What to do with Shrek in four easy steps.

When I started my journey into fly fishing, one thing that I couldn't get over was the flybox. It seemed ridiculous to me to pay money for something that has no other function then to hold somethinng that I would invitably end up throwing to an unreachable height in tree behind me or in front of me. There is one piece of advice on casting I can offer right now. When you feel like you have waded out enough into the river and you look behind and even think for a second "I hope I don't get snagged in that tree behind me...I mean there is no way my line could travel that far behind me", there is a 95% chance that your fly will end up in that tree. So move away from that tree...anyways, I figured they were using a tight foam on the boxes and It dawned on me while throwing away an old mouse pad that they would work well. An old DVD case works very well for bigger flies and streamer and anything else you have around will work as well (drill bit cases, ear plug boxes..etc. etc. Basically anything that is plastic thin and closes....The only problem with the DVD cases is that they are larger than any front pockets on my vest, so I have to put them in the large back pocket of my vest..not a problem though really. Also it seems to work best for non "precious" flys, by that I mean flies that will bounce back if they are closed in tight quarters (streamers, and wet flies and the like). Here is the simple step by step.



Materials:

DVD case

Mouse Pad

Scissors

Strong adhesive glue.

1. Cut the mouse pad to size with scissors.
For this one I tore off the cloth coating that comes on all mouse pads. But you can leave it on either way seems to work fine.

2. Apply your glue liberally in a wild and freewheelin fashion.

3. Fit it inside the dvd box and apply pressure alot of
times there will be clips hanging over to hold booklets,
these work well to secure the mouse pad in place while
you push it down like you mean it.

4. Wait for the the glue to dry and fill it up with your flies. I'm sure this has been discovered by others, so I'm not taking the credit for it. I just wanted to share something that I stumbled upon, and hope that someone would find it useful.
It's not pretty but it works well. I've use clear and black cases. I feel the clear are better for seeing what fly you want to accidentally throw into a passing Honda...kidding. really..enjoy the fishing.