The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

They start at £3 and go up - and up to a Hardy one at £150+!

A plastic floating foam box is as good as any to start with - but let both the hook & fly dry out!

I use slim plastic fly boxes with foam inserts. They are about 4" x 3" and about 1/2 inch thick. They have clear plastic lids so I can see the contents without opening the box. One fits nicely in a shirt pocket.

I used to use the beautiful but heavy Wheatley boxes. Works of art but not very practical.

I also reuse plastic hook boxes. My 103bl hooks from Tiemco hold about 10 nymphs per box and if I put a box in each pocket that is sufficient for an evening on the river.

Plastic fly boxes with foam inserts get my vote.I use Wheatley aluminium dry fly boxes for these.They have clear lids on a spring and keep dry flies well in my opinion.

This is my favourite dry fly box

Any old tin with a little bit of foam will do the job.

You don't need 130 flies ....

Wheatley fly boxes for me, for storage. But for trips I take plastic boxes. I received a nice old Wheatley tin full of flies for Christmas from my son, on a promise; he's still tying the flies! Hopefully, we'll be able to go to Scotland by the end of the summer, to test them.

BreadFlake wrote: ↑Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:11 pm

Paul F wrote: ↑Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:09 pm This is my favourite dry fly box

Although it's not slotted it's very nice Paul, do they still make them?

No, i believe they are from the 1940/50's, but they do appear on a certain auction web site. The flies dry naturally in them, a great tin.

There are a myriad of options! Two favourites of mine are a zipped leather wallet lined with sheepskin for wets like salmon and seatrout patterns and an old daily pill box in clear plastic for dries. Both belonged to my grandfather so mean a lot to me. The important thing to remember is to open up your boxes and dry the used flies thoroughly before storing. Rust and the carpet moth are your sworn enemies! Cedar moth balls for battle against the moth larvae are essential for yuor materials storage. Self adhesive ethafoam can be used to line both sides of any favourite old tin you already have....enjoy

I have an old Wooden box that I made at School in 1973.
( Fly boxes and my reel all fit in) my favourite box is the old Hardys box on the right, the others are just plastic boxes from The Rod and Line Lewisham, Geoffrey Bucknalls shop.. Got a few more boxes in my cupboard.
Love the old tin one with Fly box on it!

Mr B

Paul F wrote: ↑Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:09 pm This is my favourite dry fly box

This is the perfect style of a fly box for dry flies because the hackles will never get crushed. And what a beautiful box it is too. I'd love something like that. There's nothing worse than crushed hackle.

I also like plastic single compartment boxes for dries and some of my wet flies like this one.


For nymphs I like the rubbery style.


It's just my opinion, but tie flies you have confidence in and use those most often. By doing so you won't have ten fly boxes with you with hundreds of flies that you're going to end up staring at for half an hour trying to choose the fly you want to fish with. All you need is a dozen flies, then go from there as the season changes. Terrestrials like grasshoppers and ants are good from mid summer into fall, so make up a small box of those type for those two seasons. You don't need a fly box to look like a jewelry box filled with flies that won't work for the season you are fishing. I was taught very early the K.I.S.S. method. Keep It Simple. . . Stupid. Not at all replying you're stupid, you're not, but I think you get the meaning.