[thumper]

I'm in the same position - I've tied far too many flies that I'll never use!

What I've found has helped is tying for specific lakes / rivers that I plan on fishing. Using past experience, plus gleaning information from fly fishing forums, articles and TV shows (like Sportfishing on the Fly), I'll fill a small fly box with flies specific to the water I'm going to be fishing - even to the time of year. This often means a lot of overlap - tying multiple flies of the same pattern to carry in multiple fly boxes, along with more unique flies, just for that waterbody. I even jot down presentation - depth/type of retrieve etc., to go with that fly box. I even have some reels spooled with line/leader for a specific application in a specific, favourite waterbody.

Not only does this focus my tying down to flies I'll actually use, but it means that I won't be overwhelmed by a myriad of choices in a jumble of fly boxes when I'm at a destination - I'll only need to take out the box that I have labelled for that unique waterbody. In addition to flys from experience or tips, I generally have a couple of new fly patterns that I've tied specifically to experiment with on that body of water. (That's how I first got turned on to boobies !)

The downside, if you fish a lot of various waters, is that you end up with a lot of different fly boxes. But hey, if you've got all the fly tying tools and materials already, and the time and interest - why not?