This is a great thread & got me thinking about my fly boxes for the sound v.s. rivers. Growing up, fishing the Snake in ID, I would be stressed if I only had 1 or 2 of a pattern in my box. We'd mostly be pounding flies tight to the bank from the drift boat so it wasn't uncommon to loose half a dozen of a hot pattern in a day. As a result I got good at tying basic salmon flies, hopper patterns, Super X & basic caddis in bulk; usually a dozen at a time.
On the beach or kayak in the sound I hardly EVER loose a fly. Far fewer branches & trees to hook + much stronger tippit means I have a ton of fairly beat-up old flies in my boxes. Even for the salt I stared out tying 4-5 of a single pattern but now I'm thinking I should just tie 1 or 2 and try to make a larger variety of colors, sizes, and patterns. Plus with stinger hooks and now a tube kit I can easily replace the hooks & keep the fly around.
What are other guys doing? Do you prioritize volume of your go-to flies or variety?
