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Fly fishing and fly
tying books are a passion. Here you will find прогулки по Москве-реке с дискотекой book reviews of books I have
read covering fly fishing for trout, smallmouth bass, muskellunge,
steelhead, and many other freshwater and saltwater species. You will also
find fly tying books covering the same areas. There are also books on
aquatic entomology, history of fly fishing and fly tying, hydrology, and
great prose having fly fishing as its main theme. There is far more to fly
fishing than casting a line, and there should be far more to a fly fishing
guide service web site than just costs and services offered.
The Book of Practical Fishing
Knots
by Geoffrey Budworth
Stackpole Books
Mechanicsburg, PA, 2003
160pages, softbound
illustrated, Color
suggested price $19.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
In the sport of
fly-fishing tying, the subject of knots is considered a mundane and boring
topic by most. It is also, however, one of the most critical crafts a
fly-fisherman must master to actually land fish. And yet most fly fishermen
are not adept at tying the proper knot at the proper time to allow for the
most effective connection between fish and fisherman.
Geoffrey Budworth has done an excellent job of providing the
information that will allow any fishermen to learn which knot to use and how
to tie it effectively. The Book of Practical Fishing Knots covers more than
enough knots to meet every fishing and fly-fishing need in a manner that
makes learning to tie them pretty much straight forward. The book is broken
down into five classes of knots. Namely, connector knots, fixed loop knots,
knots for joining lines, knots specifically for fly-fishing, and what the
author calls Mavericks and Mutations. Within each knot class each knot is
shown tied in oversized cord. Most helpfully, there are two photographs of
each knot. One view being 180 degrees opposed to the other. This allows you
to associate your effort in tying the knot with the photograph no matter
from what angle you hold your tied knot in comparison to the book
illustration. In addition, each knot is further illustrated with computer
generated 3D effect drawings showing the steps in actually tying each knot.
Finally, there is accompanying text explaining the drawings and steps in
tying the knot. Anyone that can cast a rod should be able to tie any
illustrated knot in this book. The knots included are suitable for the
modern materials now used in fly-fishing.
The quality of the illustrations and photographs is of the
highest quality. The text is well thought out and well written. There are a
few interesting spellings that slipped under the radar in translating the
book from English English to American English, but they are few and not
disruptive to understanding the instructions. The book is softbound but with
sewn bundles of pages so it should hold up extremely well over time and with
lots of use. At a price just under $20.00 it is a bargain as well as being
an excellent textbook.
Is there a failing? Yes. Like every other book I have ever read
giving instructions for tying the Bimini Twist, the instructions are far too
convoluted. The Bimini is one of the easiest knots to tie, but it evokes the
most horrid tying instructions known to man. Unfortunately, this book does
nothing to improve the situation.
Overall, my personal favorite for tying fishing knots. If I were
allowed only one book on fishing knots this would be my choice without
reservation.
©
2003 Bruce E. Harang
Beloved
Waters
by Paul Ford
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2000
98 pages, softbound
not illustrated
suggested price $12.95
reviewed by
Bruce E. Harang
This small book contains
eight short outdoor stories that carry the reader into a place where only
dreams are found. Not only do the stories transport the reader into them,
they evoke wonderful memories each reader has of his own outdoor memories.
Centered on fishing these stories are a personal journey of the author. But
a journey that allows the reader to gaze through the author’s eyes and see
the wonders of nature as the author saw them. The descriptions of the
weather, the creatures, and the sensual perceptions are amazingly well done.
The reader cannot help but smell the tidal muck, and hear the prehistoric
squawking of the heron.
Many of us have traveled similar roads, but few of us can so
sensually describe them with the written word. This is a wonderful winter
read in front of a warm fire. When you are tired of reading commercials
about far off hot spots, and blow-by-blow descriptions of how to catch large
fish this book will bring you to a place where you can once again remember
wonderful days afield.
©
2003 Bruce E. Harang
 Northwest
Fly Patterns & Tying Guide
by Rainland Fly Casters
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2002
83 pages, softbound
illustrated, color
suggested price $29.95
reviewed by
Bruce E. Harang
If you fish, or are
interested in fishing, the Pacific Northwest this book will provide you with
a sound selection of flies to help bring success. Written by members of the
fly-fishing club located in Astoria, Oregon these folks know the Pacific
Northwest fly fishing scene as well as anyone can.
The book is divided into seven chapters by fly type. These
include dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, terrestrials, streamers, and saltwater
flies. Each chapter starts with a short discussion of the type of fly and
how to fish them, followed by a selection of fly patterns having both an
excellent photo and concise recipe. The writing and editing are superb. The
photos by Jim Schollmeyer, Rick Newton and Frank Amato are of excellent high
quality. The selection will provide the fly fisherman with a winning box of
flies for anywhere in the area from the salt to the varied lakes and
streams. It is a first rate regional fly pattern book. This selection
includes many patterns developed in the area by local fly fishermen, such as
Lee Clark’s Stonefly, Henry Hoffman’s Chickabou Crayfish and Articulated
Leech, and Colleen Hansen’s 4th of July Shad Fly.
But the best part, and the part that sets it on a plane
by itself is the last chapter called appropriately enough “Club Members’
Favorite Flies”. This very personal section written by top-flight fly tyers
and fly fishermen of the Club provides a wonderful insight and personal
relationship between the reader and the authors. Some of these folks are
well known in the fly-fishing area, others are only well known to their
local peers, but everyone one of them is both very knowledgeable and very
willing to share their hard-earned knowledge with any reader willing to
learn.
This book is well done, has valuable information, and the
personal insights of some of the most knowledgeable fly tyers and fly
fishermen in the area. If you are interested in learning about the flies
that really catch fish in the Pacific Northwest this is a must have book.
©
2003 Bruce E. Harang
Guide Flies
by David Klausmeyer
Countryman Press
Woodstock, VT, 2002
118 pages, hardbound
illustrated, color
suggested price $40.00
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
This book is, according to the author, “…an outgrowth of another
book I wrote for Countryman Press titled “Tying Contemporary Saltwater
Flies”. It certainly is produced and written as well as this previous book.
It contains 38 additional saltwater patterns and 120 freshwater patterns.
Each is beautifully photographed and a recipe is included along with a note
about the fly, the guide, or the method to use in fishing the fly. There are
no tying instructions so this is a book for the tyer already accomplished in
these types of flies and only looking for some pattern ideas.
The selection includes a little for everyone including some
original patterns. Most of the patterns are local adaptations of well-known
patterns or adaptations of popular styles of flies. This gives the reader an
interesting insight as to how various tyers address and solve local fishing
conditions. However, some of the adaptations seem trivial enough as to beg
the question as to why they have been included. The original patterns are in
many cases well known and have been published many times before making this
more of a coffee table book than a working pattern book.
The printing, editing, and writing are of the normally expected
high standards of The Countryman Press. The photographic images are truly
well done. This is a beautiful book to give as a gift.
©
2003 Bruce E. Harang
Dry Fly Fishing
by Dave Hughes
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 1994
56 pages, Softbound
illustrated, Color
suggested price, $15.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
Dave Hughes has authored a number of
excellent and practical books covering a variety of fly-fishing topics. This
volume is no exception. This slim book is an excellent overview and
introduction to fly fishing the dry fly on both moving and Stillwater.
The sections on dry fly fishing techniques and dry fly fishing
tackle and equipment are concise, practical, and informative. Following the
suggestions in these sections will put the beginning and intermediate fly
fisherman well down the road to becoming a first class practitioner of the
dry fly.
The chapter on casting as it pertains to dry fly fishing is well
done and a good balance between "too much" and "not enough" information.
The meat of the book comprises the chapters on actually fishing dry
flies for trout. Dry fly selection and patterns are well covered. Also, well
done, are the differences in techniques and approach between Stillwater and
moving water dry fly fishing.
Dave Hughes is an excellent writer and it shows clearly in this
book. The photography of Jim Schollmeyer continues at its legendary high
level of excellence. The photography greatly enhances the well-chosen words
of the author. Further, the flies tied for the book by John Rodriguez are
both beautiful and well tied, setting a high standard as a goal for all fly
tyers.
Overall, this book is a very good primer for every fly fisherman
casting a dry fly. This volume is truly a keeper.
©
2003 Bruce E. Harang
Tying
Emergers
by Jim Schollmeyer and Ted Leeson
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2004
344 pages, hardbound & softbound
illustrated, color
suggested price $60.00 & $45.00
reviewed by
Bruce E. Harang
For any fly tyer wanting
a PhD level course in tying emerger patterns this book is the answer. It
will provide the fly tyer with all of the tools required to tie any emerger
pattern or emerger style and tie it exceedingly well. In addition, it
utilizes some innovative methods of presenting the material so that it is
both easy to find and easy to understand.
The first innovative feature is the manner in which the Table of
Contents has been produced. It not only has the traditional text describing
the chapters, it also has excellent quality images of most of the flies
illustrated in the body of the book as well as silhouette icons identifying
which major insect groups the pattern imitates or represents. This is an
excellent help when trying to find a particular fly you have seen on stream
for example, but for which you do not know the name. Or an easy way to find
pattern that represents caddis emergers, for example.
The body of the book starts out with Chapter One discussing
emerger fly pattern design and the materials suitable to tie this type of
pattern. Emerger patterns that are, in many cases, very small in size.
Chapter Two describes in step-by-step text and well produced photographs,
many enhanced with visual aids, the major tying techniques needed to tie
good looking, well proportioned, durable emerger flies that will both
attract fish and stand up to their attention.
Chapters 3 through 17 present individual patterns broken down
into fifteen emerger styles. There are trailing shuck patterns, paraloop
patterns, side-wing patterns and everything in between. If there is a style
of emerger pattern, it can be found in this book. And just as importantly,
the patterns represent the creative thinking of fly tyers from around the
world. For the American tyer the patterns from European tyers is worth much
more than the price of the book. Here for the first time are emerger
patterns, and the methods of tying them, from European tyers from Holland,
Russia, and many other countries. Their ideas, tying methods, and material
selection open whole new avenues of experimentation. Likewise, for the
overseas tyers, here is a compendium of American tyers patterns and methods,
many of which have never been published elsewhere. And all of this
information is presented with clear step-by-step text and high quality
photographs. The reader simply can’t help but be successful in his own tying
following these instructions. And while pattern books are not novels, the
editing, and production of the book is so well done that one can actually
just read the book for ideas and enjoy doing it. There are practically no
typographical or grammatical errors which means that the reader can put his
reading eyes on cruise control and simply enjoy the journey. Likewise each
pattern covers a single page or a series of pages, but no page has more than
one pattern on it, making following along easy even while splitting one’s
attention between the book and the vise.
The book concludes with a series of three indices. These too are
innovative in that they allow the tyer to find quickly a pattern in a number
of ways. The first index breaks down the patterns by the major insect group
or groups the pattern represents. The second index presents an alphabetical
list of all of the patterns in the book. The third index classifies the
patterns by the tyer or pattern originator of each pattern.
Overall, this is a well-written, well researched, and
well-produced book on a specific class of flies, emergers. It is the
benchmark volume for tying emerger patterns. A book every fly tyer must add
to his library.
©
2004 Bruce E. Harang
Bass Bug Basics
by John M. Likakis
Countryman Press
Woodstock, VT, 2003
86 pages, softbound
illustrated, Black & White
suggested price $12.95
reviewed by Bruce E. Harang
Most fly tyers consider spinning deer hair beyond their
abilities, believing it to be extremely difficult to master. Now comes the
author with a slim volume to not only explode this myth of difficulty but to
provide the fly tyer with all of the tools to excel at this form of fly
tying. This well written book contains six short chapters, each explaining
one section of tying bass bugs. Chapter one details the tools you need, how
to choose hair for spinning and stacking and two straight-forward and
practical methods of spinning deer hair on a hook. It ends with the tyer
tying his first successful spun deer hair bug. Chapter two teaches
multi-color bugs, how to fix a bug gone wrong by a slip of the razor blade,
shaping the spun hair into a chosen form, stacking hair on a hook and onto
spun hair, threads for stacking hair, and concludes with tying instructions
for three very popular styles of bass bugs. The following chapters cover
bass bug tails, heads on bugs, types and methods for adding legs to bugs,
and special effects such as mixing hair of different colors before spinning
it onto a hook, using paint and markers, making eye holes, scaling up the
bugs size for use with larger fish such as pike and musky, and building the
bass bug sideways on the hook to keep the hook gap free to hook the fish.
Each chapter concludes with detailed instructions on how to tie at least one
popular style of bass bug. The book concludes with a list of suppliers of
bass bug tools and materials and an index.
The writing is clear and easy to read. The editing is excellent.
The step-by-step instructions are also well done and easy to read and
follow. However, the photographs used are average at best and a real
disappointment coming from a high quality publisher such as this. While the
reader will be able to understand the subject of most of the photos because
of the well-written text, they themselves are not well done. Hopefully, this
one shortcoming will be corrected in the next edition of this wonderful
book.
This is undoubtedly the best available book on tying deer hair
bugs. With the tools so well presented, the tyer cannot help but succeed
handsomely in learning to tie good looking, durable, fish catching, and
fisherman catching bugs for bass, panfish, pike, and any other fish that
eats large sized food items. At the asking price, the information in this
book is definitely undervalued, making it a great bargain as well as a great
teaching aid.
©
2004 Bruce E. Harang
Inside
Fly Tying
by Dick Talleur
Stackpole Books
Mechanicsburg, PA, 2004
92 pages, softbound
illustrated, color
suggested price $19.95
reviewed by
Bruce E. Harang
The subtitle of this
book clearly tells the reader what the author is about, “100 Tips for
Solving the Trickiest Fly-Tying Problems”. This is not a pattern book though
it teaches through the tying of specific patterns. This also not a
beginner’s lesson book, though a beginner will shave years off his fly tying
learning curve by studying this book. This is simply an extremely well
written, well edited, and well illustrated manual giving the reader a
toolbox of special techniques to make fly tying easier and a lot more fun.
This book is written in Dick Telleur’s easy to read conversational style and
illustrated with excellent color photos, many enhanced with computer added
graphics to illustrate more clearly the point at hand.
The book covers the more
common problems like tying in hair wings and wings made of woodduck flank
feather as well as the less common problems of winding two hackles on a
Hewitt skater. There are also some really novel solutions to common problems
such as gluing off parachute hackle instead of tying it off and the
specifics of dyeing materials using Kool-Aid brand drink powder. In
addition, there are tricks for using foam, Coq de Leon feathers, splitting
tails, and much more. All of this done in a writing style that is so relaxed
the reader can not help but learn.
Any fly tyer that wishes
to become a better master of his craft will love this slim volume and will
refer to it often. This book provides a great deal of tying help for a very
reasonable price. If you tie flies you will want to add this book to your
library.
©
2004 Bruce E. Harang
Tying Better Flies
by Art Scheck
Countryman Press
Woodstock, VT, 2002
173 pages, softbound
illustrated, color
suggested price $27.95
reviewed by
Bruce E. Harang
This book is directed to
teaching fly tyers how to tie better flies by providing techniques that
improve durability and simplify tying procedures. The author’s description
of his book in the introduction says it best: “My emphasis is on how to tie
flies; on techniques, components, and little tricks that produce fake
insects and ersatz minnows that act as you want them to and stay in one
piece; on construction methods that solve problems and yield practical
fishing lures. For “better,” then, you can read “practical, predictable,
consistent, durable, and versatile”.
The book starts with a short chapter on tools and how to pick
them so that the tyer does not have to overcome the deficiencies of the
tools he uses. The next chapter is an exceptionally lucid, practical, and
compelling discussion of hooks, threads, and head cements. This chapter is
one of the best of its kind in print today. The following twelve chapters
are broken down into how to tie specific flies or styles of flies which
result in “better” flies. Each chapter starts with a general background
about the fly or style of fly to be discussed. Next is detailed the various
parts of the fly or style of fly and what types of materials will produce
the fly having desired characteristics. This is followed by a section of
tying tips for realizing the desired fly. Finally, each chapter concludes
with step-by-step tying instructions with superb photographs and lucid text.
This book is directed to practical and popular fish catching
flies. Thus, it covers buggers; hair-wing streamers to represent minnows;
muddlers; a general purpose nymph; wet flies, both classic and contemporary;
classic dry flies, some with innovative new materials; parachute dry flies;
a pair of hair-wing caddisflies; creative dry flies with added buoyancy
built-in; tiny flies; Clouser’s Deep Minnows; and weedless flies including
bend-backs.
The book is extremely well written in an easy to read style that
provides excellent instruction. It is complimented by superb photographs and
first rate editing and layout. If you are looking for a book to get you
tying very productive patterns very well this is the book. This book makes a
great addition to any fly tying library.
©
2004 Bruce E. Harang
River Journal – Kispiox River
by Arthur J. Lingren
Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
Portland, OR, 2004
48 pages, softbound
illustrated, color
suggested price $15.95
reviewed by
Bruce E. Harang
This is another
excellent volume in the River Journal series of books. Written by a Kispiox
River steelheader of 30 years this book gives the reader the tools and
insights necessary to fish successfully this magnificent part of the mighty
Skeena River system.
The Kispiox River is a river of large steelhead, beautiful
water, and wonderful scenery. The Kispiox is also a river producing
steelhead that placed in the top ten spots in the Field & Stream Fishing
Contest for twenty-one consecutive years. It is also a river that made many
of the Pacific Northwest steelhead fly patterns famous worldwide.
The author provides the reader with a book containing
information on the rivers history, gear selection, fly patterns and tying
recipes, available accommodations, fishing outfitters, access points, and an
excellent overview map of the river with its named pools. All of this
information is presented in an easy to read writing style accompanied by top
rate color photographs of fish, scenery, historical points of interest, and
the popular flies for use on the river. In addition, the book is well edited
and very nicely laid out. For anyone interested in fly fishing for large
steelhead on the Kispiox River this is a must have work.
©
2004 Bruce E. Harang
How to
Fly-Fish
by Cliff Hauptman
Stackpole Books
Mechanicsburg, PA, 2004
113 pages, softbound
illustrated, B&W
suggested price $12.95
reviewed by
Bruce E. Harang
This book presents a
beginner’s fly-fishing course in an innovative manner. One might say it is
the Suzuki method of fly-fishing.
The book is composed of ten chapters covering; what is needed to
get started, rods, reels, lines, leaders, flies, knots, types of fishing
waters, waders, and accessories. Each chapter has two separate parts. Each
chapter’s first section contains just enough information to allow a beginner
to fish, and the second section contains additional information and greater
detail. The beginner needs only to read the first section of each chapter
and then go fishing. It will take less than two hours to complete this basic
course and then get out to the water and actually go fishing. Then once the
beginner has actually gotten to fish for a time he can come back to the book
and read the second portion of each chapter to gain a better understanding
of “why it works” to compliment the earlier read of “how it works”.
The book is nicely written and easy to read. The line drawings
are a good compliment to the text without distracting the reader from the
main goal of getting him out and fly-fishing. For the most part the book is
a solid teaching tool. Unfortunately, a number of old wives tales have been
included which should have been weeded out. However, at the price of
admission this book is one fine beginner’s fly-fishing course.
©
2004 Bruce E. Harang
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