mrbamboo 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2019 Being that I have many flies with many almost looking the same, and I can't remember what their names. What would be recommended to keep track of your flies, i.e. spreadsheet, database, etc.. Also, is there a way to search flies bu body color, ribbing, hackle, etc.. to get their name? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vicente 0 Report post Posted January 13, 2019 I probably have a couple hundred least, some of my own, a bunch from swaps i just throw them in a couple tackle boxes and fish through it whenever I'm short on flys. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2019 Being that I have many flies with many almost looking the same, and I can't remember what their names. What would be recommended to keep track of your flies, i.e. spreadsheet, database, etc.. Also, is there a way to search flies bu body color, ribbing, hackle, etc.. to get their name? use whatever software youre comfortable using we discussed this subject a while back http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=87795 you cans search google for patterns by material. search "fly patterns using grizzly hackle" and see what comes up you can also search the fly pattern database here on this forum by material i do not keep an inventory of every fly in any of my fly boxes. it would be a waste of my time Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Poopdeck 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2019 I go simple. I have brown, black, cream, and olive in sinking, floating and just under the surface flies. No reason to make it any more difficult then it needs to be. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted January 14, 2019 If you want to pare down that mass of flies, there's a couple of members here who are BIG on charity work. One works with disabled vets. Another works with a breast cancer survivors group, I think. They are both in need of donations, if you're interested. Don't inventory ... unload !!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brooknut 0 Report post Posted January 30, 2019 Some of us "type A" personalities like that level of organization, and there are some helpful books that can get you closer to knowing the standards (the Orvis Pattern Book is one of the "classics," the Umpqua Feather Merchants Fly Pattern book is another. The Fly Fisherman Federation has a Fly Pattern Encyclopedia. When I was getting started, I would go to local fly shops - for a while, LLBean was local for me - and just try to learn to identify the most pertinent ones. Now, like many here, I keep them in boxes by type - streamers, dries, nymphs, wets, etc, or by season, or by where they will be fished. It means I have a lot of boxes, but it's easy to manage a wider assortment. There are several pattern databases on line Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites