How To Protect Flies From Rust.

[danattherock]

I Have Heard Alot About Fly Hooks Rusting. Any Ideas On Ways To Prevent This. Are Some Fly Boxes Better Than Others For This. I Read To Leave Fly Box Open Overnight When You Get Back From Fishing To Let It Dry. Will That Be Enough To Avoid Rusting. I Got Alot Of Flies And Want To Protect Them. Any Advice Would Be Greatly Appreciated.

 

[Kid]

rust

rust

Dan, I think the only sure way is to separate the flies you have used that day in salt, then rinse them off good with fresh water, and let 'em dry. I am usually too lazy to do this, and as a result I get salt water drops into my flies, which starts them rusting. I have not noticed a problem if you are in fresh all day.

 

[GR]

rust prevention

rust prevention

Using SS hooks in saltwater flies helps prevent corrosion but a good rinse of ALL of your equipment after a day in the salt is an absolute must.

 

[BrownBear]

It's a sure PITA, but nothing beats taking the flies from the box, rinsing them in freshwater, and spreading them on paper towels to dry overnight. You can get around the hassles a bit if you don't put flies back into their box after use, keeping them separate instead. If you don't splash water (fresh or salt) into your boxes over the course of the day, then you can get away with only washing and drying the flies you actually used.

Others are right on the money about washing all gear after a day in the salt. Be sure to pop the spools out of your reels and rinse them too. Over the course of a summer you can build up a lot of salt inside reel seats, too. For really tight-fitting ones, it's a good idea to dismount the reel from the rod at least once a week for a thorough cleaning.

 

[skipjack]

Spray them with WD40

 

[6XLeech]

Rust is inevitable.

Rust is inevitable.

There. That set my expectations good and low:lol:. From that benchmark, I decided to try a 2 box system after noticing some rust in my "daily use" box. The bigger, storage box is a Plano-type (like these: http://www.planomolding.com/fishing/fishing-products/). I keep clean,dry flies in the storage box (-es, now multiple) and restock use flies through the daily use box as needed.

The 2 box system grew to... 6-7 boxes (should have stopped tying maybe, but the extras are handy when family comes up) now with the additional boxes holding streamers, big nymphs, small nymphs, large flashy flies for silvers or kings, dry flies, and egg ptrns including beads.

I agree with others, that putting wet flies in with clean flies... invites rust sooner. A good friend had all... all his flies get wet when the dry bag leaked as we motored across Skilak one Fall. He took them out, everyone to dry out in the sun when he got back.

 

[BrownBear]

Only reliable way I've found is to rinse them if they've been in the salt. But whether salt or fresh, always spread them out on a newspaper overnight to dry. Foam boxes are BAD for holding water down around the points if you don't pull them out each night. Bins canhold enough water to be problematic too. Kind of a PITA to spread them out each night, but unless you do it, sooner or later you're going to get rust in any kind of box. The only holdingers I've found that doesn't result in rust is the stretchers used for flies rigged on leaders for tarpon and bill fish. We still rinse them every evening along with the rest of the gear, but at least we can leave them on the stretchers while rinsing and drying.

 

[jarredbehrendt]

Get yourself some silica packets and put a few in the box, once the packets are saturated then dry them out in the oven.

 

[icb12]

 

[jockomontana]

Try keeping a "wet box" for flies used during the day... especially if you're fishing in the salt. I'll often hang flies on the dash fan of my truck, then hang them on an oscilliating fan in my house when I get home. Open fly box on the dashboard or window sill for a few hours always helps. Nothing fancy, just a concious effort to dry them out.

 

[Griffin4590]

Spray them with WD40

good luck catching anything with a sense of smell after that.
Always air dry the flys right after use and once you get home rinse them and all your other gear in freshwater otherwise plan on buying a lot of new gear.

 

[kenaibow fan]

good luck catching anything with a sense of smell after that.
Always air dry the flys right after use and once you get home rinse them and all your other gear in freshwater otherwise plan on buying a lot of new gear.

I thought wd40 had herring oil in it??????

 

[BrownBear]

Try keeping a "wet box" for flies used during the day... especially if you're fishing in the salt.

That's especially good advice even in freshwater if you don't like dumping, washing, drying and reloading every single fly box every single night. You still have to dump, was, dry and reload, but just a handful of flies rather than a handful of boxes.

 

[DSFlyman]

I thought wd40 had herring oil in it??????

Is that why my mouth tastes funny after brushing my teeth?

 

[DelMarFly]

UPG's new evolve boxes might help

UPG's new evolve boxes might help

UPG (Umpqua) new line of Evolve fly boxes should help with reducing the wear and tear on your flies. Check them out, I have been using the day tripper and midge box all spring


Jason
<a href=http://www.blueriverflyco.com>fly fishing flies</a>