During this post Christmas, pre-New Year lull I started working on reorganizing my fly boxes. It is a semi seasonal ritual that I undertake as my days on the water guiding start to reveal the flaws in my previous attempts.

As I contemplated the various organizational options, my mind wandered off and started thinking about the flies I used the most often. Before that fleeting recollection vanished, I wrote them down here.

• Parachute Madam X
• Parachute BWO
• Parachute Pheasant Tail
• Japanese Beetle
• Kreelex
• Golden Retriever
• Slump Buster
• Conehead Wooly Bugger
• Jig head Gold Ribbed Hares Ear Nymph
• Jig head Pheasant Tail Nymph
• CK Nymph
• Guides Choice Nymph

These are what I used in no particular order or frequency other than I grouped them, dries, streamers, and nymphs. The sizes, weight and colors varied depending on location and conditions. And there were other patterns that I used as location and conditions dictated a change from my “go tos.” But day in and day out, these were the patterns I turned to, because they consistently caught fish for my clients.