Quick question about Cortland flies

Hi -

I haven't started fly fishing yet, but a major superstore near me clearanced out their entire selection of fly fishing gear and flies. I bought everything they had because most items were about 90% off. Anyway, I ended up buying about 600 or so Cortland flies, composed of about 30 different flies, approximately 20 of each type. Is this overkill or the start of a nice collection? Is Cortland a good brand of flies? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I know there is a Cortland rep who posts frequently. He may be able to shed some light on the flies.

I can't comment on the quality of the flies from Cortland. It's going to depend on where Cortland got them from. They could have been sourced from a reputable Asian tying house or a production house keen on making quantity instead of quality. One thing to look at is to see if the flies have any consistency between them. Each fly of the same style and size should look identical. Also they should not look cheaply made. If you could pull material off the fly without putting any effort into it is not a good sign.

In regards to 600 flies, you can never have too many flies. If you lose some, you got plenty more to use.

MP

Thank you for the information. I will group them by type and check for consistency as well as durability. All of the boxes claim that they were made in England, which could be a good thing.