwhile, I have noticed days are getting shorter and cooler. This week and next would probably be the last comfortable time for camping and fishing around mountain streams around here. As September comes, all the camp sites will be full of hunting parties and I'll have different fishing plans. I will think about what to do this month under the stars in a night or two.
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It wasn't too bad during the "breeding boot camp". I have read Percy Jackson books and did have time to do at my bench. Below is one of my summer projects, completed a couple of weeks ago. I bought this DVD by Kelly Galloup about his streamer fishing in June. I met him in person at his shop. In this DVD, he calls himself a "fly-junk" who can't stop tying, inventing, and experimenting flies (mostly streamers in this case).

Then he shows the viewers his Simms boat bag filled with boxes of streamers. I suddenly felt "I'm getting there!!" though I wasn't sure if this is good or bad. I had got to the point that I was getting annoyed by the amount of my own flies and boxes. Wal-Mart bags didn't do well any more during the trip to carry all and it got hard to organize even around my tying bench.

This Simms boat bag looks like a solution whether I fish from the boat or not. Then I looked for products. Simms is one of the best gear companies in the industry. All the products are worth for their prices. What I looked at are; large and medium. But, look at the price...... I did want the large one but right after I bought a TOSHIBA laptop and thinking to buy a 5wt rod, I needed to go cheap. Then here's my mantra; "trout can't tell what kind of bag I am carrying my flies and boxes". So I went to an outdoor store in my area and saw what they got in their fishing section. I did find a resemble in less than $40!!!! It measures 9L x 18W x 8H. It's close to Simms large one with 1/5 of the price, isn't it?? I just put a TU decal to look like a fly-fishing gear rather than a metalware or bait anglers' gear!! I will soon buy Simms decals to make a copycat!!

Here's what I have done. There are two bags on the top. I keep a spare spool with a full-sink line and an extra reel with an intermediate line in one pocket. Then I keep leader and tippet materials in the other.

In the right half of the bag, I could organize large boxes filled with streamers. This is definitely following Kelly's bag.

Then in the left half, I organized mayflies, midges, nymphs, soft-hackles, stillwater flies etc etc.

This bag and all the boxes are the storage. From these I pick up and assemble flies into empty boxes (not shown yet can be kept in the bag also).

I do enjoy this process at my bench to fish next day somewhere around here in eastern WA or in a motel room in West Yellowstone or Livingston. Planning what I would be doing and thinking about fishing condition and situation (even considering to lose several flies), then I select flies into empty boxes. Most of the time, my selection is good enough and I get myself covered. One thing for sure, I can't carry all of my flies and boxes in my vest!!!

I really enjoy this process every night at my bench or in my motel room. But for this week and maybe next week, I have a "summer box" to fish mountain streams so all I have to do is to pack thing and load my truck!!