Tacky Fly Box Review

  This review was done by our friend and fellow guide Bryan Hunt of Spinner Fall Guide Service. 

Tacky Fly Boxes

                Tacky fly boxes are, dare I say, a “game changer”. It’s not by any means the revolution that the Fenwick graphite rods were in the 1970’s, but in my opinion, the tacky box is the best innovation in supportive gear in a while. By supportive gear I am talking about the items that supplement the fly fishing experience. Some of these tools are extremely useful while some just take up space. There is a good deal of hype surrounding this little box right now. Will it just take up space or will it be the fly box you can’t bear to be without?

                I was given an original tacky box for Christmas and I was instantly sold. The materials used in construction, its simple yet tough design, and room for a shit ton of flies, make for the best box on the market. Here is a link to the original tacky box: http://tackyflyfishing.com/the-original-tacky-fly-box/.

First, I will start with my only negative criticism. Using it in the winter with tiny size 20 and smaller midge nymphs was not easy. Its already dreadfully cold, fish are lethargic, the guides are icing up, and fingers go numb. So trying to get obscenely small nymphs into any fly box is a challenge. This is a problem not exclusive to tacky boxes. Once they were in though they didn’t get lost in the slit or fall out. In other words the material was temperature stable and consistent. Winter fly fishing is just a painful process, physically and mentally.

So now onto what I love about the box! Yeah I said love, I am unashamedly a gear whore so...

I am tough on my gear. I would not say abusive, but well used. For instance, I like to fish with a 3wt. and fly box with no other tools. I put the tacky box in my back pocket and sat down on a rock to make some adjustments to my flies and forgot about the box. I felt it hit, and hit hard. I thought it would be toast. But to my surprise it was fine, a small scrape in the plastic but no cracks or broken hinges. It looked far too pretty to be that durable. Now I was really impressed.

The impressive look of the clear front are not only for aesthetics, but allows identifying which flies are in your box without having crack a hinge.  After hard use I scratched the plastic a few times, yet I can still clearly identify my flies, as you can see in the pictures.

The box holds an impressive 168 small to medium flies. After having used the box for four months the patented slit silicone holds as good as new. That being said, I can even take a larger ant pattern and replace it with a tiny nymph and it holds fine. And we all know what happens to foam after a big bug is used in a slot. Especially when flies are going in and out. I have ripped my fair share of foam taking flies out.  With the tacky boxes, material memory and breakdown is negligible. I think that this will be true for years to come.

In the pictures you may be able to see a triple-double (similar to a double renegade), it is a size 12. For dry flies of size 12 and lower the hackle fits in the box with plenty of clearance. Tall size 12 flies may smash. This box is designed for small to medium sized flies, it is not meant for streamers or large terrestrials. So if you are looking for a box that will hold all of your flies, this is not that box. If you can get one box to hold all of your flies, then you need more flies.

I would recommend the Tacky Fly Box to fly fishers of every skill level. Flies are expensive in either time and materials or just plain expensive so having a good box to protect that investment is a must. The Tacky Original Fly Box costs $25.00, which is a really good deal for what you are getting, hell for any decent fly box I expect to pay at least $20.00. I am going to invest in a few more of these in the months to come. When they come out with a streamer and boat box, you better believe I’m going to get those as well.

Bryan Hunt

Green River fly fishing guide

Spinner Fall Fly Shop