Salmon Flies Redux

we talked about access,rods,line,manners and how many flies so far and I'm quite sure over the years Flies too but..
Help this coot out just a bit and lets discuss "free water" flies..
Now before you say I should know or it's just basic flies, please bear in mind last year was all "free" water for me in at least 20 years.. I watched you guys "spank" them while I was humbled with what was to me the wrong stuff (as far as my box was )
Now here is my trip into history..
1. spank chinooks down low with #2-4 bright comets, big bunny flies and an occasional subdued leech..
2. Coho-Silvers, liked RED, not too big but a red size 6 estaz or black wooly bugger with red tail
3. fish mid-upper river to spawning salmon to pull the jockeying males with size# 6-8 crayfish, stones or buggers away from the female..
That has been my success over the years:
Last year I blew it on #3.. All the wrong stuff, I had 1 & 2 in my box.. My only fish came from a size #4 brown bunny leech and some flies donated from the catching crew :)
 
So maybe you "free" water salmon slayers can give up 1 or 2 must have patterns in the box...
The colors are endless, but I am asking type, size and material (flash-no flash) ..
I think I know 2bobs ; and  I watched Jacks rod jump wildly everytime he threw a small peach egg fly in :)
I want to start tying :)
 

I'm still learning flies and patterns myself cause ive only gotten into fly fishing the last 2 years. 
 
But my go to is a popsicle fly. Especially late season when Browns and Steelies are in. For some reason I've always had good luck with them. Tie a dozen in different colors, (I did a black and silver one last year that was nice). 

Color seems to change almost daily and frankly Kinda think so does size on many days.
 Has anyone ever heard of any kind of study having been done where water clarity and the general brightness or cloudiness on a particular day has to do with a fishes vision ???
 In the case of Kings we know they have, or are in the process, of shutting down their digestive system as they run but then we know the hit certain colors better than others on different days.
 The 'bite' IMHO must then be dependent on something else besides general protection of a bed or agresivenes- -with those one may well think they would hit most anything.
 Perhaps what they can see the best -depending on conditions- may be a partial answer ????

I like to use sucker spawn in the flesh color with a little flashabo added  seems to get some very good hits later in the year Jan thru apr  estaz fly earlier sep to dec for me keep drifting till i find the color they want royal blue works good so i start with that
 

HT,
 
It has been along time since I have seriously pursued the sharks in the Salmon, and we were usually down low as well, but we usually kept it simple, Woolly worms, comets, buggers, and of course glo bugs, in all the HOT colors, occasionally small nymphs or steelhead flies.  If I decide to brave the crowds, I'll likely be in the same boat as you, but the above and what you have listed seems like a good place to start.  And for me, I'm more interested in finding the early chromers that are coming in behind the Salmon, so I don't think I will mind not catching kings, as long as I find a coho or a steelhead once in a while.
 
L13